Half-year report: Xetra-Gold achieves new record for gold holdings and assets under custody

Growth of around 13 tonnes year-to-date / Europe's largest gold security with physical deposit

The gold holdings of the exchange-traded Xetra-Gold bearer bond (ISIN: DE000A0S9GB0) rose to a new record of 194.3 tonnes as of 30 June. This is an increase of around 13 tonnes over the course of the year. At the turn of the year, 181.5 tonnes of gold were stored in the central vault for German securities in Frankfurt. This makes Xetra-Gold the leading physically deposited gold security in Europe.

Gold holdings increase whenever investors buy Xetra-Gold shares via the stock exchange. Exactly one gram of gold is deposited in the central vault for each unit certificate. After the recent strong increase in the gold price, the assets managed by Xetra-Gold currently amount to 7.7 billion euros - which is also a new all-time high.

"The first half-year was very satisfactory, both the gold holdings and the assets under custody of Xetra-Gold reached a new record value", says Steffen Orben, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, the issuer of Xetra-Gold. "The development over the past years show that gold has developed into an independent asset class in the portfolio. Stock markets are currently reaching new highs, so investors are following suit with their gold shares in the portfolio. Studies show that about five percent gold in the portfolio is considered a sensible addition in times of crisis".

According to Orben, the uncertainty on the capital markets remains despite the price rises on the stock markets, which is why gold remains interesting for investors. "In addition, more and more asset managers, family offices and private investors are showing interest in gold as a separate asset class," Orben continues.

Xetra-Gold investors have claim to the delivery of the securitised physical gold. Since the introduction of Xetra-Gold in 2007, investors have made use of it 1,033 times. A total of 5.05 tonnes of gold were delivered.

Of all the commodities (Exchange Traded Commodities, ETC) traded on the German Xetra market, Xetra-Gold is the security with the highest turnover. In the first half of 2019, order book turnover amounted to €1.53 billion.

In September 2015, the German Federal Fiscal Court announced that gains from the sale or redemption of Xetra-Gold after a minimum holding period of one year would not be subject to withholding tax. Thus, the purchase and redemption or selling of Xetra-Gold is to be assessed for tax purposes as a direct purchase and sale of physical gold – such as gold bars or gold coins.