Silver Mutual Funds

At least 95% of its money sits in silver or silver-related instruments, directly or through a silver ETF.

A mutual fund is a pool of money from many people, invested by a professional manager under SEBI rules. SEBI sorts most funds into categories, its labels for what a fund may hold. There is no silver category. Instead, SEBI's rulebook has a chapter for gold and silver ETFs, and a separate row for funds of funds.

• A silver ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund whose units trade on the stock exchange during market hours, like a share. It must keep at least 95% of its net assets in silver and silver-related instruments, such as exchange-traded silver futures.
• A silver fund of funds (FoF) is a mutual fund that buys units of another fund. It must keep at least 95% in its underlying silver ETF.

SEBI's stated aim: returns in line with the price of physical silver in India, subject to tracking error. Tracking error is how far the fund's daily returns stray from the metal's. For an ETF, SEBI says it "shall not exceed 2%".

A SEBI-registered custodian, a firm that keeps the fund's assets safe, holds the silver in standard 30 kg bars. Auditors check it physically every six months.

Our gold fund page sets ETFs and funds of funds side by side; the same choice applies to silver.

SEBI rates a metal by how sharply its price has moved, and silver lands in the top band. Every listed silver fund read Very High on 29 September 2026. Most listed gold funds read High, one step down.

The riskometer is the risk label SEBI makes every fund show, on six levels from Low to Very High. For a metal it uses one measure: volatility, meaning how widely the price has swung up and down.

SEBI scores gold and silver by how much their price has swung over the last 15 years:

• under 10%: 3, which is Moderate
• 10% to 15%: 4
• 15% to 20%: 5, which is High
• above 20%: 6, which is Very High

A silver ETF reading Very High, as HDFC's and Tata's did at the end of August 2026, fits SEBI's top band: annualised volatility above 20%. The same two fund houses' gold ETFs read High then, which fits the 15% to 20% band.

A silver fund of funds takes its level from the ETFs it holds, weighted by how much of each it owns.

The label is checked every month. If it changes, the fund must tell you by email or SMS.

Prices can fall for years: going by RBI's yearly averages, silver in 2015-16 was 37% below 2012-13, and gold 12% below.

Since 1 April 2026, the silver behind these funds is valued at the spot price Indian stock exchanges publish for settling delivered silver contracts. A spot price is the price for metal handed over now, rather than on a later date.

This matters because the silver's value sets the fund's NAV, the price of one unit.

Before April 2026, funds began with a London benchmark price. They then adjusted it for four things:

1. currency;
2. transport;
3. customs duty;
4. a notional premium or discount.

The new price is the one Indian exchanges use to settle silver contracts that end with the metal actually delivered. So the starting point is now an Indian price, not a London price adjusted for those costs.

AMFI, the fund industry body, sets a uniform policy for this together with SEBI.

A fund of funds values its ETF units at their closing price on the stock exchange. So a silver FoF's NAV can differ slightly from the silver price on the same day.

The rules match. The metal and the riskometer level do not.

Both follow SEBI's 95% rule, come as an ETF or a fund of funds, and share the tax rules below.

• Metal. A gold fund follows the domestic gold price. A silver fund follows silver's.
• Riskometer. On 29 September 2026, most listed gold funds read High. Every listed silver fund read Very High.
• Horizon. Koshex suggests 5 years or more for both. That is our suggestion, not a SEBI rule.

A multi asset allocation fund must invest in at least three asset classes, with at least 10% in each of three. It belongs to SEBI's hybrid group, funds that mix different kinds of assets. Hybrid funds may put the leftover part of their money, outside their main holdings, into gold or silver ETFs. So a multi asset fund may hold some silver. It does not have to.

A silver ETF unit turns long-term after 12 months, and a silver FoF unit after 24. Long-term gains pay 12.5%; short-term gains pay your slab rate. This is the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force since 1 April 2026.

A silver fund holds no Indian shares, so it is not an equity-oriented fund. It holds no debt, so it is not a Specified Mutual Fund. That is the tax law's term for a fund with more than 65% in debt and money market instruments. For a sale in the 2026-27 tax year, when you bought, before or after 1 April 2023, makes no difference.

Your holding period is how long you have owned a unit, from the day you bought it to the day you sell.

