Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Reflecting gold’s haven status amidst current global market volatility, SPDR® Gold Shares ETF’s July turnover has more than tripled YoY to S$151.7 million. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Gold prices have jumped 17% over the first half of 2020, and gained an additional 10% in July. It surged to a fresh record, past the US$2,000/oz mark in early August.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Gold has been on a general uptrend over the past few years, but COVID-19 has made gold’s relevance as a hedge even more apparent, and accelerated its price performance. The precious metal has always been recognised as a haven asset – one that gives investors protection and security during uncertain times. It also plays an important role in portfolio diversification. The SPDR® Gold Shares ETF on SGX provides investors with an innovative, relatively cost-efficient and secure way to access the gold market. The ETF aims to lower many barriers that prevent some investors from investing in bullion, including the logistics of buying, storing and insuring the commodity. In addition, certain pension funds and mutual funds do not or cannot hold physical commodities or the derivatives. The ETF is set up to reflect the performance of bullion, less the fund’s expenses. It tracks the London Bullion Market Association PM Gold Price, and the physical bullion is kept in the form of London Good Delivery bars. Reflecting gold’s haven status amidst global market volatility, SPDR® Gold Shares ETF’s monthly total turnover continues to register steady gains. In July, the fund’s traded value has more than tripled to S$151.7 million from S$46.4 million in the year-ago period, and risen nearly six-fold from July 2018.
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/Capture_4.PNG" class="editor-image img-responsive"></figure>
<div class="content-caption">Gold ETF Monthly Traded Value</div>

Gold prices have jumped 17% over the first half of 2020, and gained an additional 10% in July. It surged to a fresh record, past the US$2,000/oz mark in early August, according to data from the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/gold.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Gold Council</a> (WGC).
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/Capture%201.PNG" class="editor-image img-responsive"></figure>
<div class="content-caption">Gold Price</div>

<a href="https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/global-gold-backed-etf-holdings-and-flows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gold-backed ETFs and similar products</a>&nbsp;recorded their eighth consecutive month of positive flows, adding 166 tonnes in July – equivalent to US$9.7 billion or 4.1% of assets under management (AUM). Global net inflows of 899 tonnes (US$49.1 billion) to-date are considerably higher than previous annual highs, and the trend of inflows has continued in the first few trading days of August, as gold breached the US$2,000/oz threshold, WGC data showed. While all regions had net inflows in July, North American funds once again led by a significant margin, accounting for 75% of global net inflows. The region added 118 tonnes or US$7.0 billion, 5.5% of total AUM.
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/Capture%202.PNG" class="editor-image img-responsive"></figure>
<div class="content-caption">ETF Flows Chart</div>

The gold ETF, known by its ticker&nbsp;GLD, has total net assets of US$82.4 million as at 6 Aug 2020, more than double US$39.4 million in the year-ago period. The fund size is similar to the holdings of most major central banks – equal to a quarter of all the gold held at Fort Knox in the US, more than the gold reserves of the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England or the Reserve Bank of India, and not far from China’s 1,948 tonnes of the precious metal, according to WGC’s central bank <a href="https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/monthly-central-bank-statistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a>.
<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2020-08/Capture%203.PNG" class="editor-image img-responsive"></figure>
<div class="content-caption">Gold ETF Global AUM</div>

SPDR® Gold Shares ETF&nbsp; <a href="http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/singapore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SPDR® Gold Shares ETF</a>&nbsp;is designated as a non-Specified Investment Product, and is thus an Excluded Investment Product (EIP), accessible to anyone without pre-qualification. <a href="http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/singapore/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It</a> is also the only Gold ETF included under CPF investment scheme (CPFIS) that allows CPF members to invest with up to 10% of investible savings from CPF ordinary account. Investors should refer to the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.spdrgoldshares.com/media/GLD/file/singapore/GLD-Sing-Prospectus-2017-06-07.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fund prospectus</a>&nbsp;for more information, including product risks. Investing in ETFs ETFs are investment funds listed and traded intraday on a stock exchange. The majority aim to track the performance of an index and provide access to a wide variety of markets and asset classes, including local stocks, international securities, bonds, commodities or money markets. Each ETF gives investors access to the performance of the asset that comprises the underlying index. Investing in the ETF is also less costly if one was to build a similar portfolio by buying the individual stocks. It also provides exposure to international markets and asset classes that may be inaccessible to individual investors. To find out more about ETFs, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sgxacademy.com/home/infographics/what-you-need-to-know-about-investing-in-etfs/?utm_medium=display&amp;utm_source=DNS&amp;utm_campaign=ETFs&amp;utm_term=04052020&amp;utm_content=780x450B&amp;doing_wp_cron=1588902816.7561480998992919921875&amp;fireglass_rsn=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;


