Gold ETF Investment to Jump in India on Rising Demand

Assets held in gold-backed exchange traded funds in India may surge to a record for a second year as demand gains, investor awareness spreads and more products are introduced, according to managers in the largest bullion user.

“It’s definitely possible to double,” said Rajan Mehta, executive director at Benchmark Asset Management Co., which runs the nation’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund, or ETF. Money managed by Indian gold funds climbed to a record 35.2 billion rupees ($780 million) last year from 13.5 billion rupees in 2009, according to Association of Mutual Funds in India data.