Indian women investors triple gold ETF exposure in a year: AMFI data

Women mutual fund investors in India more than doubled the share of gold ETFs in their passive portfolios over the past year, with the metal’s allocation rising to 16.4% in March 2026 from 6.4% a year earlier, according to the AMFI-Crisil Factbook 2026 published Friday.

Retail investors as a whole saw gold ETF assets more than triple to 14.9% of their holdings in fiscal 2026 from 4.6% in fiscal 2021. Net inflows into gold ETFs hit ₹69,000 crore in FY26, more than double the cumulative ₹30,213 crore recorded over the previous five financial years combined.

“Gold and silver mutual funds emerged as preferred hedging tools, delivering both liquidity and strategic diversification,” AMFI Chief Executive Venkat Nageswar Chalasani said in the report. The shift, he added, shows Indian investors are moving beyond a simple equity-only outlook.

Precious metals funds pulled in more inflows than equity ETFs in fiscal 2026, a first for the category, said Crisil Intelligence President Priti Arora. She attributed the trend to “global uncertainty and precious-metal rallies.”

Women’s total mutual fund assets under management rose to ₹15.88 lakh crore in March 2026 from ₹5.84 lakh crore five years earlier, a ₹10.04 lakh crore increase. The investor base counted 1.61 crore women out of 6.09 crore total folios.