Financial gold, not jewellery, counts as investment: Radhika Gupta

Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, has drawn a sharp line between gold jewellery and financial gold as an investment. In interviews with businesstoday.in and NDTV Profit, Gupta said women should separate buying gold for personal use from buying it for their portfolio. Jewellery carries making charges, storage costs and security concerns, and is rarely sold when cash is needed urgently, she argued.

Gupta recommended buying financial gold, through gold funds or ETFs, instead of physical gold. She used the 'Indian thali' analogy to say gold should be only one part of a diversified portfolio alongside equities and debt. Gupta also stressed liquidity: she recalled her mother-in-law valuing mutual funds for the 'dignity of money', the ability to access funds during a crisis without depending on a bank manager or waiting for a policy to mature.

NDTV Profit's separate report noted that global fund managers, Indian retail investors and households pledging jewellery for loans are all betting on gold for different reasons. Gupta's core message remains that an asset may hold value or carry emotional significance without being a useful financial investment. The key test, she said, is whether the asset earns returns, over what time, and how easily the wealth can be accessed.