Global investors evaluating gold funds prioritise legal clarity and enforceability over returns: Sachin Sawrikar, Managing Partner at Artha Bharat Investment Managers
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 13 March 2026: GIFT City, India’s only international financial services centre, could emerge as a global hub for institutional gold funds if it combines digital access with strong legal enforceability and regulatory oversight, according to Artha Bharat Investment Managers.
Speaking at the Global Securities Markets Conclave organised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), Sachin Sawrikar, Managing Partner at Artha Bharat Investment Managers IFSC LLP, said global investors evaluating gold funds prioritise legal clarity and enforceability over returns.
Artha Bharat Investment Managers is the first fund house authorised by IFSCA to launch a gold fund from GIFT City and is among the largest fund management entities operating from the international financial centre.
Legal enforceability is the first question investors ask
According to Sawrikar, global investors exploring offshore gold investment structures are primarily concerned about dispute resolution, ownership rights and enforceability of contracts.
"From the investor’s perspective, gold is portfolio insurance, a macro hedge, and a stabilizer during geopolitical stress. Gold is supposed to reduce portfolio risk, so the investment structure itself cannot become a source of new risk," said Sawrikar.
Sawrikar highlighted that global investors evaluating GIFT City gold funds have three core legal concerns: the jurisdiction for dispute adjudication, the speed of enforcement, and whether ownership of the gold backing the fund is clearly ring-fenced. These concerns are amplified when leverage is involved.
“This becomes even more important because a significant portion of offshore gold exposure, especially through private banks, is often leveraged. When leverage comes into play, any ambiguity around legal process, platform stability, or ownership clarity gets amplified.
— Sachin Sawrikar, Managing Partner, Artha Bharat Investment Managers IFSC LLP
He added that investors ultimately want assurance that their ownership remains protected even in extreme scenarios.
"The key question that investors are looking to have answered is, if the platform (fund house) fails tomorrow, does the investor still clearly own the gold?"
Digital access must be backed by strong legal structure
Sawrikar acknowledged that technology has transformed gold access — enabling fractionalization, tokenisation, and seamless integration into wealth platforms. However, he cautioned that technology does not replace legal enforceability."Institutional capital scales when there is predictability, structural clarity, and confidence that rights can be enforced. Digitally delivered, physically backed, regulator-supervised gold with clear legal enforceability can help GIFT City establish itself as a global hub for gold funds," he added.
To differentiate itself globally, GIFT IFSC must ensure separation of roles, fully allocated physical backing, bankruptcy-remote fund structures, independent custody, and strong capital adequacy norms.Digital gold
Artha Bharat also sounded a cautionary note on digital gold platforms. While digital gold can play a role in tactical portfolio allocations, it needs to be fully allocated, independently custodied and regulator-supervised to gain institutional trust.
Opportunity to set a global benchmark
Sawrikar said the combination of innovation and regulatory clarity could position GIFT City as a global benchmark for gold investment platforms.
"Innovation attracts attention, but legal certainty and structural clarity attract leveraged institutional capital. If GIFT combines digital efficiency with that level of legal enforceability, it can set a global benchmark in gold investment," said Sawrikar.
Sawrikar concluded that GIFT IFSC has the opportunity to set a global benchmark, and through its Physical Gold Fund, Artha Bharat aims to help build an ecosystem of digitally delivered, fully backed, regulator-supervised fund structures that appeal to the global investor community.
