Gold EGRs vs gold ETFs: Which one should yellow metal investors choose?

India’s National Stock Exchange-launched Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) introduce a direct, dematerialised claim on physical gold and could reshape the country’s organised gold market. The article contrasts EGRs with established Gold ETFs, noting ETFs’ current advantages in liquidity, broker integration and retail familiarity, while EGRs offer lower ongoing costs (vaulting ~5–8 bps vs ETFs’ 50–100 bps expense ratios) and potentially tighter tracking to spot bullion for long-term holders. Key hurdles for EGR adoption include thin trading volumes, wider bid-ask spreads, limited broker enablement, investor behavioural attachment to physical gold, and a 3% GST on conversion to physical metal. Analysts view ETFs as the practical retail vehicle today, with EGRs a promising long-horizon option if liquidity and market-making improve — and may help formalise pricing and settlement in India’s fragmented gold market.