Nearly 52 per cent of investors already owned some form of gold with 48 per cent having invested in the 12 months preceding the survey. Gold jewellery and gold coins remained two of the top five investments held by Indian investors across the board -- a position that has been a permanent fixture for some years.
India's gold market is one of the largest and most well-established in the world, augmented by the nation's traditional affinity and age-old cultural associations with gold, said the report released on Thursday.
This is further substantiated as gold also occupies a prominent role in investment portfolios. The investment case for gold is ingrained in India, protecting wealth and generating long-term returns for rural and urban investors alike.
Somasundaram P R, Managing Director for India at the World Gold Council, said India's retail investment landscape is evolving, underpinned by government-led financial inclusion programmes, the surge of fintech and increasing investor knowledge.
"This clearly affects the gold industry. Businesses are constantly striving to leverage technology to make gold more accessible to retail investors," he said.
Somasundaram said gold currently has a deeper penetration among urban investors with 76 per cent of them have invested in gold in the past. And 21 per cent are open to buying gold in the future, having never previously invested.
On the contrary, 37 per cent of rural investors will consider buying gold in the future despite never having done so before. While these rural gold considerers offer a lower value opportunity than their urban counterparts, they offer significant growth potential.
There is a common need for simplicity and reassurance. There are shared attributes between rural and urban investors, key among which is a desire for simplicity and reassurance from their investments.
"The gold industry is well poised to capitalise on this need by highlighting gold's relevant attributes to unlock a portion of this latent demand," said the report.
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