Featured Report
Gold's role in a changing Japanese macro environment
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) waved goodbye to its negative interest rate policy on 18 March 2024, lifting its interest rate to a range of zero to 0.1%, the first rate hike since 2007.
Identifying opportunities for gold among Japanese insurers
While gold investments have been gaining popularity among Japanese households, both life, and property and casualty (P&C) insurers have made limited gold investments, despite the sheer size of the Japanese insurance market in terms of premiums and assets.
The Super Retirement Approach
Over two thirds (69%) of Australians with a superannuation fund (“Super”) feel optimistic about their future, though almost half (44%) acknowledge that they might need to make sacrifices to meet their desired retirement lifestyle. These were some of the findings of a survey commissioned by World Gold Council (WGC) to gain greater insight of Australians’ approach to, understanding of, and sentiment towards, financial planning for retirement.
Why gold in 2024? Safeguarding Indian portfolios
Upbeat growth prospects for the global economy, led by the US are cause for optimism in the financial markets. However, challenges and risks prevail. As such, we believe that investors should look closely at the benefits gold can bring to their portfolios.
China's Gold Market in 2023: Demand improved and premiums rose
In 2023, China’s wholesale gold demand improved and the PBoC’s gold reserves kept rising. Meanwhile, the local gold price premium saw a sizable increase.
Market Research: UK Spotlight on pension holders
We surveyed 1,000 people in the UK to learn about retirement planning and, importantly, if gold could play a greater role in UK pensions. The results point towards a clear growth opportunity for gold ownership in the pension space.
Gold Outlook 2024
As we look forward to 2024, we explore three economic scenarios and their likely impact on gold. Historically, gold has had a flat performance during consensus-favoured ‘soft landings’; however, geopolitical risks, central bank buying and the spectre of a recession may provide additional support for gold.
Gold Demand Trends Q3 2023
Central banks gold buying maintained a historic pace but fell short of the Q3’22 record. Jewellery demand softened slightly in the face of high gold prices, while the investment picture was mixed.
Investment Update: The Case for Gold in UK DB Pension Schemes
With the rapid growth in funding ratios over the past two years, an increasing number of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have been contemplating their investment approach for the endgame – the point at which a plan moves from being underfunded to being fully funded or even having a surplus. This transition has a number of investment implications. In this paper, we examine how pension schemes can seek to maintain the ground they’ve gained over the recent past, as one of the driving forces behind the rise in interest rates and improved funding status – inflation – has become a source of asset price volatility.
2023 Chinese jewellery market insights: Gold continues to lead the market
As Chinese jewellery retailers shook off the pandemic, many strode into 2023 with strong expectations. But the recovery has been bumpy. In the face of economic uncertainties and the record-level renminbi (RMB) gold price, understanding current trends and future possibilities is fundamental to jewellers’ businesses.
