There are many different ways to keep your precious metals safe. You can store them in in-house safes, hiding spots (just remember to take them out of old furniture before you donate!), safe deposit boxes, or bullion depositories. Precious metal depositories are third-party storage facilities where investors can pay a specified amount to store their investments. A depository can be used when an investor has amassed a large volume of precious metals, and can no longer store them using one of the other methods. Precious metal depositories offer state-of-the-art security measures to ensure customers their investments are safe. A UL-rated depository meets the standard set by Underwriters Laboratories for burglary protection. Class 3 vaults can withstand attacks from common tools for 2 hours. Class 3 is the highest possible UL vault rating. Along with high-level security, depositories offer periodic auditing to verify the inventory is still secured.
Most depositories also provide insurance to cover any instances of theft or damage. A common insurance coverage plan for depositories is all-risk. This type of insurance plan insures your valuables 100% for anything not explicitly excluded by the coverage. With all-risk coverage, the investor has the assurance that the full value of their investment will be kept safe while being held at the depository. Although depositories can be expensive, they can provide customers with a sense of security while protecting their valuable investments.
Options for Precious Metals Depository Storage
There are two different methods depositories will use when storing customers’ investments, segregated and non-segregated. Precious metals that are segregated in a depository will be separated and private from other investments to ensure that when you withdraw your precious metals, they were the exact same pieces of metal you put in the depository. Items stored in non-segregated depositories are not separated from other customers’ investments but are put in communal vaults organized by specific weights, refineries, and years of mint. This means that at withdrawal, you will receive the same specifications as the products first sent to the depository, but they might not be the exact same precious metals you purchased. Both types of storage offer the same amount of protection. Depositories have different rules and pricing for what storage method they use. Some only offer segregated, some only offer non-segregated, and some offer both.
Depository Use for Precious Metals IRA
When creating a precious metals IRA, it is required by law to store your precious metals in an approved depository. Any precious metals that you have received physical delivery on cannot be included in your precious metals IRA.
The process for adding precious metals to your IRA account is simple. Before making any purchases on precious metals, you must first find a custodian and depository for your precious metals. The custodian is responsible for the administration of the account. The next step is to choose precious metals to purchase, and the custodian will send funds to the dealer in the name of your IRA account. The dealer will then ship the precious metals directly to your chosen depository.
It is important to choose the precious metals depository that will cater the best to investments. By researching available depositories, you will get a better understanding of your needs and what each depository has to offer. Below is a comparison of some of the most popular depositories for precious metals.
All Updates and Market info are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of GoldClub Direct LLC.. and should not be construed as financial advice.