Best Gold Investment Account

A gold investment account is an account that allows you to invest in gold commodity without the need to keep physical gold. At present, only certain banks in Malaysia offer such an account.

• How Do You Invest In Gold Using A Gold Investment Account?

  With a gold investment account, you can engage in the purchase of gold based on the bank’s prevailing selling price, as well as, the selling of gold based on the bank’s prevailing buying price. The difference between the bank’s buying price and selling price is your profit or loss.

  For example, if you bought one gram of gold at a selling rate of RM130 per gram, then sold the gold at a buying rate of RM140 per gram; your profit from this particular investment is RM140 – RM130 = RM10.

• Who Can Apply For A Gold Investment Account?

  In Malaysia, anyone can apply for a gold investment account, as long as you meet the minimum age requirement (usually 18 years and above) and have sufficient funds to meet the minimum initial purchase required to open a gold investment account. Some banks also require you to have an existing savings or current account in order to facilitate the actual buying and selling of gold.

• Does A Gold Investment Account Generate Interest?

  No, gold investment accounts generally do not have an interest payout. Your gain from a gold investment account is chiefly dependant on the fluctuations of the value of the gold itself.

• Are Gold Investment Accounts Protected By The Authorities?

  At current, gold investment accounts in Malaysia are NOT protected by Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM), a free insurance which protects deposits of up to RM250,000 per depositor per bank. The PIDM’s deposit insurance only offers protection for deposit-type accounts, such as savings account, current account, fixed deposit account and Islamic deposit account, to name a few. More information about PIDM can be found here.

• Are Gold Investments Risky?

  Gold is widely considered to be the best possible hedge against inflation, but gold investment is not without its risks. Before you begin investing in gold, understand that gold investment is exposed to market forces and volatility and is subject to gold price fluctuation, which makes returns from such investment uncertain. Just as you might enjoy immense gain under favourable market conditions, you may also sustain substantial losses if market conditions move against your favour.

• Comparing And Choosing The Best Gold Investment Account

  Just like any other banking product, compare different providers to get a gold investment account that meets your needs and comes with the best rates/ prices. To find a suitable gold investment account, simply browse through our gold investment accounts comparison table above, which shows you vital information, such as the minimum initial purchase, the buy-sell spread and the fees and charges of all major gold investment accounts in Malaysia.

• Common Terms Of Gold Investment Accounts

  Minimum initial purchase:

  This is the minimum amount of gold you need to invest in in order to start a gold investment account. Depending on the bank and the account type (i.e. conventional or premier), this can be as little as one gram all the way up to one kilogram.

  Minimum balance:

  This is the minimum amount of gold you need to maintain in your gold investment account at all time.

  Minimum subsequent purchase/sale:

  This is the minimum amount of gold that must be involved in the transaction when you buy/sell gold via your gold investment account. In Malaysia, some banks allow you to buy/sell in multiple of one gram, while others allow you to buy/sell only in multiple of five grams. A premier gold investment account may even allow you to buy/sell only in multiple of one kilogram.

  Buy-sell spread:

  This is the difference between a bank’s selling price and buying price for a gold investment account. As an example: say a bank sells gold commodity at RM140 and buys it back at RM130, the buy-sell spread is RM140 – RM130 = RM10. Generally, the smaller the buy-sell spread, the better for investors.

• Common Fees & Charges

  Different banks have different policies when it comes to fees and charges related to a gold investment account. When opening one, these are some of the ones you should take note of:

  Physical withdrawal fee:

  This is a fee that is charged should you wish to make a physical gold withdrawal from your gold investment account.

  Annual service fee:

  This is a fee that is charged on an annual basis should the balance in your gold investment account falls below a predetermined amount.

  Stamp duty:

  This is a fixed amount you need to pay for your gold investment account agreement. Currently, it is at RM10.

  Replacement fee:

  This is a fee you pay to replace a lost or damaged account passbook. In Malaysia, the common amount is RM15 – RM20.