YouGov survey: In 2024, German investors favour gold

In a recent representative survey conducted by the British opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of asset management company Assenagon, German private investors were asked about their return expectations this year regarding various asset classes: German and international equities, German government bonds, real estate, monetary products such as savings accounts and call money accounts as well as gold and cryptocurrencies. All six asset classes were assessed and ranked according to their potential returns. The result of the survey is fairly clear.

56 per cent of respondents see gold in one of the top rankings

When asked about the highest expected return, money market products – unsurprisingly – came in second to last, despite the rise in savings interest rates due to the ECB’s multiple interest rate hikes. And German government bonds fared even worse: only 4 per cent of respondents expected the asset class to have the highest potential returns. Real estate was rated much better as an asset class, despite the recent significant fall in prices. Coming in second were global equities, which 49 per cent of respondents believed to rank among the top places in terms of returns. It was, however, the precious metal gold which topped them all, with 56 per cent of investors expecting above-average to very good profit opportunities.

24 per cent believe gold has highest profit potential

The fact that the asset class equities was not the predicted best performer is surprising in view of the German benchmark index DAX, which has been moving from record high to record high for months. One possible explanation: in view of the difficult geopolitical situation and the fact that inflation has still not been overcome, many investors prefer to invest in a proven safe haven due to the significant volatility in individual stocks. 24 per cent of respondents therefore rated gold as the most profitable asset class, followed by equities with 17 per cent and real estate with 15 per cent. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, were expected to generate lower returns at 9 per cent – although younger respondents showed significantly more confidence in this asset class at 14 per cent.