INVESTING
Gold or mutual funds: what should I do with the gold I already own?
Most Indian women hold a meaningful share of their net worth in gold they did not choose to buy, cannot easily sell, and have never valued.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Gold held as jewellery is a poor investment and often a reasonable insurance policy. Making charges of 8-25% and the loss on resale mean you rarely recover what was paid. Keep what has meaning, value the rest honestly as part of your net worth, and make new investments in more liquid forms.
Count it before you judge it
The first step is not deciding what to do with it. It is knowing how much there is. A great many women have never valued their gold, which means their own net worth statement is wrong by a large margin in either direction.
Weigh it, note the purity, and value it at the current rate less roughly 10% for the realistic resale discount. That figure belongs on your net worth statement alongside everything else.
Why jewellery is not an investment
Making charges typically run between 8% and 25% and are not recoverable. Sell the piece and you get the metal value minus a deduction, not what the bill said. On a ₹2 lakh purchase, ₹30,000 or more can simply be gone the moment it leaves the shop.
Gold itself has roughly matched inflation over long periods, which is a real function. Gold as jewellery, after making charges and resale losses, usually trails it.
What gold is genuinely good for
It is the asset that works when other things do not. It holds value in a currency crisis, it is accepted everywhere, and in an emergency it can be pledged for a loan within hours at a rate far below what a personal loan would cost. For women without independent income it has historically been the only asset that was unambiguously theirs, and that is not nothing.
A gold loan against existing jewellery is worth knowing about for exactly this reason. Rates are typically well below personal loan rates because the loan is secured, and disbursal is fast.
A working position
Keep what carries meaning and do not rationalise it, because sentiment is a legitimate reason to own something.
Treat the rest as part of your allocation rather than as a separate category. Somewhere around 5-10% of a portfolio in gold is a common view, and many Indian households are far above that without ever having chosen to be.
For anything you add from here, the more liquid forms avoid the making charge problem entirely. Whatever you choose, it should be bought as an allocation decision rather than at a wedding.
General educational information only, not a recommendation about any specific investment.
ONE MOVE THIS WEEK
Weigh and value your gold this month. You cannot plan around an asset you have never counted.
