Is Gold Better For Savings Instead Of Cash?
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People like to turn to gold as savings when times are tough. Is this a good idea? After all, buying and keeping gold jewelry for a rainy day is widely practised in Malaysia. In this day and age, it’s much easier to invest in gold as a form of savings. If you’re looking for something that has low risk as a form of wealth protection from a turbulent economy, gold is your answer. Meanwhile seasoned investors can make use of modern banking facilities to buy, store and convert gold safely.
Why gold instead of cash?
The main challenge you face when trying to save money is that inflation exists. Over time, the buying power of your currency decreases – a cup of teh tarik used to cost RM0.20 in the 80s, but you can now expect to pay RM1.50 for the same drink. While inflation is an important factor for economic growth, too much can cause prices of household goods to skyrocket. When this happens, what you can buy with your savings decreases – which means that the value of the money you put in savings has dropped just because it was sitting in your savings account.
| Consumer Price Index (Inflation rate) | Gold value returns | |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2.4% | 13% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | 9.7% |
| 2020 | -1.8% | 23% |
*Consumer Price Index (CPI) source: Bank Negara Malaysia
As the table above shows, the annual returns on gold significantly beat the annual inflation rate. Especially when the economy shows signs of slowing down, as seen by the dip in the CPI throughout 2020.
Gold as an investment
Gold is seen as a good alternative to savings during economic uncertainties, as investors tend to reduce positions in higher-risk investments such as stocks. 
Source: Goldprice.org — as at May 25, 2021.
Over the past 20 years, gold price has increased 6-fold compared to 2-fold capital appreciation in real estate. Imagine how much you would have profited had you invested then! Benefits of gold investment:
- Stable investment returns in the long run
- Safe asset during volatile times
- Diversifies the risk in your portfolio
With Maybank Islamic Gold Account- (MIGA-i), you can buy and sell gold without actually having to handle it physically. It’s all done by the bank, which speeds up any transactions you might want to conduct.
Getting started with gold
With the Shariah-compliant Maybank Islamic Gold Account-i, get started easily via Maybank2u in just a few steps and enjoy these benefits of a gold-backed account:
- Low cost of entry. Start investing with as little as RM10 per transaction.
- Online account opening. Open an account from the comfort and security of your own home. There’s no need to set foot in any bank branch if you already have Maybank2u!
- Convert to physical gold. Your gold balance in MIGA-i can be converted and withdrawn as a physical bar (minimum 1 gram), at your request. You can choose to give it as a present to your loved ones, or gift gold instead of Duit Raya / Ang Paos!
- Have the physical minted gold bar delivered to your home, through courier or special delivery services. You can also choose to sell back the same physical gold to the bank!
- Transfer gold online to another MIGA-i holder. Give gold to your loved ones anytime in just a few clicks – yeap, you can transfer gold instead of money so make it special!
- Gold accredited by the London Bullion Market Association. Bullion sold by MIGA-i has a purity rating of 999.9 – the highest possible quality for pure gold.
- Set Future Orders to buy & sell gold at your preferred price – yes, even in your sleep, the MIGA-i works for you because you can setup standing orders to automatically buy and sell gold when it hits your preferred price within 30 days (period).
Did you know?
MIGA-i is the first in the market to offer these services for your gold investment:
- Real-time market price. This means better visibility on gold price when you buy, sell and transfer gold conveniently, online.
- Profit notification. If you have 100 grams or above worth of gold balance in your MIGA-i, you will receive an automatic SMS notification when your investment reaches a minimum 10% profit from your average purchase price. Keep track of your gold portfolio without constant checking to realise profits with ease.
As at June 11, 2021, MIGA-i is offering the lowest spread compared to four other banks who provide similar accounts. This spread refers to the difference between the buying and selling price of gold. A lower spread means that there is a smaller difference, which means that you can profit more from price increases.
Take advantage of MIGA-i
Let’s say today’s gold price is RM250 per gram and you wish to make a 5% profit. You can set up a Future Order to buy at a price of RM242.50 or at -3% from the current price. At the point of purchase you can also set a Future Order to sell at RM255.00 or at +2%. That means you would have made a profit of 5% if the gold price matches both your Future Orders. MIGA-i effectively tracks prices, buying and selling gold if it hits your preferred prices, allowing you to place multiple Future Orders to take advantage of fluctuations in gold price. This way, you won’t have to track the prices yourself if you’re too busy.
*For illustrative purposes only
You can even receive free gold if you invest during the current referral campaign period! Maybank Islamic is offering RM100,000 worth of free gold on a first come first served basis. Sign up here with Referral code: MIGAM2U to gain 0.01 gram of gold when you invest a minimum of RM100.
Your own referral code will be generated upon sign up, which you may use to refer to your friends and family. For every friend who opens MIGA-i and places an initial investment of minimum RM100, both you and your friend will also get 0.01 gram of gold for every successful referral.
The more you refer, the more gold you could earn.
Open a MIGA-i now in four simple steps on Maybank2u. If you don’t have Maybank2u, make an appointment on EzyQ to visit a Maybank/Maybank Islamic branch near you. Forget silver linings when times are tough, gold is what you want.
