Investing: The Basics

Gold & Silver as Assets - Pros & Cons

Gold occupies a unique place in Indian household finance — and this guide examines both its genuine strengths (inflation hedge, low correlation with equity during stress, no credit risk, real liquidity) and its often-overlooked costs (no income generation, storage/security costs, jewellery making charges as sunk costs, and long-term underperformance versus equity). We cover the different ways to hold gold — physical, Gold ETFs/Mutual Funds, Sovereign Gold Bonds (now paused for new issuance, per tackl.finance’s asset allocation note), and digital gold (flagged for regulatory caution) — plus silver as a related but distinct asset with a significant industrial-demand component, higher volatility, and ETF/fund access available since around 2022. We close on the sensible role for both: a modest diversifier (often cited around 5–10% of a portfolio), with an honest reminder that many Indian households’ existing jewellery holdings may already fill much of that role.