• An ETF unit is listed, traded on a stock exchange. Held 12 months or less, its gain is short-term.
• A FoF unit is unlisted. Held 24 months or less, its gain is short-term.
• A short-term capital gain is taxed at your slab rate, the rate that applies to the rest of your income.
• A long-term capital gain is taxed at 12.5% without indexation, so the price you paid is not raised for inflation. The ₹1,25,000 yearly exemption for equity funds does not apply here.

A SIP invests a fixed amount at regular intervals, usually monthly. Each instalment buys units on its own date and has its own holding period.

Suppose a monthly SIP in a silver fund of funds has run for three years, and you sell every unit in September 2026. The gains are assumed, not a forecast. No surcharge is assumed, which holds if your total income is up to ₹50 lakh; surcharge is an extra charge on the tax above that. Cess is a further 4% on the tax.

• Instalments bought more than 24 months earlier: assumed gain ₹2,93,000. Long-term, so 12.5% gives ₹36,625. Cess adds ₹1,465, making ₹38,090.
• Instalments held 24 months or less: assumed gain ₹2,57,000. Short-term, so your slab rate applies. At a 20% top slab it is ₹51,400 plus ₹2,056 cess, ₹53,456. At 30% it is ₹77,100 plus ₹3,084, ₹80,184.

One sale, two kinds of gain. The total is ₹91,546 at a 20% top slab, or ₹1,18,274 at 30%. With silver ETF units, the dividing line would sit at 12 months instead.

When a resident sells units, no TDS (tax deducted at source, before money reaches you) comes off the gain.

IDCW is a payout the fund makes from its income or gains, and the NAV drops by that amount. Your slab rate applies to it. Once your IDCW from a fund house crosses ₹10,000 in a tax year, it deducts 10% TDS on the whole amount. That TDS is credited against your tax for the year.

It can be, if the money can stay put for 5 years or more and a Very High label does not rattle you. That horizon is Koshex's suggestion, not a SEBI rule. It does not promise the price recovers from a fall within that time.

Take a child's higher-education fund about ten years away. Whether silver belongs in it, and how much, turns on a few things.

• How long the money can stay. Ten years clears our 5-year line. College fees due in two years do not.
• What else you hold. A silver fund follows one metal. A multi asset allocation fund you already own may hold some silver or gold too.
• How large a fall you can sit through. Think back to the RBI averages above: silver's 2015-16 average was 37% below 2012-13. Ask yourself whether you would have kept investing through that.

You can invest by SIP, a set sum each month, or as a lumpsum, a larger amount at one time. Either way, each purchase carries its own holding period for tax.

Koshex helps you choose a fund that suits your goal and timeline. We review your holdings over time and flag changes, such as a fund's risk level shifting. If silver falls sharply, we talk you through it before you redeem, which means selling your units back to the fund.

Start with how long each fund has existed. There are 13 listed silver funds, together managing ₹26,043 Cr. AUM (assets under management) is the current total value of the money they manage. Only 7 have a 3-year record. Those are ranked on 3-year return and counted in the averages.

SEBI's rules for silver ETFs date from November 2021. So the oldest silver funds here started in January 2022, and none has a five-year record yet.

This list shows funds of funds, which you can buy like any other mutual fund. Silver ETFs themselves trade on the stock exchange and are not listed here. Funds of funds holding both metals are filed under gold.

In the table:

• 3-year return. Shown as CAGR: the average yearly growth over the period, as if the fund had grown at the same pace every year. It is a past figure, not a forecast.
• AUM and 1-year tabs. These rank every listed fund with the figure, younger funds included.
• Cost. The expense ratio is the fund's yearly fee, shown as a percentage of your money and taken out of the fund's value. For a silver fund of funds, SEBI caps the total, including the ETF it holds, at 0.90% a year. Each fund's factsheet shows its own figure.
• Selling early. An exit load is a fee for selling soon after you buy. SEBI does not set an exit load for this category. Many funds charge a small one if you leave early, from a week to a year; check the scheme document.

There is no lock-in either: no period during which you cannot sell. Redemption money reaches your bank within three working days.

Koshex offers regular plans. A regular plan is the version of a fund you buy through a distributor, a registered intermediary that helps you buy and manage funds. Koshex holds AMFI registration ARN-154632.