How to Hold Gold Safely

Gold and silver are in a major rally right now, fueled by safe haven buying amidst geopolitical turmoil and demand from overseas buyers, both largescale with central banks and with individual investors, particularly in Asia. Over the next few years, you will have either purchased gold and silver at current prices or you will have wished you had. That makes right now the perfect time to add to your allocation, and then look at the best ways for storing your precious metals.

Whether you plan to store at home in a safe, a safe deposit box at a bank or credit union, or domestically or abroad at a precious metals depository, there are many things to consider…

Storing at Home
The most important reason to own gold is for purchasing power protection… wealth insurance. That is the thinking behind our motto of Keep What’s Yours!

We define gold as wealth insurance as…

“The store of purchasing power, with high liquidity, for a potential financial crisis you hope to never have.”

For gold to fulfill this function, it must be close at hand. When you have an emergency, you need to put your hands on your gold quickly and exchange it easily for cash to eliminate your financial crisis. Therefore, we strongly suggest you start accumulating gold by taking delivery of your metal. To do this properly, we suggest a few guidelines…

1. Keep a low profile. It is nobody’s business that you are holding gold and/or silver. Do not disclose the location of your safe, or even the fact that you have one.
2. Keep only enough gold on hand to use as a stop-gap measure until you can access other assets elsewhere.
3. Do not keep any more gold or silver on hand than you feel comfortable safeguarding and storing yourself.

Holding your precious metals yourself is the most cost-effective way to hold them… until they are lost or stolen. Then, it becomes the most expensive way to store your precious metals. Once you have enough gold and silver on hand to meet immediate financial threats safely, look to the professionals to store the balance of your gold and silver allocations.

Storing at a Bank
Storing precious metals in a bank safe deposit box is a valid option, but there are some potential risks to consider.

You can only access your metals during bank hours, which limits your ability to access your metals in an emergency.

If the bank goes out of business, you might lose access to your metals. In some countries, banking regulations allow banks to seize customer assets if they're at risk of failure. 2023 was the year of multiple critical bank failures which put client assets at risk, and it could happen again.

Plus, banks don't usually insure the contents of safe deposit boxes, and insurance terms can vary by bank. You might need to purchase separate insurance to cover your metals. The bank isn't required to compensate you if your metals are stolen or destroyed while in the box.

Storing at a Depository
Once most investors accumulate enough wealth that they can no longer store it solely at home, they typically decide that a precious metals depository is the next best option for protecting their wealth. The upside is that a reputable depository will offer a state-of-the-art facility with all the necessary security features, have a management team and staff experienced with precious metals investors, and maintain 100% insurance coverage for all assets stored at full market value at all times.

The downside is that these storage facilities – in most cases – charge you a fee to safely store your precious metals.

(There is one exception… the Perth Mint Certificate Program. This program was jointly designed by ASI and The Perth Mint over a quarter century ago, and to this day, it remains the only government guaranteed precious metals storage program in the world.)

The storage facilities charge the fees to cover the costs of the physical storage facility, staffing, security, and insurance. And, of course, they make a small profit for the services they provide.

For those who perform their duties properly, it is absolutely worth the cost!

An important note, if the storage facility provides fractional insurance, do not work with them. Basically, that means they insure only a small portion of the material stored with them because they are betting any would-be thieves could only get away with some of the assets in a burglary… not all of them.

That is a risk they should not be taking with your precious metals.

Consider an IRA
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s) are perfect for holding precious metals… especially Roth IRA’s. Gold and silver are long-term hold assets. IRA’s are long-term hold vehicles.

However, only certain gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bars and coins are allowed in your IRA. Additionally, the IRS requires that any metals included in IRA holding be stored at a secure, approved storage facility, not at home.

Storing Domestically and Overseas
One last thought on precious metals depositories…

As your net worth increases, so should your gold and silver allocations as a percentage of your portfolio. World Gold Council recommends an allocation of 8-12% based on various surveys. To ensure that all of your eggs are not in one basket, spread that wealth out among a number of reputable storage facilities, in various locations, domestically and abroad. The more spread out your wealth is, the safer your portfolio will be.

Holding Your Gold Safely
If you want to keep your precious metals safe so that they can do their job as a safe haven asset, a secure storage option is a must. Better yet, a range of secure storage options so that you can keep a small amount in your home in case of turbulent times, but also store larger amounts that would not be possible to protect in a home safe or hiding place.

Precious metal depositories offer significant advantages in terms of storing and protecting your precious metal assets. Not only do they provide enough space to house a large amount of bullion, but enhanced surveillance and monitoring practices keep your metals safe.

If you’re interested in learning more about storage options for your metal, ASI has long-standing business relationships with several storage facilities, both domestically and abroad. Give us a call at 1-800-831-0007 or email us, and our Preferred Client Representatives will walk you through your best options to accomplish your objectives.