I use and recommend Bullion Vault, which has the lowest premiums I have found and allows for safe/secure storage in private vaults in Switzerland.
BullionVault (www.bullionvault.com)
BullionVault allows you to buy, sell and store gold at some of the lowest costs available. Your gold is stored with VIA MAT, which is privately owned, based in Switzerland and insulated from the risks of the banking industry. VIA MAT International is part of Mat Securitas Express AG, which is one of Europe’s largest and oldest armored transport and storage companies. With VIA MAT you can choose to have your gold held in Zurich, London or New York.
One of BullionVault’s major advantages is that they offer one of the lowest-cost methods of ownership. This is possible because your gold is stored in large (400 oz) “good delivery” bars, the same bars held and traded by the largest bullion dealers, bullion banks and government agencies. Storage in these larger bars allows for lower costs of ownership, yet you don’t need to come up with $400,000 to buy one. You can buy just a small portion of one of these bars, down to just one gram of gold ($30).
The gold is your outright property, as delivery has been taken and it is stored for you physically with the third party (VIA MAT). Every day BullionVault publishes the complete register of all its gold owners on the Internet – with each owner listed under a public nickname known only to themselves. This register reconciles exactly to the official bar list published with it. The bar list is produced by the vault operator, independently of BullionVault.
Buying and selling is settled instantaneously and you can withdraw your money and have it sent straight back to your original funding bank account. This set up makes BullionVault ideal for those wanting to hold gold and gain the benefit of its price appreciation with a low cost of ownership. BullionVault is also ideal for active traders, as it allows you to choose to behave like a market professional and quote prices. This allows the true trader a potential negative cost per trade, through the opportunity to earn the spread.
Fees: The dealing spread is around 0.5% and you pay a commission ranging from 0.02% to 0.8%, dependent on the quantity purchased. Storage charges are down to wholesale rates of 0.12% annually ($4 per month minimum) with insurance included. That’s less than a tenth of the storage fees charged by retail banks, and less than one-third the annual fees charged by typical exchange-traded gold funds (ETFs). BullionVault customers also save money because they deal directly with each other, willing seller to willing buyer, by using the BullionVault order board, which is open 24 hours/7days week.
Today, gold was being offered at 0.5% over spot, + 0.8% commission on the first $30,000 purchased, which allows you to buy gold at just 1.3% over spot price! Buy more and the premium goes down.
BullionVault has over 40,000 users and more than $220 million in holdings. The sign up process is quick, easy and not overly intrusive.
Note: I signed up for Bullion Vault’s referral program and receive a small commission on any sales through my links. This is not the reason I recommend them as I could have recommended any of the online sites, most of which offer referral programs. And again, I use Bullion Vault personally to store my gold.
Coin Shops
I also like owning bullion and particularly like American Gold and Silver Eagles and Canadian Gold and Silver Maple Leafs. You can usually find these at your local coin shop and expect to pay 4-6% over spot price for the gold coins and 10-15% over spot price for the silver coins. Call around to your local coins shops and compare prices, but make sure you are buying from a reputable business. If you purchase over $1,500, there is no tax charged and most shops have no reporting requirements, allowing you to buy anonymously (cash and carry).
Avoid Fool’s Gold!
ETFs, pool accounts, futures contracts and leveraged accounts are not real gold. They are just paper promises often with no gold or silver behind them. If you are going to use futures contracts to buy gold, make sure to demand delivery right away, rather than waiting and hoping the gold will still be available when you need it. Many have been forecasting a default on the COMEX and you need only do a google search to learn more about this possibility. I suspect we will soon see if the Comex depositories, the ETF custodians, and the LBMA, hold all the gold and silver they pretend.
You should also avoid collector coins such as those sold in late-night infomercials. They have ridiculous premiums that are often several times above the metal content in the coin. You can usually get 50% or more gold buying non-collector coins such as Gold Eagles, Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, etc. If a crisis unravels, how much of the metal you own will be infinitely more important than having your favorite animal, actor or football team engraved on the coin.
