Purchasing gold, silver, and platinum bullion is a solid investment strategy for novice and veteran financial planners alike.
As with any major purchase, however, it can be easy to overlook a few supplementary considerations beyond the ticket price of the items themselves. A new vehicle, for example, will need a place to park, proper insurance coverage, regular maintenance, winter tires (depending on where you live) and, of course, oil and gasoline to keep running.
Likewise, you’ll need an adequate place to store your bullion. We’ll touch on this briefly to give would-be investors a sense of their options as they explore the exciting and lucrative world of precious metals.
Why Store Your Gold and Silver?
The most obvious answer to this question would be to prevent theft or loss — a lock will deter thieves, and a designated storage space will mean your assets aren’t simply misplaced. Proper storage choices can also protect bullion from environmental damage, including fires, floods, or structural collapses due to earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados or other disasters.
If you purchase insurance for your bullion (a wise choice!), you may also need to prove that you’re storing it adequately to be eligible for coverage. If you’ve got questions about storage, always approach a trusted supplier (like Global Bullion Suppliers, for example) and take their advice to heart.
Storing Your Bullion at Home
Home safes, combination and keypad, are a great choice if convenience and accessibility are your top concerns. Make sure you keep your safe in a secret location, and share the combination only with someone you trust deeply.
Bullion bars are sometimes smaller than people assume. For example, a 5 oz. bar of gold is extremely thin, and usually just over 2 inches long and up to an inch-and-a-half wide. But that doesn’t mean your bullion won’t stack up quickly. So, even though you might be tempted by a tiny safe, make sure it can accommodate your investment.
Storing in a Bank or a Vault
Banks far surpass home safes on the security front, and safe deposit boxes are widely available. You’ll spend more on a safe deposit box than a home safe, though, since these carry annual fees. As above, remember to plan accordingly for the space you’ll need. Also, note that a good insurance plan is necessary; banks won’t insure precious metals stored in this way.
Vault facilities (through banks or other third parties) are typically divided into three categories, with much in common and some significant differentiators: pooled, allocated, and segregated. Pooled facilities are cheapest but most impersonal, with all users’ bullion kept together. Segregated facilities are the most expensive but mean your bullion is sealed, tagged, and stored individually.
Vault agreements can be tricky — in some cases, using a vault means losing personal ownership of your gold or silver, and you instead become a creditor. As above, speak with a trusted supplier about the ins and outs of storage options to find the right mix for you.
Using an Authorized Bullion Supplier
Like the example listed above, a professional bullion supplier can provide convenient storage options for large amounts of bullion, with the higher dollar amount stored, the lower you’re charged. Work with fully insured and audited organizations that offer round-the-clock updates, individual units, and top-notch security plans. And when in doubt, trust the expertise of those who actually evaluate, purchase, and sell bullion; there’s no substitute for specialization.