Xetra-Gold exceeds 10 billion euros mark in assets under custody

Rising gold price and high demand set new record / Europe's leading gold ETC with physical backing

The assets under custody of Xetra-Gold (ISIN: DE000A0S9GB0) exceeded the 10 billion Euro mark for the first time. The physical holdings of the Gold ETC, which are deposited in the central vault for German securities in Frankfurt, are currently 209.98 tonnes. This means an increase of 6.39 tonnes since the beginning of the year.

“The new record corresponds to the increased gold price, but also to a very strong demand”, explains Steffen Orben, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, the issuer of Xetra-Gold. “With the continuing uncertainty and significant rises on the stock markets, institutional as well as private investors have increased their gold holdings for hedging purposes. According to various studies, five to ten percent of gold is reasonable as an admixture to the portfolio,” says Orben.

With assets under management of €10.20 billion, Xetra-Gold is the leading gold-backed security in Europe. Gold holdings always increase when investors buy Xetra-Gold shares via the stock market. Exactly one gram of gold is deposited in the central vault for each share certificate.

With gold ETCs, investors benefit in particular from the low trading costs via the stock exchange. The bid-ask spread of Xetra-Gold is just a few cents. "The flexible exchange trading of gold-backed ETCs is a decisive advantage compared to owning physical gold. Even small quantities can be purchased at wholesale prices," says Orben.

Xetra Gold investors are also entitled to the delivery of the physical gold. Since the introduction of Xetra-Gold in 2007, investors have made use of it 1,075 times. A total of 5.17 tons of gold have been delivered.

End of last year, Xetra-Gold was successfully launched in the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The first broker to offer Xetra-Gold is Nordnet. Further brokers will follow soon.

In September 2015, the 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 sale are thus to be assessed for tax purposes as a direct purchase and sale of physical gold - i.e. as gold bars or gold coins, for example.