Gold and Silver ETFs drive passive flows in September 2025

13 Oct 2025 , 11:43 AM

PASSIVE FLOW HIGHLIGHTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2025

Passive inflows have progressively grown in last 4 months. They spiked from ₹3,997 Crore in June 2025 to ₹8,259 Crore in July, ₹11,437 Crore in August and further to ₹19,057 Crore in September 2025. Trackers are again getting investor attention. The action in September was dominated by inflows into Gold ETFs and Silver ETFs as gold crossed $4,000/oz and silver scaled $50/oz. Investors were clearly chasing the winners.

In terms of flows; Gold ETFs led the way with ₹8,363 Crore in September 2025; followed by Silver ETFs at ₹5,342 Crore, Equity Index ETFs at ₹4,451 Crore, and Equity Index Funds at ₹2,761 Crore. Some of the passive categories that saw outflows in September 2025 included Debt Oriented ETFs and Debt Oriented TMIFs. Out of the 12 categories of passive funds with flows; 6 categories saw net inflows in September 2025, while 6 categories saw net outflows.

HOW EQUITY INDEX FUNDS PERFORMED IN SEPTEMBER 2025

The table ranks equity oriented index funds (direct) in India on 5-year returns.

Equity Index Funds Scheme Name	1 Year (%) Returns	3Year (%) Returns	5-Year (%) Returns
Motilal Oswal Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund Direct	-5.23	22.47	27.75
Motilal Oswal Nifty Midcap 150 Index Fund Direct	-0.28	23.08	27.69
DSP Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index Fund Direct	1.03	18.34	22.98
Sundaram Nifty 100 Equal Weight Direct	-2.09	17.85	21.37
DSP Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.26	18.02	20.71
UTI Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.11	18.00	20.69
LIC MF Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.11	17.84	20.65
Motilal Oswal Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.06	18.05	20.64
ICICI Prudential Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.49	17.84	20.54
HSBC Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct	-8.47	17.72	20.41
Category Average	-2.55	17.23	18.59

Data Source: Morningstar India

On a 1-year basis, equity index fund category generated average returns of -2.55%, while the average of the top-10 in this category stood at -5.61%. In terms of 3-year returns, the equity index fund category generated average returns of 17.23%, while the average of the top-10 stood at 18.92%. On 5-year returns, the equity index fund category generated average returns of 18.59%, while the average of the top-10 stood at 22.34%. The leaders have been able to perceptibly outperform the segment averages over a longer time frame.

HOW DEBT INDEX FUNDS PERFORMED IN SEPTEMBER 2025

The table ranks Debt oriented index funds (direct) in India on 1-year returns.

Debt Index Fund Scheme Name	1 Year (%) Returns
TATA Nifty G-SEC Dec 2029 Index Fund Direct	8.91
Kotak Crisil-IBX AAA Financial Services Index – Sep 2027 Fund Direct	8.90
Axis CRISIL IBX AAA NBFC Index Jun 2027 Fund Direct	8.84
BHARAT Bond FOF April 2031 Direct	8.82
HDFC Nifty G- Sec Apr 2029 Index Fund Direct	8.79
Aditya Birla Sun Life CRISIL IBX Gilt April 2029 Index Fund Direct	8.75
SBI CRISIL IBX Gilt Index – April 2029 Fund Direct	8.75
Nippon India Nifty G-Sec Oct 2028 Maturity Index Fund Direct	8.75
ICICI Prudential Nifty G-Sec Dec 2030 Index Fund Direct	8.72
HDFC Nifty G-Sec July 2031 Index Fund Direct Growth	8.66
Category Average	7.83

Data Source: Morningstar India

While debt index funds overall generated average returns of 7.83%; the top-10 debt funds generated average returns of 8.79%. The good news is that the dispersion of returns in the top-10 is very low, which makes fund selection easier. The top gainers are longer-duration funds, which benefited from falling bond yields and expectations of further rate cuts.

PASSIVE FUND FOLIO GROWTH: SEPTEMBER 2025 OVER SEPTEMBER 2024

Passive funds folio growth slackened in recent months, but only marginally.

