February 25,2013
Vaulted gold is another option for wealth managers to present to their clients.
Vaulted gold means that the investors gold bullion is stored in a private vault with a top level of security. In addition, the investor owns the gold and has the right to have access of the gold at any time which means the gold would be sent to the investor and leaves the vault.
Vaulted gold has the following characteristics:
100% client ownership: The client legally owns his gold
Physical gold: No paper gold or gold securities, but only 100% physical gold
Bullion gold: Gold bullion according to market standards produced by accepted manufacturers
Vaulted Gold Bullion Bars
Professionally vaulted: Gold centrally vaulted by a reputable security services firm or bank. Similar to other investment products like investment funds, the vault operator should be independent from the product provider, i.e. the vault operator should be a custodian (e.g. bank) that safeguards the clients gold.
Providers of vaulted gold typically buy gold in bulk in the form of large gold bars. This enables the providers to buy bullion gold at lower mark-ups compared to the premiums usually paid on smaller bars and coins which can be purchased through bullion dealers. Wealth managers can purchase vaulted gold bullion from the Richard W. Davey Organization.
Often overlooked costs of physical gold include costs related to the safe storage of the gold. A professional safe is very expensive and may expose oneself to robbery. It is not advised that investors store significant amounts of gold at home without a secure safe.
The cost of storing gold in professional vaults is often low, down to a fraction of a percent. This regularly makes the annual costs for storage of vaulted gold cheaper than the annual management fees of gold ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) which are among the cheapest investment products.
Since vaulted gold is normally kept in professional vaults, no verification of the bullion or transportation is required should an investor decide to sell the gold. This feature makes vaulted gold much easier to handle compared to other similar investment products.
It enables investors to easily sell their gold holdings at low mark-down prices and makes vaulted gold much more liquid than privately stored physical gold or gold bullion in safe deposit boxes.
Many investors will want to sell their gold someday, be it for consumption purposes or other reasons. And every investor wants at least to be able to sell it in the future without any hassles or a high discount.
Vaulted gold is insured against common risks. Reputable vault operators are accredited, e.g., with the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the organization of the professional gold market in London, United Kingdom.
Several providers of vaulted gold offer customers a choice between different vault locations, e.g. vaults in Switzerland, Great Britain, the United States or locations in Asia like Hong Kong. Investors can choose one or several vaults to store their gold investment. This allows investors to own gold in several jurisdictions around the world thereby mitigating potential country risks.
Investors, who buy vaulted gold, become legal owners of their gold “ they acquire outright ownership. A potential default on the part of the provider does not impact their ownership rights.
There are many advantages of vaulted gold bullion and the investor should explore all options.
