Abstract
Gold exhibits the essential characteristics of substantial trading activity, tight spreads, and price stability even during financial crisis. Therefore, Gold is a preferred investment mode for Indians as it can be bought, sold and invested in multiple forms such as physical gold, gold bonds, digital gold, etc. Gold's significance varies; in Northeast India, it's tied to cultural rituals, while elsewhere it's a wealth stabilizer and status symbol. The evidence from the research states that the preference of investors in gold varies based on the investment criteria. The findings are based on gold investment culture survey responses from 385 respondents of Northeastern Region (NER) of India using a structured survey Instrument. It identifies the preference of alternative gold investment avenues by using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) as one of the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods. First choice is the Physical Gold due to features like return, liquidity, ease of acquisition, quality, etc., followed by the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGBs).
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