Gold loses glitter among retail investors

Gold prices in the last one year have increased by around Rs. 2,000 or 6 per cent since last ‘Dhanteras’. Despite such an increase in gold prices, it is losing its glitter when it comes to investment by individual investors, atleast reflected in the asset under management of gold ETF. The latest data by Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) shows that the share of retail investors in Gold ETF has declined by 10.82 per cent in the last one year ending September 2018.

Even in absolute terms, it has declined by one-third to Rs. 1,500 crore at the end of September 2018. Last year it was at Rs. 5,147 crore for the month ending September 2017.

The gold prices overall have declined internationally by 6 per cent in the year 2018, however, due to the weakening of rupee, the domestic gold prices have surged. In the same period, investment in equity funds has seen a huge jump. It has increased by 23.3 per cent on yearly basis to Rs. 4,09,985.58 crore at the end of September 2018 from 3,32,319.05 crore at the end of September 2017