Most investors who buy gold ETFs look at one number: the price on their broker app.
That number tells them almost nothing.
The number that actually matters — the one that tells you whether you are buying gold at fair value, at a premium, or at a genuine discount — is the iNAV. The Indicative Net Asset Value. And the gap between the ETF's trading price and its iNAV is one of the most consistently overlooked signals in Indian gold investing.
At Makro, tracking iNAV discounts across all 42+ gold and silver ETFs listed on NSE is one of our core features — because this is where informed investors find real edge.
What Is iNAV and Why Does It Exist?
A gold ETF is essentially a fund that holds physical gold in vaults — the same kind of vaults tracked in COMEX warehouse reports. Each unit of the ETF represents a specific quantity of gold — typically close to 1 gram, though it varies by scheme. The fund's actual value per unit, based on the current price of the gold it holds, is called the Net Asset Value (NAV).
Here is the complication: gold ETFs trade on NSE like shares throughout the day. Their price moves tick by tick based on buyers and sellers. But the official end-of-day NAV is only calculated after markets close, using closing gold prices.
So during trading hours, how does an investor know what the ETF is actually worth?
That is where iNAV comes in. The iNAV (Indicative NAV) is an intraday estimate of the ETF's fair value, updated frequently throughout the trading day — typically every 15 seconds — based on live gold prices. Think of it as a real-time shadow price of the ETF's underlying gold.
The iNAV answers a simple but powerful question: Right now, is this ETF trading at what its gold is actually worth?
Premium vs Discount — What It Means in Plain Terms
When you compare the ETF's live market price to its iNAV, three situations are possible:
Trading at fair value (market price ≈ iNAV) You are paying roughly what the underlying gold is worth. Normal, efficient market behaviour.
Trading at a premium (market price > iNAV) You are paying more than what the gold inside the ETF is worth. The ETF is more expensive than the metal it represents. This can happen when buying demand is high and market makers have not yet intervened to correct the gap.
Trading at a discount (market price < iNAV) You are paying less than what the gold inside the ETF is worth. This is a genuine opportunity — you are buying ₹100 worth of gold for ₹97, ₹95, or sometimes less, depending on the discount.
Discounts are not permanent. Market makers — authorised participants who can create and redeem ETF units directly with the fund house — will typically arbitrage the gap away once it becomes large enough. But for retail investors who spot the discount first, it represents a real edge.
Want to see what hedge funds are actually doing in gold right now?
View Live CFTC Data →Why Do Premiums and Discounts Happen?
Understanding why a gold ETF trades away from its iNAV helps you read the signal correctly.
Low liquidity ETFs diverge more An ETF with thin daily trading volumes — say, a smaller fund with only a few thousand units traded per day — is more prone to premium/discount gaps. When there are few buyers and sellers, a single large order can push the price meaningfully away from fair value. This is why comparing ETFs by trading volume matters, not just by price.
Market volatility creates temporary gaps During periods of rapid price movement — a sudden MCX gold spike (see why gold prices have been rising), a currency shock, breaking geopolitical news — the ETF's market price can lag or overshoot its iNAV as the market adjusts. These gaps often resolve within minutes or hours, but for an attentive investor, they can represent a short window.
Market maker absence Market makers are obligated to quote two-sided prices and keep ETF prices near iNAV. But in practice, during extreme volatility or thin market hours, their presence can diminish temporarily. When market makers step back, premiums and discounts widen.
SEBI's April 2026 valuation change Starting April 1, 2026, SEBI has mandated that gold and silver ETF valuations switch from LBMA-based international prices to domestic spot prices from Indian exchanges like MCX. This is a significant structural change — it means ETF NAVs will now more directly reflect domestic gold price conditions rather than going through currency conversions. In the near term, this transition may create temporary iNAV calculation differences worth watching.
How to Read the Signal: What Makro Tracks
Makro calculates live iNAV for all 42+ gold and silver ETFs on NSE and shows you the current premium or discount for each fund in real time.
Here is how to interpret what you see on the dashboard:
A discount of 0.1% to 0.5% — within normal range. Not a strong signal either way.
A discount of 0.5% to 1.5% — worth noting. This is where informed investors begin to pay attention. If the ETF has reasonable liquidity and the underlying gold price is stable, this gap will likely close, rewarding buyers.
A discount above 1.5% — meaningful. At this level, you are acquiring gold at a tangible discount to its actual market value. This is the zone Makro highlights as a potential buying opportunity — though always in the context of your overall investment thesis.
A premium of 0.5% or more — a signal to wait. You are overpaying for gold you could buy at fair value by simply waiting for the premium to compress, or by choosing an equivalent ETF trading closer to iNAV.
The real power of this analysis is comparison across ETFs. On any given day, some gold ETFs may trade at a 1.2% discount while others in the same category trade at a 0.3% premium. Same underlying gold, different prices. Knowing which is which, in real time, is exactly the kind of information Makro exists to surface.
Not All Gold ETFs Are Equal: The Expense Ratio Factor
Beyond iNAV discounts, the second number that genuinely affects your returns over time is the expense ratio — the annual fee the fund charges to manage the ETF.
For gold ETFs in India, expense ratios typically range from around 0.20% to 0.70% per year. That gap may sound small, but compounded over years on a meaningful gold allocation, it adds up substantially.
Here is a simplified illustration: on a ₹10 lakh gold ETF investment earning 10% annual returns over 10 years, the difference between a 0.20% and 0.65% expense ratio compounds to roughly ₹45,000–₹55,000 in additional cost — without any difference in performance.
The combination of low expense ratio + buying at iNAV discount is the most cost-efficient way to build a gold ETF position. Makro's ETF comparison shows both metrics side by side for every fund listed on NSE.
The Silver ETF iNAV Situation
Silver ETFs on NSE have shown notably larger iNAV discrepancies than gold ETFs, partly because silver is a smaller, less liquid market and partly because some silver ETFs have lower average trading volumes.
A real example from October 2025 was visible in Zerodha's trading Q&A forums, where investors noticed that SILVERCASE and ICICI Prudential's SILVERIETF were trading at discounts to iNAV while Tata's Silver ETF was simultaneously at a premium — same underlying metal, different prices on the same exchange.
This is not a market failure. It is an information gap. And information gaps are exactly where Makro sits.
SEBI's New Rule: What Changes from April 2026
There is a genuinely important structural change worth understanding before you next invest in a gold or silver ETF.
From April 1, 2026, SEBI has ruled that gold and silver ETF valuations must be based on domestic spot prices from Indian exchanges rather than converted from international LBMA prices. The regulator's intent is to make NAV calculations more transparent and directly aligned with the physical gold market that Indian investors actually trade in.
For investors, SEBI has confirmed there will be no change in the number of units held, no tax event, and no disruption to buying or selling. But the NAV calculation method is changing, which means iNAV figures in the weeks around the transition may behave slightly differently as fund houses adjust their calculation methodologies.
Makro will be tracking this transition closely and updating our iNAV calculations to reflect the new methodology in real time.
The Bottom Line
Buying a gold ETF without checking its iNAV is like buying a kilogram of gold without asking the price per gram. The headline number — the ETF's share price on your broker app — is only half the picture.
The iNAV tells you what that gold is actually worth right now. The difference between the two is either a discount you should consider capturing or a premium you should avoid paying.
Across 42+ gold and silver ETFs on NSE India, these discounts and premiums exist every single trading day — at different magnitudes, for different funds, for different windows of time.
Makro tracks all of them so you do not have to.
Market prices and ETF data referenced in this article reflect conditions as of March 2026. ETF premium and discount levels change throughout each trading day. This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Please consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making investment decisions.