What Is the Best Gold Storage Company?

When you think of gold storage, images of Scrooge McDuck leaping into a secure vault filled with gold coins may come to mind. Although the reality isn’t quite so exciting, Mr. McDuck had the right idea: Gold is precious, and the best gold storage company should be more than capable of protecting your investment.

In this guide, you’ll learn about a few options for storing gold, plus the best gold storage companies in the U.S. and overseas.

The Most Common Forms of Gold Storage

After you buy gold, you’re probably wondering where on earth to keep it. After all, you’ve spent a lot of money on your gold, so the last thing you want is for thieves to get their hands on it.

When it comes to protecting your gold investment, you have a few options, some of which are better and safer than others.

Bank Safety Deposit Boxes

Bank safety deposit boxes seem like the perfect place to stash your gold, and that’s exactly where many people keep theirs. But is it a good idea? Consider the pros and cons.

Advantages

• Safety deposit boxes are fairly cheap to rent. For a medium-sized box, expect to pay an average of $80 to $150 annually. If you already have a savings or checking account, your bank may even offer you a discount on a box.
• Safety deposit boxes are easily accessible. Just drive down to the bank to deposit or pick up your gold.
• You don’t have to declare the contents of the box.

Disadvantages

• Banks don’t accept liability for losses. That means if someone steals your gold, you’re out of luck.
• Space is limited, which could be problematic if you have many gold bars.
• You can only access your box when the bank is open.

Private U.S. Depositories

Private depositories are companies dedicated to the transfer and protection of gold. You’ll find many depositories scattered around the U.S., but quite a few are also located overseas.

Self-directed IRA custodians must use a bullion depository to store gold for clients. You can ship gold to the depository yourself or have your gold dealer do it for you.

Depositories offer three kinds of storage: allocated, unallocated, and segregated. With allocated storage, the company keeps your gold in a vault with gold from other customers. When you ask for your gold back, you’ll get the same type of gold you deposited, but it may not be the same item.

With segregated storage, the depository stores your gold separately from the gold of other customers. When you collect it, you get the exact items back.

Unallocated depositories offer the most affordable way to store gold. Instead of actually owning the gold, you have a claim to a percentage of the gold the company has.

Advantages

• Private depositories offer ample storage space, making them a great pick if you own a lot of gold.
• These companies specialize in gold protection, so you’re getting the best possible security.
• Your gold will be independently insured and audited.

Disadvantages

• You might need to travel to the depository to collect your gold.
• Withdrawal can take longer than you’d like.
• Depositories can be expensive, especially if you opt for segregated storage.

Bullion Bank Vaults

Bullion banks are those that sell, buy, lend, and lease gold. They can be a smart choice if you have lots of gold to store.

Advantages

• Ideal for storing a large amount of bullion.
• You can settle unallocated accounts nearly instantly for cash.
• Security is tight, so there’s little worry about someone stealing your gold.

Disadvantages

• You’ll need at least 1,000 ounces of gold to open an account.
• They’re mostly focused on institutional transactions.
• They’re only located in big cities.

Home Storage

Keeping your gold close at hand can seem like the perfect solution. You’ll always know where it is, and that can give you peace of mind up to a point. Home storage can be rather risky, however.

Advantages

• You won’t need to travel to a depository or wait for the company to send your gold.
• Storing your gold at home can cost far less than you’d pay for depository storage.

Disadvantages

• Home gold storage is highly vulnerable to theft. No matter how well you store your gold, there’s always a chance of someone stealing it.
• If your home gets hit by a natural disaster, finding your gold in the rubble can be almost impossible.
• You may be unable to insure gold stored at home. If your insurance company allows it, expect to pay high premiums.

What To Look for in a Gold Storage Company

Picking a gold storage company is a very important decision. With gold worth thousands on the line, you’ll need to pick the best gold storage company for guaranteed protection of your investment.

Here’s what to consider when weighing your options.

Privacy

Offshore companies can be beneficial because your home government will never know you’ve got gold stored there. Look for a company in an offshore country that has robust privacy laws. That means the company can’t tell your home government, or anyone else, about your gold.

Security Measures

It may go without saying, but don’t store your gold in an area with a high crime rate. Even though the likelihood of a vault robbery is pretty low, it’s smart never to take chances.

The best gold storage companies have 24/7 security and controlled access to only allow certain people inside. They’ll also store your gold in a secured vault behind thick steel doors.

Legal Systems

Choose a security storage company in a country where the government can’t seize your gold just because it feels like it. Countries such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands offer strong protections against the risk of confiscation.

Infrastructure

Before making an account with the best gold storage company, consider the surrounding infrastructure. Are the roads safe, well lit, and easy to navigate? If not, there’s always a risk of thieves hijacking armored cars as they transport your gold to the facility.

It’s a good idea to pick a company near a major airport. If you don’t, you might end up spending hours on the road to pick up your gold.

Stability

Never store your gold in an economically or politically unstable country, such as Venezuela, Pakistan, or Haiti. Unstable nations like these have suffered from countless political conflicts, wars, genocides, and natural disasters.

Unstable countries are bad places to store gold because you never know when the government could seize your assets. Plus, traveling there to pick up your gold can be dangerous.

The Best Gold Storage Companies

You’ll find dozens of places to store your gold, but which is the best gold storage company? Below, learn about the top 10 gold storage companies with vaults in the United States.

