Key Highlights
- Price rally in Q3 2024, following cut in US interest rate
- Turkiye leads with 19 gold funds
- Africa region charted largest percentage growth in AuM value
Overview
During Q3 2024, the average spot gold price on global markets grew from US$2,336 per troy ounce at the end of Q2 2024 and rose to US$2,470 in August 2024, as reported by the World Bank. The rally continued after the US cut interest rates in late September, by 50bps, propelling the bullion to break the US$2,600 mark.
With the US rate cuts expected to stimulate economic growth and support demand in global trades, investor focus has since shifted to the biggest gold buyers of China and India.
China was the single biggest gold buyer in 2023 due to geopolitical tensions and Indian investors showed interest in gold ETFs, with this latter attention due to the cut in gold import duty and also capital gain tax. But China experienced weak demand in Q2 2024 and the absence of broader domestic economic stimulus measures contributed to a downward trend in metal prices. Hence, the Asia Pacific region overall saw a fall in assets under management (AuM) by 3.56%.
The IFN Investor Fund Database identified 26 Islamic commodities funds across six jurisdictions. These funds are heavily invested in precious metals, especially gold, which is favored for mutual fund investments. Gold mutual funds allow for investment in gold without the need to physically possess it, offering advantages like diversification and liquidity, though they also encounter challenges such as regulatory uncertainties and price fluctuations.
Turkey leads the Islamic commodities asset class with 19 funds totaling approximately US$5.99 billion. The largest of these is the Turkey Life and Retirement Gold Participation Retirement Investment Fund, managed by Türkiye Hayat ve Emeklilik, which focuses on gold assets. As of the 30th September 2024, the fund’s assets under management were valued at US$2.89 billion.
Chart 1: Largest Islamic commodities fund markets by AuM

Source: IFN Investor Funds Database
The UK ranks second with US$946.25 million, led by The Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC fund. Malaysia follows with the TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker ETF, which has US$23.4 million in assets.
Egypt has one fund, AZ-Gold by Azimut Egypt Asset Management, totaling US$17.05 million. Saudi Arabia has two funds with a combined total of US$10.15 million. Pakistan rounds out the list with two funds managed by Al Meezan Investment Management, amounting to US$9.6 million.
Chart 2: Islamic commodities fund types

Source: IFN Investor Funds Database
AuM growth
In Q3 2024, Islamic commodities funds in Africa experienced the greatest growth in AuM at 11.97%, followed by Middle East with a 7.18% increase. The values of Islamic commodities funds in Asia Pacific region fell by 3.56%.
- Asia Pacific: Down 3.56% from US$34.22 million to US$33 million.
- Europe: Tracked extra 19 funds from Turkiye, AuM increase from US$873.24 million to US$6.95 billion
- Middle East: Up 7.18% from US$9.47 million to US$10.15 million
- Africa: Up 11.97% from US$15.23 million to US$17.05 million
The Americas do not have any Islamic commodities funds at the time of writing.
Table 1: Top performing Islamic commodities funds by region in Q3 2024
Region | Fund | Fund manager | Three-month returns (%) |
Asia Pacific | AXA Life and Retirement Gold Participation Retirement Investment Fund | AXA Hayat ve Emeklilik | 26.02 |
Europe | Meezan Gold Fund | Al Meezan Investment Management | 10.13 |
Middle East | Albilad Gold ETF | Albilad Capital | 6.87 |
Source: IFN Investor Funds Database
Outlook
At the time of writing, gold price is hovering at the US$2,600 level. China and India are amongst the main engines driving gold prices, with China notably being the single biggest gold buyer in 2023 due to geopolitical tensions. Indian investors had shown growing interest in gold ETFs, with demand surging from the cut in gold import duty and capital gain tax.
As we are inching closer to 2025, investors seemed to have shifted appetite by venturing into other classes of riskier assets, with better than historical return – as seen in IFN’s Investor Fund Database’s quarter over quarter comparison. However, geopolitical tension remains, and the importance of precious metals as a diversification and hedging tool remains in the playbook for investment managers.