Xetra-Gold closes 2020 with holdings of 216.9 tonnes

Europe's largest gold security with physical backing

The gold holdings of the exchange-traded bearer bond Xetra-Gold (ISIN: DE000A0S9GB0) increased to 216.9 tonnes at the end of the year 2020. This is a plus of 13.7 tonnes over the course of the year. At the beginning of 2020, 203.2 tonnes of gold were stored in the central vault for German securities in Frankfurt.

Xetra-Gold holdings always increase when investors buy Xetra-Gold shares via the stock market. Exactly one gram of gold is deposited in the central safe for each share certificate. The assets under custody amounted to 10.7 billion euros at the end of the year. Xetra-Gold is thus the leading physically backed gold security in Europe.

“In 2020, we have once again achieved a record in the holdings of Xetra-Gold. The peak was reached in the summer, driven by the high level of uncertainty as a result of the pandemic,” says Steffen Orben, Managing Director of Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, the issuer of Xetra-Gold. “This has clearly shown that, in uncertain times, investors look for a safe haven that protects their capital from loss of value. In this respect, gold has always been very popular. The development in the past year also shows that gold has established itself as an independent asset class; not only among institutional investors, but also among asset managers, family offices and retail investors,” says Orben.

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 1,479 times. To date, 6.8 tonnes of gold have been delivered.

In September 2015, the German Federal Fiscal Court determined 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.

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.