Buying gold jewellery during the festive season is an age-old tradition among Indian households, serving as both an indulgence and investment. Of late, many investors have shifted towards the digital form of gold, realising its benefits over holding jewellery or other physical forms of yellow metal.
Here's a list of the digital forms of gold that investors may consider this festive season:
Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs)
A safe way to invest in gold is
Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) especially for those with a long investment window of 5-8 years. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issues SGBs multiple times in a year and fixes a price for each issuance. Users can also buy or sell SGBs in the secondary market.
“These are safe as they are issued by the government and the returns are proportional to the returns on gold. They also have an additional fixed interest rate of 2.5 percent per annum. The gains from the gold bonds are also tax-free. This makes it very similar to holding physical gold with a 2.5 percent a year bonus,” Adhil Shetty, CEO at Bankbazaar.com told CNBC-TV18.
On the flip side, Shetty said that SGBs have a lock-in period of 5 years and one can use the exit option only from the fifth, sixth and seventh years on the interest payment dates. Alternatively, if investors need to exit before 5 years, they will have to sell the SGB on the stock exchanges.
“The RBI usually announces tranche around Dussehra-Diwali, and one can invest then,” Shetty said.
Gold ETFs
Investors looking for a more liquid option can consider Gold ETFs, said Shetty. Gold ETFs allow individuals to invest in gold in a dematerialised format, which can be bought and sold on the stock exchange just like shares.
The unit price of any ETF is typically linked to the price of one gram of 24k gold. These provide returns proportional to the returns on gold and are good options if the investment window is shorter.
Gold mutual funds
Individuals can also invest in Gold Mutual Funds. Many Mutual Fund houses closely track the value of gold and have gold-backed mutual funds that users can invest in via SIPs.
"This makes it very rewarding to invest. Units of gold funds can be redeemed by selling them back to the fund house based on the NAV for the day," Shetty told CNBC-TV18.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
