Half-year report: Xetra-Gold holdings rise to 242 tonnes

Increase of 5 tonnes since the beginning of the year / 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 242 tonnes as of 30 June. At the turn of the year, the volume was still at 237 tonnes of gold, which corresponds to an increase of 5 tonnes since the beginning of the year. Xetra-Gold is thus the leading physically deposited gold security in Europe.

Gold holdings increase whenever investors buy Xetra-Gold shares via the stock exchange. Each share certificate equals exactly one gram of gold. Xetra-Gold's assets under management also reached a new high of €13.5 billion.

"The first half of the year was characterized by high inflation rates and geopolitical tensions. Especially in times of great uncertainty, investors are looking for safe havens. Gold proves to be extremely stable with its stabilizing and diversifying function in the investor portfolio. According to studies, five to ten percent gold makes sense as an admixture in the portfolio," says Steffen Orben, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, the issuer of Xetra-Gold. "Uncertainty in the markets will remain for the time being, so we continue to expect growing interest in gold."

Xetra-Gold investors are entitled to delivery of the securitised physical gold. Since the introduction of Xetra-Gold in 2007, investors have made use of it 1,681 times. To date, 7.4 tonnes of gold have been delivered.

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. The purchase and redemption or selling of Xetra-Gold is thus to be assessed for tax purposes as a direct purchase and sale of physical gold – such as gold bars or gold coins.

Xetra-Gold is issued by Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, a joint venture of Deutsche Börse AG and Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG, DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. KGaA and Vontobel Beteiligungen AG. Umicore AG & Co. KG, a group subsidiary of Umicore S.A., is also involved.