Gold Exchange Traded Funds

Gold Exchange Traded Funds are a way of trading Gold in stock exchanges. The advantage is, you need not store a physical gold, rather have the value in papers. Gold ETFs are also termed as paper gold. You could also buy/sell any time with out having to carry gold in physical form. Similar to Shares, you need to have a Demat Account.

Currently, there are 6 Gold ETF companies in India:

1. Gold Benchmark ETF (GOLDBEES.NS)
2. UTI Gold ETF (GOLDSHARE.NS)
3. Kotak Gold ETF (KOTAKGOLD.NS)
4. Reliance Gold ETF (RELGOLD.NS)
5. Quantum Gold ETF (QGOLDHALF.NS)
6. SBI Gold ETF (SBIGETS.NS)

One unit of GETF is about one gram of Gold, however this depends on GETF. Gold ETFs carries additional costs like entry/exit load, brokerage charges etc. One has to look for Expense Ratio while selecting GETFs. Custodian Banks appointed by the mutual fund companies takes care of safely storing the gold bought on behalf of the investors.

Srikanth Ramu

Gold Savings Schemes

If you are dampened by the high gold price but want to invest in Gold Jewelery, then gold savings schemes is for you. Gold Jewelers offer various gold savings schemes where an amount is paid monthly for a fixed period. On maturing, a bonus component is added and Gold ornaments or coins could be bought. I've listed some of the schemes offered by Gold Jewelers:

Scheme 1:

Pay Rs X every month for a period of Y months
At the end of the period, the total amount paid = X * Y
A Bonus component Rs X (one month's installment) is included
A gift article is also offered by some Jewelers

Scheme 2:

Pay Rs X every month for a period of Y months
At the end of the period, the total amount paid = X * Y
For the purchase of Jewels, additional costs like Wastage, Making charges, VAT is discounted

Scheme 3:

Every month for a period, pay for a unit of gold like 1gms or 8 gms etc
At the end of the period, a bonus component of 1 unit is offered

Normally, you would not be allowed to encash inbetween or on maturity. Also, no benefits would be offered if you close your account in between.

Srikanth Ramu