Gold vs Stocks – Understanding Their Features & Differences as An Investment

Traditionally, India has enjoyed a very special relationship with Gold – one that goes ‘beyond seeking gold as mere means of investment.’

Culturally and Traditionally, Indians have made the yellow metal to be an essential part of their lives. It has been and will continue to be used for numerous reasons be it for; Ornaments, as Wedding Gifts, or even as Savings for children’s weddings.

Speaking from the Investments standpoint, Indians have for long chosen to invest in physical assets. And Gold was ‘the key’ as it was not only looked at as an investment but it also had some sentiments attached to it. In this article we have discussed the Features, Differences, and Implications w.r.t. Gold vs Stocks Investment types.

Winds of change

As we live in the era of Technological advancement a large number of people are embracing technology on a daily basis, it has impacted the way investments are made today too.

Just like others, Investors now are too gradually shifting to financial assets and digital gold, away from other physical investments. In terms of finance, we call it “Diversification of Portfolio.”

The world of investments can be very confusing. After all, it is one’s hard-earned money. There are a lot of options in the market – different instruments, each with its own unique set of advantages as well as drawbacks. While a regular fixed-deposit account may be considered a safer form of investment, it does not offer great returns. Hence, people turn to investments such as Gold, Stocks, Mutual Funds, etc.

Among all of these, gold is a very simple and straightforward investment option – be it in its physical or digital form, given its past historical record of being highly liquid, gold can easily be bought or sold.

Let us go through the both pros and cons of Gold and Stock to better understand the concept of investing in Gold.

Here are some of the pros and cons of gold vs stocks

Pros

1) Stability and Growth:

Owing to the fact that gold has been a means of investment for ages, investors view it as a safe haven in times of crisis. Stocks, which provide returns based majorly on corporate earnings, Gold takes the advantage of growing economies. Gold with respect to Stocks stays a bit more stable.

However, it is crucial to note that in times of volatility or in the event of a stock market crash, the value of investments can fall drastically too.  Comparatively, this is unlikely in gold, because it is known to have a greater stability.

Gold, apart from being a crucial form of investment, is also a key component in many industries that fuel our world. It is therefore highly unlikely for gold prices to crash tremendously anytime soon.

2) Buy/Sell:

The shift in investment towards financial assets can also be attributed to the many brokerage companies that offer services such as buy/sell stocks, analysis, etc. to consumers. Today, stocks are easily purchased and sold through apps, eliminating the need for pesky middlemen.

Similarly, gold investment has also seen a massive makeover, with many companies offering consumers the ability to invest in digital gold. While it is easy to go to a jewelry store and buy physical gold according to one’s needs, consumers also have the option of buying digital gold online and then avail its delivery.

While gold can be purchased with minimal paperwork, a number of documents and other details are required before one can trade or invest in stocks. As per regulation one has to have a Demat Account, to buy and sell securities while at the same time users don’t need to have a Demat Account for buying and selling Gold, the Gold is kept in a secured digital vault of the Gold providing company hence not only is the paperwork limited but also users get the security of a vault.

When it comes to selling, both Stock and Gold can be sold easily but selling gold can be easier at certain points of time. Gold can be directly sold at the prevailing rate at a jewelry store or in the case of digital gold, sold online, the sale proceeds of which, will be directly deposited in the user’s bank account. Stocks can also be easily sold online. However, this sale can only be done from 9:15 am to 15:30 pm, to sell beyond this timeline the buyers and sellers would have to make and enter into an OTC Trade which again has a lot of restrictions and cannot be easily done. Also while selling stocks, according to the rules of SEBI one does not receive the full amount of investment money, but only a certain percentage of money gets released. While it takes time to complete the entire fund process. The Margin money increases only partially at the time of selling stocks. But during digital gold the payment is done in one go.

3) Other Costs:

In order to create a trading account, most trading platforms/brokers charge a registration fee, apart from an annual maintenance fee. And based on the volume of stocks purchased, a transaction fee may be charged from the user. These days, many online platforms are waiving such fees in a bid to attract new users. In the market terminologies, these brokers are called as ‘Discount Brokers.’

When we think of buying gold, one of the first thoughts that occur are regarding making charges. Making charges are levied by the jeweller on ornaments and other gold products based on the type and level of intricacy of the design. These making charges cannot be recovered by the consumer and are therefore deemed as a loss. However, there are no such charges for buying gold digitally. While buying digital gold the buyer has to pay only a small amount of GST which gets included in the purchase amount.

4) Market Knowledge/Research:

You must have heard the phrase “Mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.” This can apply to stocks as well as one needs to have a basic understanding of the market in order to earn returns on their investments. There is a constant need for tracking and analysis if one needs to maximize their profits via stocks. At certain times stocks fall down against the investor’s expected direction, to counter this move the investor has to average their holdings and take hedges to minimise the loss.

In the case of gold, not much research or in-depth understanding is required. As far as investing or trading in gold is concerned, the buyer/seller can just check the daily value/price of the yellow metal and proceed with the transaction accordingly.

Check out today’s latest Gold Rates here:- https://www.goldlane.in/rate/

The investor has to stick to the trend of the market. The most important thing to note while trading in physical gold is to enquire about the authenticity of the jeweller and the business in order to prevent any sort of forgery to happen.  Buyers also need to be attentive while paying making charges as some jewellers may charge exorbitant rates. A very simple solution to this is to Switch to digital gold.