Reflecting gold’s haven status amidst current global market volatility, SPDR® Gold Shares ETF’s July turnover has more than tripled YoY to S$151.7 million. &nbsp;
Gold prices have jumped 17% over the first half of 2020, and gained an additional 10% in July. It surged to a fresh record, past the US$2,000/oz mark in early August.

&nbsp;
Gold has been on a general uptrend over the past few years, but COVID-19 has made gold’s relevance as a hedge even more apparent, and accelerated its price performance.  The precious metal has always been recognised as a haven asset – one that gives investors protection and security during uncertain times. It also plays an important role in portfolio diversification.  The SPDR® Gold Shares ETF on SGX provides investors with an innovative, relatively cost-efficient and secure way to access the gold market. The ETF aims to lower many barriers that prevent some investors from investing in bullion, including the logistics of buying, storing and insuring the commodity. In addition, certain pension funds and mutual funds do not or cannot hold physical commodities or the derivatives. The ETF is set up to reflect the performance of bullion, less the fund’s expenses. It tracks the London Bullion Market Association PM Gold Price, and the physical bullion is kept in the form of London Good Delivery bars.  Reflecting gold’s haven status amidst global market volatility, SPDR® Gold Shares ETF’s monthly total turnover continues to register steady gains. In July, the fund’s traded value has more than tripled to S$151.7 million from S$46.4 million in the year-ago period, and risen nearly six-fold from July 2018.

Gold ETF Monthly Traded Value

Gold prices have jumped 17% over the first half of 2020, and gained an additional 10% in July. It surged to a fresh record, past the US$2,000/oz mark in early August, according to data from the World Gold Council (WGC).

Gold Price

Gold-backed ETFs and similar products&nbsp;recorded their eighth consecutive month of positive flows, adding 166 tonnes in July – equivalent to US$9.7 billion or 4.1% of assets under management (AUM). Global net inflows of 899 tonnes (US$49.1 billion) to-date are considerably higher than previous annual highs, and the trend of inflows has continued in the first few trading days of August, as gold breached the US$2,000/oz threshold, WGC data showed.  While all regions had net inflows in July, North American funds once again led by a significant margin, accounting for 75% of global net inflows. The region added 118 tonnes or US$7.0 billion, 5.5% of total AUM.

ETF Flows Chart

The gold ETF, known by its ticker&nbsp;GLD, has total net assets of US$82.4 million as at 6 Aug 2020, more than double US$39.4 million in the year-ago period. The fund size is similar to the holdings of most major central banks – equal to a quarter of all the gold held at Fort Knox in the US, more than the gold reserves of the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England or the Reserve Bank of India, and not far from China’s 1,948 tonnes of the precious metal, according to WGC’s central bank data.

Gold ETF Global AUM

SPDR® Gold Shares ETF&nbsp; SPDR® Gold Shares ETF&nbsp;is designated as a non-Specified Investment Product, and is thus an Excluded Investment Product (EIP), accessible to anyone without pre-qualification. It is also the only Gold ETF included under CPF investment scheme (CPFIS) that allows CPF members to invest with up to 10% of investible savings from CPF ordinary account. Investors should refer to the&nbsp;fund prospectus&nbsp;for more information, including product risks.  Investing in ETFs ETFs are investment funds listed and traded intraday on a stock exchange. The majority aim to track the performance of an index and provide access to a wide variety of markets and asset classes, including local stocks, international securities, bonds, commodities or money markets.  Each ETF gives investors access to the performance of the asset that comprises the underlying index. Investing in the ETF is also less costly if one was to build a similar portfolio by buying the individual stocks. It also provides exposure to international markets and asset classes that may be inaccessible to individual investors.  To find out more about ETFs, click&nbsp;here.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Gold Grabs Spotlight as It Crosses US$2,000/Oz-Mark

SPDR Gold Shares

Gold Grabs Spotlight as It Crosses US$2,000/Oz-Mark