In 2018, the World Gold Council, in cooperation with YouGov, surveyed 22 central banks to better understand how they manage their gold reserves. Of the central banks surveyed, 18 held gold as part of their reserves.
Central banks invest in gold for many reasons. There are well known reasons such as gold’s role as a safe haven asset and an effective portfolio diversifier. But the survey results also reveal that there are other important reasons relevant to central banks, such as gold’s ability to improve risk-adjusted returns and its use as valuable collateral – both of which were viewed as relevant by 71% of central banks.
