new delhi: Markets regulator Sebi is considering a review of the valuation methodology for physical gold and silver held by mutual funds through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to ensure greater consistency and better alignment with prevailing domestic market prices.
In this regard, Sebi has proposed that AMCs should use spot prices published by domestic commodity exchanges to value gold and silver, replacing the current practice of using LBMA prices, according to its consultation paper on Wednesday.
It is also looking to identify a uniform domestic benchmark and make the detailed polling mechanism for spot price determination publicly available.
Currently, gold held by any gold ETF scheme is required to be valued at the AM fixing price of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) in US dollars per troy ounce for gold having a fineness of 995.0 parts per thousand.
Similarly, silver held by a silver ETF scheme is valued at the AM fixing price of the LBMA in US dollars per troy ounce for silver having a fineness of 999.0 parts per thousand.
While the physical gold and silver held by gold and silver ETFs are valued based on the LBMA price after necessary conversions, the Exchange Traded Commodity Derivatives (ETCDs) on gold and silver held by mutual fund schemes are valued using the closing price of futures on the respective domestic commodity exchanges.
This variation in valuation methods for the same underlying asset has highlighted the need for standardisation.