What makes HelloGold and Public Gold different?
| HelloGold | Public Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | HelloGold that gives you the ability to purchase, sell, save, and redeem gold. | Public Gold offers various physical gold, silver and jewellery products which can be used for investment purposes. |
| How does it work? | Users trade gold through the HelloGold app without physically keeping the gold themselves, as HelloGold stores all of its users’ gold in a vault in Singapore. HelloGold PRO users can also redeem physical gold by paying a redemption fee. |
Users visit Public Gold branches across Malaysia or place orders online to trade gold, and are given physical ownership of their gold. |
| What type of gold is it? | Gold bullion from Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux (PAMP) with a high purity rating of 99.99% for HelloGold. | London Bullion Market Association-approved gold bullion bars for Public Gold with a 999.9 fineness. |
| What is the minimum purchase size of gold? | Measured in terms of grams of gold per RM, starting from as low as RM1 worth from HelloGold | Gold prices from Public Gold are quoted daily in measurements of 10g, 20g, 50g, 100g, and 250g, with 10g being the minimum size. |
| What is the maximum purchase size of gold? | There is no maximum limit on the amount of gold you can purchase through HelloGold | Can be capped at a maximum of 250g of gold per purchase transaction from Public Gold. |
| Administrative fees? | An annual administrative fee of 2% of the value of gold owned by a user in his or her HelloGold account | Not applicable for Public Gold. |
| Do I need to pay a commission? | No commission charges for HelloGold transactions. | No commission charges for transactions from Public Gold. |
| Additional fees? | Possible processing fees with HelloGold depending on the payment method that users choose when purchasing gold. | Transportation and insurance costs for precious metals are applicable if the Public Gold's customer is in a different state or country from the branch handling the transaction. |
| Shariah-compliant? | Yes, as the gold from HelloGold is fully allocated and is per the Shariah Standard on Gold. | Yes, as Public Gold is the world's first physical gold trader to receive Shariah compliance certification. |
Emm... more or less the same. Does this necessarily mean that they are equal, though?
Not quite.
HelloGold's uniqueness lies in the fact that you do not have to physically possess gold to trade it, which means you don't have to worry about the physical safety of your investments. It does the storage and safekeeping of your gold, after all, and you can access or trade that gold anytime through your mobile devices.
It’s also relatively easy to get into the market for gold through HelloGold, as you can start by investing as little as RM1. Don't forget, there's a processing fee of RM1.20 if you buy gold through online banking. If you don't want to spend that additional amount just buy gold through Boost/ Touch 'n Go e-wallet.
Looking at this, the entry cost for HelloGold sure is better than Public Gold, even though it doesn't have a processing fee. This is because the minimum amount that you can purchase is at RM100 or1gram via their savings plan (we'll share in a bit). If you don't want to join that, then it's 10gram minimum (which is expensive for some people). So, it might not be ideal for those who are just starting to invest in gold and has limited capital.
We'd say that Public Gold is best suited to those who would like to physically handle their own gold - and ultimately, conduct their own transactions with their gold. While Public Gold does buy back gold, those who buy from it do not need to trade only through the company and are free to sell their gold legally in any part of the world.
Now, when it comes to spread, you can see that it's cheaper to invest via HelloGold as compared to Public Gold. Having said that, you have to think about the fees charged by HelloGold.
| Company | Buy | Sell | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelloGold | 256.25/g | 241.79/g | 14.46 |
| Public Gold (LBMA Gold Bar 10g) | 272/g | 247.5/g | 24.5 |
As for the additional perk, the HelloGold experience is also enhanced by its savings plan, SmartSaver, which lets you build your savings of gold daily. The best part? The app can do this automatically for you. All you need to do is set your savings goal, and the app will trade gold on your behalf to help you meet that goal.
That said, Public Gold has a savings plan of its own too, which is referred to as its Gold Accumulation Program (GAP). However, to participate in this plan, you must make a minimum investment of RM100 or purchase 1g of gold. This makes it more costly to enter the gold investment market via Public Gold — but you also have the benefit of being able to physically own your gold, once again.
It's also worth noting that Public Gold has a large range of products, even in terms of just gold alone. From different shapes and design to limited-edition collaboration pieces, Public Gold offers quite a bit of variety for stylish Malaysians to indulge in.
So, which is better?
At this point, it should be evident that both gold trading platforms have glittering (literally) offerings - but they cater to investors with different preferences.
HelloGold is great for Malaysians who prefer to rilek when it comes to investments, while Public Gold works well for those who like to take a more hands-on, active role when dealing with their gold.
All that's left to answer is, how would you like to get to your golden lining?
DISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organisation, committee or other group or individual.