5) Regular Returns:

A key differentiator which sets stocks a level apart from gold is regular returns on investments. Stocks, unlike gold, offer some form of returns to the investor in the form of interests, and even dividends depending on the type of shares purchased. Gold does not provide any regular returns, nor does it provide any dividend or stock bonuses.

Gold’s value is entire. It does not offer any intermediate returns or benefits and realises its true potential only when it is sold/mortgaged.

6) Flexibility:

One of the limitations of investing in physical gold is that its value can only be measured entirely, particularly if it is an ornament or a gold bar. For example: if a customer wishes to avail some money by selling a gold bangle, they can only sell/mortgage the entire bangle. The bangle usually is not cut into half while selling it, it is always sold in its original form.

This limitation does not apply to digital gold, here investors can sell gold according to their needs. Digital gold can be sold for as little as Rs. 100 and the proceeds are deposited directly into the bank account of the seller.

Stocks, which are held in units, also offer the similar flexibility like digital gold to be sold in smaller units or shares and not the entire holdings. An investor can, for example, sell 10 units of a stock and redeem the value for the same.

Never Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

As the age old saying goes, it is always a risky move to bundle all your investments together. There has been an increase in the level of awareness among consumers who are now looking to diversify their respective portfolios by investing in more than one asset. Gold and financial assets are among the most preferred.

Gold is a relatively safe investment option but does not offer great returns, this can be concerning particularly for smaller investors. Owing to such drawbacks people shift towards financial assets such as stocks. But these too are prone to market volatilities, and they also involve greater risks when compared to gold.

Why is it a bad idea to put all your money into one type of investment?

Let us look at an example.

On March 9, 2020, the stock market crash began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), a stock market index that measures the performance of over 30 stocks listed on the US securities exchange, similar to NIFTY or SENSEX, witnessed the largest plunge in points. This, alongwith two other crashes, were among the worst in United States’ history.

What caused the Dow to drop drastically?

Rise in coronavirus cases and its mortality rate across the globe sparked fears of extended lockdowns, job losses, etc.. This, along with a drop in oil prices and the possibility of a recession in 2020, caused the Dow to drop by 7.79% on March 9.

A couple of days later, on March 12, the Dow dropped by 2,352.60 points or 9.9%.

It was on March 16 that the Dow fell by a record 2,997.10 points, a 12.93% drop. On that day, the Dow closed at 20,188.52 points. The contrasting point to this is that on February 12 the Dow was at its record high of 29,551.42. In a month’s time, the Dow had fallen by 19.3%.

Date	Dow Jones Industrial Average Fall
March 12	2352.6 pts (9.9%)
March 16	3000 pts (13%)
March 18	1280 pts (6%)

Diversification Helps

Out of the blue, a virus had brought the entire global economy down to its knees. And when the markets crashed, investors suffered heavy losses particularly during the brief bear market run from February to March. A key learning from this incident for investors could be to not club all their money into one class of asset.

The 2020 bear market was relatively short-lived and therefore did not cause much unrecoverable damage for top stocks. However, it was strong enough to cause global panic, pushing investors towards other classes of assets.

In such a situation, a person who has invested equally in stocks as well as other classes of assets such as gold is relatively on safer ground.

Gold price rose to an all-time high in mid-2020 as coronavirus-induced economic breakdowns forced investors to rush towards the safer investment option. Transport and supply-chain disruptions also led to an increase in premium on sale of physical gold in some places, thereby reinforcing the belief that gold is almost always the most valued investment in times of crisis.

It is also important for investors to understand that while gold prices can be volatile, the level of fluctuation is very limited as compared to stocks, particularly in turbulent times.

Therefore, it is important for investors to have knowledge of the stocks in the portfolio and they should know how these have historically performed during a low/bear market. When stock prices drop drastically, panicked investors tend to sell their shares in order to prevent further loss. The key to deal with such sudden drops, economists say, is to wait out the turbulent times.

This is where diversification helps. While the investor awaits better days for their stocks, they can remain composed by the belief that there is a safe ground in the form of gold investment.

How To Finally Choose – Gold vs Stocks?

The answer to this question depends largely on the user and the level of risk they are willing to take. As we have discussed in the point above, stocks are best-suited for those who are looking to maximize on returns while also taking a relatively higher level of risk. Stocks can be volatile and require some market understanding in order for the investor to make good profit. But, they also offer periodic returns in the form of interest, dividend payouts, etc. Without a fair understanding of stocks and trading, the investor could very well be walking on a thin double-edged sword.

In the case of gold, it is among the safest forms of investment. The risks involved are low but so are the returns. Gold as an investment is suited for those who don’t wish to take many risks and are not too hopeful of sudden profits. And in today’s times, investment in gold is easier than ever before. Digital gold can be purchased online for as low as Re. 1.

Today, there is a lot of awareness regarding investing as well as choosing the right type of investment. There are many online tools and platforms that can help investors make the right choice. However, one strategy that is commonly agreed upon by investors is for investors to engage in diversification of their portfolio.

With a lot of debate going around about the risks of trading in stocks or the disadvantages of mutual funds, the safest bet is to put the eggs in different baskets. Purchasing gold online is now easier than ever and even available as a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), similar to what many stock and mutual fund agencies/apps offer today. A consumer can smartly invest small amounts of money, distributed equally or depending on the customer’s convenience, into more than one type of asset.

Learn more about the Saving Plans: https://www.goldlane.in/digital_gold_faq/faq_savings_plan.html

So even in the case of extreme market volatilities, there is some cushioning to fall upon.

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