Store money in gold? What do people think?

The precious metal is still considered in Germany. But in relation to such an investment, a new trend has emerged.

6 min readFeb 28, 2021

What is better to invest money: in currency, bonds, stocks? Or maybe gold? The latest research shows that the attitude towards it in Germany and Russia is very ambiguous: only about half of those who have the opportunity to make financial investments at all trust the precious metal more than hard currency. At the same time, the Russian Federation is questioning the FRG by the number of skeptics — and this despite the fact that the Russian authorities have been pursuing a policy of buying gold for many years in order to reduce dependence on the dollar.

Precious metal or hard currency?

The London-based World Gold Council (WGC). Canada. The main conclusion of the experts: interest in gold is high high.
However, the level of trust in it as an investment product depends, on the one hand, on historical and political factors, and on the other, on age, and this is a new trend. According to the results of the WGC survey for Germany and Russia, made available to DW.

There are few more people in Russia who believe that precious metals will not lose their value in the long term than in Germany: 75% versus 61%. At the same time, the share of those who trust more strongly than hard currency, on the contrary, is higher among the inhabitants of Germany: 57% versus 52%.

Generation Z question the value of gold.

Both Germans and Russians lack the emotional connection and affection we see in Asian markets, but they value gold as a defensive asset. This may be due to historical and political factors: the change in the monetary unit in Germany, the Russian government’s belief in gold, not the dollar, “said Alistair Hewitt, director of the market research group at the Gold Council, to DW.

At the same time, the index, both in Russia and in Germany, young people treat precious metals cooler than older age groups. Among Russians of Generation Z (aged 18 to 22), only 41% of the surveyed currencies believe that gold is safer, in Germany this figure is 48%. Young people noted in the study are more likely to doubt the long-term value of this asset.

Millennials (interviewed aged 23 to 38 — Ed.) Do not differ too much from people aged 39+, but within Generation Z we see more significant differences in views, “- said Alistair Hewitt.

Function — protective asset

WGC research shows that the Russian and German markets are similar in terms of investment goals in gold. Both countries have free money, they see in both countries a means of protecting their savings.

In Russia, the share of such buyers is 43%, in Germany — 37%. The second motive is making a profit in the long term (37% and 36%, respectively), in third place is enrichment in a short time (11% in Russia, 12% in Germany).

According to a recent study by Steinbeis University of Berlin, commissioned by the Reisebank, 38% of Germans own gold coins or bullion. Its results confirm that a significant share of Germany sees gold primarily as a safe-haven asset.

Are savings in gold so reliable?

For Russians, judging by the study of the World Gold Council, this approach is even more typical. “This corresponds to a very cautious attitude towards the Russians in general towards investments,” said WGC expert Alistair Hewitt. Many financial analysts are very skeptical about the outlook for gold as a reliable store of value.

The attitude towards gold jewelry is changing

However, globally, two-thirds of retail investors believe that gold is a good defensive currency asset against inflation and fluctuations, according to a WGC study.

Its authors concluded that people still trust gold, but potential buyers who have never purchased this precious metal have some doubts about the authenticity of the product and the reliability of the sellers. Some of the respondents stated that they are afraid of receiving counterfeit products.

WGC experts also analyzed the attitude of residents of three states — China, India and the United States — to the purchase of gold not as an investment product, but a product in the form of jewelry. It turned out that modern fashion segments are also worried about the authenticity of metal and do not always trust sellers.

And here again generational differences in attitude to business appeared. The respondents aged 18 to 22 are less likely to buy gold jewelry: they experience a weaker emotional connection with this metal and doubt that products made from it correspond to the spirit of the times.

Digital Gold

Digital gold is the world’s first digital money to understand the structure of secure settlement through its own innovations in the blockchain, dependent on the improvement of assets like gold.

Digital gold plans to enter the world as the norm for global virtual money by updating the existing monetary system.

Many people recognize the new value created by every person and every organization, and we continually create and design an atmosphere in which to share information with confidence.

Digital Gold tokens are a combination of the best characteristics of the traditional economy, such as gold, with the best characteristics of the digital economy, such as bitcoins and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is a path to greatness because its processes are optimized in a unique, reliable, incorruptible manner and with audits that can be verified by their clients, in addition to the fact that, at the same time, Digital Gold token holders can operate in complete anonymity. in the gold market, this is completely different from what we are used to, since in this way theft and possible attacks on holders of Digital Gold tokens can be avoided, which cannot be said about physical gold, since it is very dangerous to transfer it from one place to another.