Amid the global economic downturn and the poor share-market scenario, people are going for the traditional and safer option of investment: gold. They are investing in the yellow metal in a significant volume. With the advantages of gold over any other form of investment — security being the most desired — people are buying gold in all forms, be it coins, biscuits or jewellery, besides exploring new options like Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

In February 2008, a single broker would open almost a hundred demat accounts in a day and refuse as many prospective traders seeking to open an account due to lack of staff. Today, the same broker is not receiving a single request for a demat account.

According to investment experts, gold being the safest option attracts both new and old investors. “Today, everybody is investing in gold. There has been no investment in the stock market for the last three months,” said M L Batra of Angel Broking Ltd.       

Highlighting the various forms of investment in gold, Batra added: “Apart from coins, biscuits and jewellery, the investors are exploring the option of ETFs. Unlike before, we are receiving numerous queries every day on this.”

A gold ETF is a financial instrument like a mutual fund whose value depends on the price of gold. In most cases, the price of one unit of a gold ETF reflects the price of approximately 1 gram of gold. As the price of gold rises, that of the ETF is also expected to rise equally. Most gold ETFs are traded on the National Stock Exchange, so one requires a broker who is its member. There are five gold ETFs in the market at present — Gold BeEs, Kotak Gold, Quantum Gold, Reliance Gold and UTI Gold ETF.

According to those in the jewellery business, the price of gold is expected to rise further. “Investment in gold is the safest option. Whenever there is a disturbance, be it political or economical, the demand and price of gold goes up. Apart from the daily purchase in the form of jewellery, people these days are buying biscuits and coins too,” said Anil Talwar of Talwar Jewellers in Sector 22.    

Even banks have reported a significant increase in the number of customers buying gold coins in the last three months.