Akshaya Tritiya 2019: Changing trends of gold buying among Indian buyers

Akshaya Tritiya 2019 is being celebrated today throughout India and people are buying bullion to mark the auspicious occasion. However, there are some changes being noticed among Indian gold buyers as they have started to go for not just physical gold purchases only. They are also indulging in buying gold bonds and gold ETF. 

Speaking on the changing trend among the Indian gold buyers, Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India said, “Globally, bullion led by gold has always been considered a safe investment and in countries with cultural affinity towards the yellow metal, we are seeing a renewal of interest in remaining investment in this asset class. Like all investments gold also witnesses volatility but has remained largely stable with an upward bias for long periods of time. While India is one of the largest consumers of gold, it has usually been in the form of ornaments for retail purpose. However, in recent times, we have seen investors purchase physical gold and bonds and expect the trend to grow further. With the optimistic outlook towards investments in the asset class, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, we expect a number ultra-rich in India to purchase gold both for investment and consumption purpose.”

According to the Attitude Survey conducted by Knight Frank, 14 per cent of Indian ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are likely to increase their investment to the Gold asset class in 2019, 3 per cent higher compared to the year 2018. Globally, 20 per cent of survey respondents said that they are going to increase allocation to Gold in 2019, a higher percentage when compared with 11 per cent saying they have increased allocation in 2018. The positive attitude of UHNWIs towards investments in this asset class has also gone up in Asia with 25 per cent expecting an increase when compared to 19 per cent who cited an increase in allocation in 2019. Knight Frank conducted the survey to map the investment sentiment of UHNWIs towards Gold as an asset class in 2019.

Speaking on the changing trend among bullion buyers Jitendra Solanki, a SEBI registered investment expert said, "On auspicious occasions like Akshaya Tritiya, people buy jewellery and it can't be replaced by Gold ETF or Gold Bonds. However, those who buy gold for investment purposes, they can buy Gold ETF and Gold Bonds like some UHNWIs. However, for consumption purposes, jewellery is still a preferred choice for Indian gold buyers."