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New Study: 69% of Germans Own Gold

2012 December 16
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by sv
how-do-you-buy-gold-781694

Germany is supposed to be the receiver, essentially, of Europe, as peripheral states go bankrupt and succumb to core imposed austerity measures. But, despite this, and other impediments for bullion buying in Germany, retail investors are buying en masse along this particular anarchic sonderweg. One particular impediment for retail investors are a 19% tax on bullion. In a new study by the Steinbeis Research Center for Financial Services has found that 69% of Germans have invested in gold. Half of these individuals store the precious metals in their homes. 48% keep their precious metals in bank vaults, while 9% leave their metals behind at gold shops.

Germans with a net monthly income over EUD 4,000 who express an interest in precious metals has doubled in 2012.

Per capita, Germans own about 117 grams of gold each, including gold securities the average German owns around EUD 5,750 of gold. As a nation, Germany holds 7% of the world’s gold when the gold holding of the German federal bank are counted.

The study discovered that wealthy Germans prefer to invest in gold bars. Less affluent Germans look to purchase their bullion in the form of coins.

 

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from → Gold

  • TroyOunce999

    I dont know what this misleading “study” is aiming at. Totally wrong for what I witness over here. It may be that a lot of Germans have some gold jewelry but when you start talking about gold as an investment they are as sheeple in Germany as in the US. Hence it is nonsense to speak of 69% invested in gold. And another point: Gold is the only investement left where you do NOT pay VAT and there is no capital gains tax when selling. Any other asset is charged with 25% capital gains tax on the profit/interest. This fact should make clear how underrepresented gold as investment is over here, the government would have closed this window otherwise. There is 7% VAT when you buy silver coins, and 19% VAT only for silver bars, no VAT on gold!

    I personally would guess that a higher percentage of Americans is invested in gold. Look at your gold infrastructure, you have these “pawn shops” everywhere.
    In Germany in contrast, you have just a few PM over-the-counter-dealers in the South, in the North nearly none. You have to travel long distances to make anonymous personal purchases if you live in the Northern or Eastern parts of Germany. The most dealers only operate online.

    And I found that the average Joe is more likely to be invested in gold. The more academic, the more high-earning the greater the belief that everything is fine, no inflation, Euro-crisis solved and so, no need for this odd you-cannot-eat-it-and-it-doesnot-earn-interest-gold.

    Really, you can dismiss this “study”, full scale…

  • jack

    there is a tax on silver but not gold….the % varies throughout Europe, I think it is 7% in Germany (on silver)