Gold Reserves: Central Banks Dominate, Sovereign Wealth Funds Lagg behind

Central banks hold an overwhelming majority of their reserves in gold, with four major Western reserve managers keeping more than 80% of theirs in the precious metal. The United States, Germany, France, and Italy are among these countries, according to the World Gold Council.

Sovereign wealth funds, on the other hand, hold under 1% of their assets in gold, despite managing over $15 trillion combined. This is a stark contrast to central banks, which have been steadily increasing their gold reserves in recent years.

The largest institutional category measured here are family offices, which manage well over a trillion dollars combined but hold only 0.5-1.5% of their assets in gold. In fact, 72% of family offices report no gold exposure at all.