MF Companies Keen Realty ETF

Mumbai/ Ahmedabad: The Indian mutual fund companies are not only dazzled by the glitter of gold but also by the shine of an estimated Rs 1,30,000-crore worth realty sector. So far, two mutualf fund companies have unveiled their Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and many more companies, including Lotus India AMC are mulling to launch their gold ETFs within a few months. These companies are also awaiting the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) guidelines on real estate ETF. Country's second Gold ETF after Benchmark AMC's Gold ETF called 'Gold BeEs' was launched in Ahmedabad on February 27 and the company's next product will be a real estate ETF. On how the Gold ETF will grow in the Indian market, Mittal said, Initially five to six per cent of the total 35 per cent of gold investment will be converted into ETFs. After that there is only growth in the sector as Indian investor is traditionally a gold investor and the product has succeeded in countries like Australia, Turkey and many European countries. These countries are not traditionally into gold investment so in India gold ETF will surely be a major success. The market will respond to gold far better than other commodities like silver and oil as gold does not have many spot exchanges while other commodities have spot exchanges. However, discussions are on between the Forward Market Commission (FMC) and Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) in this regard. Depending on the outcome of these discussions many more commodities like oil and silver may be added in the country.