Vault gold
Safe Gold ( Engl. Vaulted gold ) denotes held in custody in vaults investment gold . When purchasing vaulted gold, private or institutional investors acquire ownership of physical gold. Unlike the purchase of gold bars or - coins of investors vaulted gold purchases even physical gold but does not find this even in hands. However, it must have a delivery option; H. the investor can have his gold delivered for a fee or pick it up at the deposit. As a rule, very few customers make use of this delivery option.
Differentiation of vaulted gold from other gold investments
In contrast to funds backed with gold or Exchange Traded Commodities (ETC), there is no investment instrument or security connected between the investor and the physical gold with vaulted gold. Vault gold buyers acquire direct ownership of gold.
In contrast to funds and ETCs, gold certificates are not backed by physical gold. With certificates on the gold price , investors only acquire a claim against the issuer, but not ownership of gold.
history
Originally, private customers were offered safe gold in particular by banks. In Germany and Switzerland, vaulted gold was almost exclusively offered to very wealthy customers as part of private banking .
In addition to banks, large precious metal dealers have also developed safe gold offers or gold savings plans based on safe gold for private investors. The first gold or precious metal savings plans were introduced in Japan, for example, in the 1980s by the large precious metal house Tanaka Kikinzoku Kōgyō .
In addition to traditional banks and precious metal dealers, various direct providers have also been offering safe gold for several years - often over the Internet. Examples are DAB Bank AG and GoldRepublic from the Netherlands.
properties
When buying vaulted gold, investors acquire ownership of physical gold. Depending on the product design, when buying vaulted gold, investors acquire either partial ownership of gold bars or full ownership of individual gold bars or gold coins .
Vault gold stored in high-security vaults is usually insured and is therefore regularly more securely stored than at home or in a (bank) safe .
In contrast to so-called gold accounts, which regularly require a minimum investment of 1,000 troy ounces of gold, some providers offer safe gold in very small quantities from 1 gram of gold and thus enable average private investors to purchase it.
Unlike when purchasing gold bars and coins that are kept at home or in lockers, investors do not have to worry about transporting or storing the gold themselves in the case of vaulted gold.
In Germany, physical gold and thus also vaulted gold is weakly regulated and does not legally constitute a financial product. In the Netherlands, however, centrally stored gold is treated as an "investment object" and as such is subject to regulation by the Dutch financial market authority AMF.
costs
With vault gold, investors usually bear the following costs:
- Fees for buying and selling gold
- When buying / selling bars and coins, surcharges and discounts compared to the gold price on the world market
- Ongoing costs for safekeeping by the provider - in particular for safekeeping and insurance
Depending on the product design, the purchase of safe gold can be cheaper than the conventional purchase of investment gold via classic precious metal dealers due to the centralized purchase of larger bars. However, the costs can vary greatly depending on the provider and product.
Risks
In addition to the market price risk of an investment in gold, owners of vaulted gold bear a market liquidity risk , which can vary greatly depending on the specific offer and access of the provider to precious metal trading.
Investors who purchase vault gold also bear the risk that the provider or custodian or individual employees embezzle gold holdings or that these are stolen by third parties. According to the World Gold Council , investors should therefore ensure that “vault gold providers guarantee direct and unrestricted ownership of gold, do not lend gold without the prior consent of the customer, have the gold held with an independent and registered vault operator and permit regular inspections and reviews of customer gold holdings ". In addition, the gold should be insured against common risks.
criticism
In addition to the listed risks of an investment in safe gold, there is criticism of overpriced safe gold offers and gold savings plans of some providers. For example, gold savings plans that invest in 1 gram of gold bars have been criticized in the media because of the high surcharges on gold value associated with the small bar size.
literature
- Christian Haese: Capital investment: safe gold as a banking product . In: die bank - magazine for banking policy and practice , No. 10, October 2011, pp. 22–24, ISSN 0342-3182 .
Individual evidence
- ^ World Gold Council: Vaulted Gold . In: Investment Guide Gold ( Memento of the original dated May 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , European edition, p. 51, December 2011
- ^ Haese, Christian: capital investment: safe gold as a bank product. In: die bank - magazine for banking policy and practice , No. 10, October 2011, pp. 22–24, ISSN 0342-3182
- ^ Song, Yasumasa: Japanese Young Boost Gold Buying Amid Recession, Retailer Says . Bloomberg March 22, 2009
- ↑ Baer, Mark: Gold: Nervensache . In: Swiss business magazine Bilanz, print edition 04/2012
- ^ World Gold Council: Gold Accounts . In: Investment Guide Gold ( Memento of the original dated May 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , European edition, p. 50, December 2011
- ↑ GoldMoney closing all Dutch accounts - Digital Gold Currency Magazine ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Digital Gold Currency Magazine on September 28, 2011
- ↑ Cost of gold investment , Trustable Gold
- ↑ quoted from: World Gold Council: Tresorgold . In: Investment Guide Gold ( Memento of the original dated May 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , European edition, p. 51, December 2011
- ↑ Hussla, Gertrud: Column recalculated - The expensive pitfalls of a gold savings plan . In: Handelsblatt print edition of August 26, 2011.
