Precious metals witnessing strong inflows as investors chase recent returns: Sankaran Naren

markets

Precious metals have witnessed a sharp surge in investor inflows, reflecting a pattern where money flows into assets after strong price rallies, said Sankaran Naren, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at ICICI Prudential AMC.

Speaking at an investor event, Naren said AUM in gold and silver funds has risen significantly over the past few years. “The quantum of AUM that was there in gold and silver was Rs 25,000 crore in 2022, and in January 2026, it became Rs 4 lakh crore,” he said.

He pointed out that January 2026 marked an unusual shift in investor behaviour, as inflows into precious metals exceeded investments into equity mutual funds for the first time.

“For the first time ever we have a situation where people have invested more money in gold and silver ETFs than they have invested in equity mutual funds,” Naren said.

According to him, this surge in flows came at a time when gold and silver prices were already elevated. “People tell me we buy cheap and sell costly. But when were gold and silver costliest? In the last 10 years, it was in January 2026,” he said.

Naren said this trend highlights how investors often respond to recent price movements rather than valuations. When prices rise sharply, inflows tend to accelerate, which runs counter to the principles of value investing. “This shows how people actually act based on price, which is exactly the opposite of value investing,” he said.