Dubai: Contrary to popular belief, not all Indians have eyes only for gold — at least in terms of making healthy returns on money.
While many admit they purchase the precious metal with the intention of giving it as a gift or as way to store wealth, others say their hard-earned dough is better kept in other forms of investment.
Latha Ganes, an expatriate from India, considers gold a dead investment. She said spreading out her money, instead of focusing on gold, was more likely to produce significant yields in the future. "In India, gold is offered to the [bride] at the time of her wedding, as part of the custom. That is the primary reason why people in India [buy] gold. The trend has changed a bit now and people have stopped expecting wealth in the form of gold," she said.
"Limiting our investment in one particular area would be an unwise option, especially during this period of crisis when we are unaware of what kind of investment would pick up and at what time. I would rather invest in [other options like stocks, mutual funds and real estate] to be on the safer side," she added.
Ganes has been purchasing gold since her wedding in 2000. So far, the amount she has spent on jewellery, gold coins and gold bars has topped Dh51,200.
Stronger hedge
However, for Ramachandran Nair, gold remains a stronger hedge against currency volatility. He intends to continue investing in the yellow metal.
"I have invested in mutual funds and in other schemes, but the lesson learned from the past is that gold investments will never be (a source of) regret. Investments in mutual funds and bank schemes are dependent on stock market pricing, which does not produce a guaranteed return for sure," he told Gulf News.
The Indian expatriate admitted that his spending on gold, mostly jewellery pieces, has steadily increased since he got married about 14 years ago. Even when gold prices increased, Nair says he did not stop buying.
Nair is fond of giving gold ornaments to his wife and daughter during special occasions. He says his gold purchases will prove to be useful sometime in the future, especially when his daughter ties the knot.
"My wife is crazy with gold and prefers buying gold ornaments every time she travels to India, at least once a year. In India, parents spend heavily for [the] marriage of their daughter and gold is the highest-priced purchase at this occasion. We don't buy gold bars, but most of our investments are in gold ornaments which I am sure can [be useful] at the time of our daughter's marriage," he said.
Shabab Chinnakkal agreed with Nair, saying he would rather invest in gold than in stocks or mutual funds because the precious metal is less susceptible to market upheavals.
"From a common man's perspective, whenever there is a global economic downfall, the value of gold always tends to climb," he said. However, Chinnakkal admitted that he's never purchased gold for investment purposes.
"Even though I started spending more on gold after I got married, most of [it was on] jewellery. I never bought gold for investment purposes," he said.
