The different options for storing precious metals

When you take the step to Bullion If you purchase from us , it is important that it is also stored safely for you. For example, you can store your gold or silver in-house or you can choose to store your precious metal safely and insured with an external party. Both alternatives are interesting and depend on where your preference lies and what your risk assessment is. To help you make this choice ,  In this article , we will take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of storage.

The most common ways of storing precious metals are:

• - In-house
• - With an external party, possibly insured, in the safe

Store precious metals in-house

Let's start with the pros and cons of storing precious metals in-house . An advantage of storing it in-house is the direct access to your metal. For example, the precious metal can be hidden in a shoebox or in a safe if it is present at home. Of course, it is important that the information about home storage is not shared with others , so that you do not run an unnecessary risk of theft or perhaps even a robbery at home. The main advantages of storing precious metals at home are:

• - You always have direct access to the precious metal
• - After the precious metal has been purchased, you do not have any additional storage costs 
• - You choose how and where the precious metal is stored at home 
• - You can easily  transport the precious metal yourself to other locations

The disadvantages of storing precious metals at home are:

• - Precious metals are usually heavy with a limited volume and therefore often require good, solid or sturdy packaging when stored at home
• - Precious metals can often be stolen more easily when stored at home or can lead to a home robbery
• - Insurance companies may not pay the replacement amount in the event of loss, theft or robbery if the value of the home stock is too great or the ownership cannot be sufficiently proven
• - The precious metal can be damaged by certain accidents in and around the house, natural disasters, fires and/or  floods
• - When it is known that you have a stash of precious metals, this can potentially affect your sense of security in your home
• - In case of sale, the precious metal must either be sent/picked up or brought to the purchase/sale office

Storing precious metals with an external party

If you choose to store your precious metal with an external party , it is important that you first do proper research into this form of storage with a third party. Points of attention to take into account  are: the location, the reputation of this external party,  the type of storage, the physical hedging of the risks and the question of whether your storage is insured and how? The best-known ways to store precious metals externally are: bank safes, bullion banks and specially created storage facilities. 

Storing precious metal in a bank safe

Renting a 'bank' safe deposit box from an external party for the storage of precious metals is one of the options you have. Storing it in a bank safe has  several advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

• - Only you have the key to the storage room (safe)
• - The content is insured up to a certain amount
• - It is particularly suitable and interesting for storing coins due to the limited capacity of the storage space

Disadvantages:

• - Often, these types of safes are only available during business hours
• - If something is lost, you may not be insured
• - Space is limited in content compared to other forms of external storage
• - There are costs involved
• - The contents may be seized or confiscated

Storing precious metals at a bullion bank

Storing bullion at a Builion Bank is also an opportunity to store bullion safely and for a fee. Examples of such bullion banks are: JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc. To claim storage in these vaults, you must trade in at least 1,000 oz of gold or silver bars. This threshold makes it less interesting for many individuals to store precious metals in this way.

Storing precious metals at a specialized storage facility

A common form of storage of precious metals is the use of specialized storage facilities. These are often private security companies, which specialize  in storing precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum and paladium. These storage facilities can be located in the country of the purchase of precious metals itself, but the possibility of storage in other countries is also often offered. 

Via Holland Gold you can store your precious metal at Aunexum Safe. With Aunexum Safe , for example , you can store your precious metal in Switzerland, Singapore or of course also in the Netherlands. Storage in Switzerland or Singapore offers the advantage of favourable tax rules in addition to geographical spread. For example, in both countries mentioned, silver is exempt from VAT, while this is not the case in the Netherlands.

The precious metals that are stored here are 100% insured and allocated, i.e. stored in physical property  of you. 

The advantages of this are: 

• - The precious metal can be stored safely and reliably at Aunexum 
• - All our products in storage are individually insured and checked
• - The precious metal placed in storage is and remains the property of the customer at all times
• - Our safes have the highest level of security!

Points:

• - Take into account storage and insurance costs and costs for entry and exit
• - When it has to be delivered to your home, this can take a while, depending on when the next transport takes place

Types of accounts for storage

In addition to the various physical locations to store precious metals, there are also various options for storing the precious metal . In this way, precious metals can be stored separately, stored in an allocated manner and stored unallocated. 

What this means exactly and what  possibilities of storage Aunexum can offer is explained in more detail below.

Segregated storage (AunexumSafe) 

When precious metals are stored in a separate way ,  this means that orders are stored separately from each other in the vault . The products you buy or deliver are therefore exactly the same products that you get back if you request them for delivery or for sale. The precious metal remains physically unchanged in your possession. The vault where the precious metal is stored therefore only functions as a safe and insured storage location for the purchased or supplied precious metal. This form of storage is generally quite more expensive but also the safest.  

Dedicated storage / allocated storage

Dedicated storage has many similarities to segregated storage. The precious metal is  stored in the vault together with the precious metal of other customers. The only difference here is that when you request your own precious metal, it does not have to be the exact same products as those products that you have purchased or that you have supplied. Please note,  The number of products in storage is the same as what you have purchased or supplied, only the serial numbers and years may differ from the originally supplied precious metal. The value and physical allocation does not or never differ. The main advantage of an allocated storage is that the cost is lower than that of the separate storage.

However, it is important and certainly advisable to only store any coin collections with intrinsic value via separate storage. This is because coins with dates and specific product characteristics can add extra value on top of the spot prices for the precious metal.

You can also add the principle of the weight account here. In this case, the custodian holds a number of large 400 troy ounce gold bars and 1,000 troy ounce silver bars, of which the customer is assigned a certain weight. The provider of this storage will ensure that there is enough gold and silver in the vault to ensure full coverage. This form of dedicated storage generally has the lowest cost.

Unallocated storage

In the case of unallocated storage, the full coverage of your precious metal is not guaranteed. The bars are therefore not owned by the customers themselves, but are on the balance sheets of the banks and funds. This is in contrast to the variants of precious metal storage mentioned above . Examples of this are ETFs (exchange traded funds) that sell some precious metal annually to cover their costs. As a result, the funding ratio decreases over time. 

Because the precious metal is fully on the balance sheet of the trading banks and funds and is therefore fully owned by these banks and companies , they can use the precious metal to lend it out or to use it as collateral  for derivatives.

Because the precious metal is not in the name of the customer in this form of storage , there is a risk when such a bank or company goes bankrupt. All the precious metal is then  combined with all other assets in order to be able to pay off creditors such as bondholders. The remainder of what is left over will only be paid out to the customers afterwards!

Aunexum Safe

AunexumSafe offers safe and  secure storage of physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium, optionally  in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Singapore. We do this on the basis of separate storage. Our locations meet the highest international safety requirements.

All the advantages of storage at Aunexum  at a glance

We use very competitive storage rates and for that you get:

• - Safe and fully insured storage of your precious metal in your own name
• - The precious metal placed in storage remains your property at all times 
• - We offer you the opportunity to view the precious metal that you have put into storage
• - We offer you protection in the event of sale and  removal by the independent Foundation for Third Party Funds AunexumSafe
• - Holland Gold offers  a guarantee for the repurchase of the precious metal, but of course you can always  have your precious metal physically delivered
• - You can always continue to benefit from  VAT-free silver, platinum and palladium with storage in Switzerland

We have a very transparent business approach towards our customers:

• - You will receive periodic statements of your precious metal in storage
• - There is a periodic audit by an independent auditor
• - You have access to an online portal where you can consult all documentation

Click here for more information about AunexumSafe.