Research Outline

Consumer Insights: Gold Investing, Thailand

Goals

To understand the needs, drivers, and attitudes of gold investors in Thailand, reasons that personal investors choose gold, and the decision-making process of investing in gold. To understand how digitization is affecting investors, especially millennials, and whether millennials are moving away from the tradition of investing in gold.

Early Findings

General Investing

  • Assets Under Management by holding in Thailand:
    • Mutual funds: 37% (58% fixed income fund; 21% equity fund; 8% mixed fund; and 13% alternative fund)
    • Deposits: 25%
    • Insurance: 22%
    • Provident funds: 8%
    • Private funds: 8%
  • "Fixed income products are more common for investors in Thailand than they are in other countries. Because of sustained low interest rates, money market funds have become a favored substitute for traditional savings accounts."

Millennial HNWIs

  • 71% Millennials HNWIs, typically entrepreneurs, "prioritize wealth creation over wealth preservation."
  • The millennial HNWI "relies primarily on family and friends when it comes to making investment decisions."
  • The millennial HNWI is digitally savvy and "digital financial services are relatively more important to her" than other HNWIs.

Gold

  • "Holding gold in Thailand is a traditional way of keeping savings. The main reason Thais buy gold though is as an investment."
  • "Locals use physical gold as an investment and as well as ornament, and the metal is a popular gift for newborns and for weddings. Gold in Thailand is also seen as being something you should own if you want good luck."
  • "In Thailand, the standard fineness of gold is 96.5% purity, commonly referred to as 23K, often bought in the form of jewelry, gold bars or coins."
  • "Gold is one of the most popular choices for low-risk investment with a constant yield" as it never loses value and has a relatively stable price compared to other commodities and equities.