NSE to have a trading session for Gold ETF on April 24

 
The National Stock Exchange [NSE] has decided to have an extended  trading session for gold exchange traded funds, after trading concludes in the cash and derivative segments at 3:30 pm, on April 24. While trading can be done on gold ETF’s in the normal market hours from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm, trading in gold ETF’S will resume at 4:30 pm on April 24 and will continue till 8 pm, to give an opportunity to investors to invest in the yellow metal till late in the evening. There will be no transaction charges for trading in Gold ETF’s, on that day.

Trading in the other segments will continue in the normal market hours on Tuesday (April 24).
Akshaya Tritiya is considered an auspicious occasion to buy gold and in the last two years, a lot of trading interest has been observed on that day, in Gold ETF's.
 
The year on year growth in Gold ETF’s on Akshaya Tritiya has been a high 145% from 2010 to 2011, because the gross traded value in Gold ETF’s has gone up from Rs 345 crores to Rs 846 crores in this period. CAGR since 2007 has been even more significant at 189%, for Akshaya Tritiya. ( NSE data) Last year too, the exchange had extended the trading hours for trading in Gold ETF’s.
Gold ETF’s have seen phenomenal growth on NSE, since they were launched in 2007. From a traded value of Rs 1172 crores in 2008-9, the value increased to Rs 11,532 crores in 2011- 12, an 883% growth.
The assets under management in Gold ETF’s have also seen a huge spike over the years. They have gone up from Rs 3765 crore in March 2011 to Rs 7053 crores in Sept 2011 to Rs 9202 crores in December 2011, to Rs 9516 crores in March 2012, which is a 153% increase in just twelve months. (NSE and BSE data)
Gold ETF’s have many advantages for an investor, compared to purchase of physical gold. They offer 99.5 % purity, high transparency, because they are traded on the exchange platform, low costs of trading to the investor and tax benefits because investors don’t have to pay wealth tax, VAT, sales tax or securities transaction tax. An investor can invest in very small amounts and physical delivery is possible for units equivalent to one kilo of gold. Some select AMC’s have started offering physical delivery for units equivalent to just 10 grams of gold.
Some NSE members have also started offering SIP’s on gold ETF’s, making it even more convenient for investors.
Gold ETFs, where returns are linked to the domestic price of physical gold, but spare the investors the trouble of buying and keeping the yellow metal in physical form, have been gaining ground among investors in the past few years. This is also evident from the fact that only one asset management company was offering gold ETF’s in 2007, but today 14 AMC’s are offering the product.