According to Julius Baer, the latest gold rally is creating an unusual set of winners: women, led by Indian households where gold ownership is deeply cultural and often sits with female family members. Gold rose 44% last year, a move that has rewarded traditional buyers just as much as institutional ones, including central banks and ETFs. Central banks bought 863 metric tonnes (MT) of gold in 2025, while gold ETFs recorded US$89 billion of inflows, Julius Baer notes.
In her note, Jen-Ai Chua, Equity Research Asia at Julius Baer, writes: “The meteoric rise in gold prices has benefited major holders of the precious metal, including central banks, asset managers and physical gold holders.” She adds that “an unexpected group has emerged as by far the biggest winner of the rally”, pointing to Indian women who “collectively own an estimated 16% of the world’s overall gold reserves”.
The scale is striking and Julius Baer estimates Indian households hold 34,600 MT of gold, with close to 80% held by women. Based on assumed global gold holdings of 171,300 MT, this implies Indian women own almost 28,000 MT, or 16% of global reserves.
The way Chua sees it, this as an outcome of social practice rather than market timing. “The large amount of gold held by Indian women is not a deliberate investment strategy timed to profit from recent market volatility, but a multi-generational tradition rooted in India’s cultural, religious and social life,” she says. Gold accounts for over 20% of household savings in India, compared to a global average of 2.3%, Julius Baer notes, and serves as both long-term savings and financial security during emergencies as well as a symbol of blessing in religious rituals.
The bank also links the appeal to personal control, as physical gold is tangible, discreet and universally recognisable, attributes that can matter to conservative investors and high net worth individuals seeking “real, controllable ownership”. Offshore allocated bullion, in particular, is often used for intergenerational transfer and privacy, according to the report.
New buyers, new formats
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Julius Baer argues the “allure of gold” is broadening beyond South Asia. In the UK, the Royal Mint’s data shows women rose to 26% of its investor base in 2024, tripling from 8% in 2018, as more sought precious metals to manage risk, with interest skewing to smaller bars and coins that lower entry sizes.
In China, Julius Baer observes a similar pattern, driven by domestic constraints rather than tradition. Middle-aged “Chinese Auntie Investors”, as referenced in a Wall Street Journal report, have been active buyers of bars and coins. Chinese investors bought 432 MT of gold bars and coins in 2025, up 28% from 2024, accounting for one-third of global bar-and-coin purchases. This pattern come on the back of weak real estate, volatile equities and low deposit rates as key reasons, alongside easier access through platforms such as WeChat and Alipay that has helped lift gold ETF inflows in China to a record high last year.
Julius Baer also ties the trend to risk preferences. Fidelity’s 2024 Women & Investing Study found that 51% of women describe their investing style as conservative, versus 47% of men; only 3% of women call themselves aggressive, compared to 6% of men.
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Shiny portfolios
Chua views that wealth is shifting and asset allocation conversations need to shift with it. “Social, economic and demographic shifts will put more of the world’s wealth into female hands,” she says, adding that this opens opportunities for women to more actively manage their assets and re-shape investment objectives according to their unique needs and values.
“We believe that gold should be part of this conversation and can be integrated into portfolios in a more structured way,” she says, while emphasising that gold has become more attractive amid heightened economic and geopolitical stress. She recommends re-evaluating allocations based on objectives and risk appetite.
While many portfolios still treat gold as tactical rather than strategic, A 2025 Hubbis survey found 51% of wealth advisers allocate 3% to 5% to gold, while 36% allocate below 3%, and only 8% allocate more than 5%. Chua notes a preference among some investors for direct physical ownership, particularly among HNWIs focused on privacy and jurisdictional control, with Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland among preferred storage locations.
Julius Baer remains constructive on the metal. “As a house, Julius Baer has a constructive view on gold,” Chua says, adding that the US-Iran war further fuels the bullish mood in gold and silver markets, providing support to prices and stability to portfolios at a time of heightened volatility.
