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Gold Exchange Traded Funds

Gold Exchange Traded Funds
Source: Indian Express

GS III: Indian Economy

What is discussed under Gold Exchange Traded Funds?

  1. What are gold exchange traded funds?
  2. What are the benefits of a gold ETF?
  3. What are the reasons for the outflow?

Why in News?
  • As part of portfolio rebalancing strategy, investors pulled money out of gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in July 2022, resulting in a net outflow of Rs 457 crore.
  • Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) data showed that this was in comparison to a net inflow of Rs 135 crore in June 2022.
What Are Gold Exchange Traded Funds?

    • A gold exchange-traded fund (Gold ETF) is a passive investment fund that aims to track the price of physical gold.
    • Each unit of a gold ETF represents one gram of gold as the fund invests in physical gold and investors get the units in dematerialised form.

      Image by istara from Pixabay

    • Since it is an ETF, investors can buy or sell units on the exchange platform just like any equity instrument because the units are listed on stock markets.
    • An investor who sells a gold ETF unit will receive the cash equivalent rather than physical gold.
    • Investment in gold ETFs typically costs less than investment in gold in physical form.
    • Gold ETFs purchase 99.5% pure physical gold to back their investments.
    • According to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), this actual gold is kept in vaults with the custodian bank and evaluated on a regular basis.
What Are the Benefits of a Gold ETF?

    • No need of worrying about gold purity, pricing transparency, charging, storage, and theft.
    • Lower expenses as compared to physical gold investments.
    • It is a liquid investment that is always available for sale on the exchanges.
    • Certain mutual funds offer the option of redeeming with actual gold.
    • It has several tax advantages because all income is classified as long-term capital gains.
    • There are no additional levies, such as wealth taxes.
What Are the Reasons for the Outflow?

    • Investors foresee a decrease in gold prices as a result of an increase in interest rates.
    • The drop in the price of gold had an effect on the net inflows into gold ETFs.
    • The falling rupee is another factor that has likely had an impact on the dynamics of gold supply and demand.
    • With gold ETFs reporting large outflows as a result of declining gold prices, it has also been noticed internationally.
Exchange Traded Fund
    • An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a collection of securities that trade like stocks on an exchange.
    • ETF share prices change during the day due to buying and selling.
    • Government bonds, corporate bonds, state and local bonds, and other types of bonds, referred to as municipal bonds, can all be included in bond ETFs.

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