Passive Mutual Fund Schemes (Folios)	Folios SEP-25 (in Numbers)	Folios SEP-24 (in Numbers)	Growth (%)
Silver ETF	14,86,584	4,24,295	250.37%
Income/Debt Oriented Index Funds (Ex-TMIF)	30,668	14,577	110.39%
Equity oriented ETFs (International)	9,94,969	5,69,371	74.75%
Gold ETF	86,63,662	57,10,499	51.71%
FOFs investing overseas in Active Funds	9,20,618	7,16,175	28.55%
Equity oriented Index Funds (Domestic)	1,35,24,904	1,07,18,237	26.19%
Equity oriented ETFs (Domestic)	1,67,38,949	1,34,56,546	24.39%
Other Index Funds	1,01,989	84,812	20.25%
Income/Debt Oriented Index Funds (TMIF)	1,79,499	1,60,083	12.13%
Income/Debt Oriented ETFs	25,19,692	22,78,337	10.59%
Equity oriented Index Funds (International)	2,52,441	2,55,969	-1.38%
FOFs investing overseas in Passive Funds	5,63,127	6,70,932	-16.07%
Total (Passive Funds)	4,59,77,102	3,50,59,833	31.14%

Data Source: AMFI (TMIF is target maturity index funds)

Here are some key inferences from yoy growth in passive folios.

• Passive fund folios grew 31.14% in September 2025; compared to 32.58% in August, 36.01% in July, and 41.44% in June 2025. There has been a gradual tapering of folio growth, but passive funds have done better than active funds on folio accretion. Total passive fund folios as of September 2025 stood at 459.77 Lakhs; compared to 446.55 Lakhs in August, 437.70 Lakhs in July, and 431.42 Lakhs in June 2025. The revival in passive interest in recent months, coincides with better quality supply.
• What about the leaders? Again, silver ETFs led folio growth at 250.37%, followed by equity oriented Domestic Index Funds 110.39%, International Equity ETFs 74.75%, and Gold ETFs at 51.71%. A total of 10 out of 12 categories saw folio expansion, with international equity-oriented index funds and FOFs investing in overseas passive funds witnessing folio contraction in September 2025.

Annual folio growth has fallen from above 50% to closer to 30% in last 8 months.

PASSIVE FUNDS AUM: SEPTEMBER 2025 OVER SEPTEMBER 2024

Passive fund AUM growth in September 2025 was impacted by market volatility, but the tide appears to be turning gradually in the last 2 months.

Passive Mutual Fund Schemes	AUM Sep-25 (₹ Crore)	AUM Sep-24 (₹ Crore)	Growth (%)
Silver ETF	36,460.94	10,839.98	236.36%
Gold ETF	90,135.98	39,823.50	126.34%
FOFs investing overseas in Active Funds	25,432.76	17,513.71	45.22%
Equity oriented ETFs (International)	16,906.24	12,443.01	35.87%
Equity oriented Index Funds (International)	6,580.20	5,203.90	26.45%
Equity oriented Index Funds (Domestic)	1,92,541.23	1,55,394.94	23.90%
Income/Debt Oriented Index Funds (TMIF)	99,993.58	91,980.16	8.71%
FOFs investing overseas in Passive Funds	8,991.38	8,352.69	7.65%
Equity oriented ETFs (Domestic)	7,16,634.67	6,87,729.81	4.20%
Other Index Funds	3,694.58	3,563.03	3.69%
Income/Debt Oriented ETFs	95,685.71	99,259.97	-3.60%
Income/Debt Oriented Index Funds (Ex-TMIF)	6,083.83	13,549.21	-55.10%
Total (Passive Funds)	12,99,141.09	11,45,653.90	13.40%

Data Source: AMFI (TMIF is target maturity index funds)

Here are some key inferences from the above table.

• Passive fund AUM yoy growth in September 2025 stood at 13.40%; compared to 11.54% in August, 13.97% in July, and 20.36% in June 2025. While the growth in AUM is sharply lower compared to year 2024, the bounce is evident in the latest month. The good news is that passive fund fascination is returning, albeit spasmodically.
• What about leaders and laggards? Silver ETFs led the growth at 236.36%, followed by Gold ETFs at 126.34%, and FOFs investing overseas in active funds at 45.22%. A total of 10 out of 12 categories saw AUM expansion, with ex-TMIF debt-oriented index funds and debt index ETFs; again, witnessing AUM contraction in September 2025.

While the folio growth of passive funds is faltering, they are showing more resilience than folio growth of active funds. Hopefully, the narrative should be back with more supply!