GoldBroker

GoldBroker is a highly secure gold storage company with vaults in New York, Canada, Singapore, and Switzerland. Storage is managed by their partner Malca-Amit, a private operator independent of the international banking system. Malca-Amit has been around since 1963 and has stored gold for many high-net-worth individuals worldwide.

What We Like

• All clients have personal access to the vault and can check on their gold anytime (you’ll need to make an appointment at least 48 hours in advance, though).
• Its vaults are in trade-free zones, so taxes and duties don’t apply.
• GoldBroker will buy back your stored gold within two business days.

What We Don’t Like

• Storage fees follow a sliding scale. That means storage costs can increase the more you invest.
• GoldBroker doesn’t provide much information about how it levies premiums and commissions.

Sprott Money

Established in 2008, Sprott Money is a gold storage company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It also offers storage in the U.S., Singapore, and Switzerland. The company partners with reputable precious metals vault services from Brink’s, Strategic Wealth Preservation, and International Depository Services of Canada.

What We Like

• The company has an excellent reputation and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
• Sprott Money charges some of the industry’s lowest storage fees for gold.
• All stored metals are fully insured. In the event of loss, the company will compensate you.

What We Don’t Like

• Not all of its items are IRA-eligible.
• You’ll pay a $50 fee, plus market charges, for cancellations.

GoldSilver

GoldSilver is a gold storage company that also helps clients set up self-directed IRAs. It’s been in business since 2005 and has vaults in Salt Lake City, UT, and Dallas, TX. It also maintains vaults in China, Singapore, and Switzerland if you’re looking for offshore storage.

What We Like

• The company only uses Class 3 vaults, which have the highest rating in the industry.
• Clients have the chance to work with a dedicated representative.
• GoldSilver makes its storage fees clear on its website. Pricing is competitive with that of other gold storage companies.

What We Don’t Like

• The company currently has no BBB rating.
• It doesn’t offer palladium or platinum, so if you’re interested in those metals, you’ll have to go elsewhere.

BullionVault

BullionVault is a UK-based gold storage company with vaults in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and Switzerland. It bills itself as the world’s largest gold investment service and has over 100,000 clients across 175 countries.

What We Like

• BullionVault offers gold trades in four currencies: USD, JPY, GBP, and EUR.
• The company is open 24/7, which means you’re free to make trades at any time.
• It charges low fees for trading and selling. When you buy or sell gold, you’ll pay a maximum fee of 0.50%.
• The cost of insurance is included in the storage fee.

What We Don’t Like

• Although the fees are pretty low, there are quite a few of them. You’ll pay extra for fund remittance and burglar alarm alerts, which notify you of suspicious account activity.
• Its web platform is a bit dated compared to other gold storage companies.

Delaware Depository

Delaware Depository, as the name suggests, is a gold storage company based in Delaware. It’s been around since 1999 and is one of the biggest gold depositories outside of New York City. In addition to its Delaware vault, it has vaults in Las Vegas, Canada, and Switzerland.

What We Like

• The company maintains $1 billion of all-risk insurance through London underwriters.
• Customers can get holdings, shipping, and activity reports by mail or electronically.
• It employs guards to watch over the vaults 24/7 and performs random audits throughout the year.

What We Don’t Like

• The company has fewer customer reviews than others, making it tough to know whether it’s right for you.
• You can’t buy bullion without contacting a representative.
• Information about its management team is mostly hidden.

Brink’s

You may have seen armored Brink’s trucks leaving your bank carrying bagfuls of cash, but money transport isn’t the only thing this company does. It’s also one of the best-known names in the country when it comes to gold storage.

Brink’s is an IRS-approved depository operating in 53 countries. It offers segregated and commingled storage.

What We Like

• Brinks allows customers to track their gold from anywhere at any time. You’ll get real-time status updates on shipping, deliveries, and inspection reports.
• The company has an expansive distribution network and very high security.
• It has an excellent customer service team ready to help you if you need it.

What We Don’t Like

• You’ll need to contact Brinks to get a quote for gold storage.
• Gold storage fees can be higher than those of other companies.

J. Rotbart & Co.

Rotbart & Co. is a gold storage depository headquartered in Hong Kong. It stores all client holdings in state-of-the-art vaults located in tax-free zones. The company’s vaults are located in New York, California, and countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and Thailand.

What We Like

• All facilities are equipped with the latest CCTV cameras, climate control, security monitoring systems, and fire alarms.
• A London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) auditor audits holdings in vaults and issues independent reports to customers.
• You can visit your gold anytime with 24-hour advance notice.

What We Don’t Like

• There are very few reviews of the company, and it currently doesn’t have a BBB rating.
• It doesn’t advertise its storage fees online, so you’ll have to reach out to them for a quote.

JM Bullion

JM Bullion specializes in the sale of silver and gold coins, but it also allows customers to store their gold in Transcontinental Depository Services (TDS) vaults. It has vaults in Dallas, New York, Zurich, Toronto, and Singapore.

To use the service, just open an account with TDS, pick a storage location, and buy your gold from JM Bullion.

What We Like

• The company offers a 4% discount if you pay with wire, check, or automated clearing house (ACH) payments.
• JM Bullion facilitates the entire transfer process of your purchase to the TDS vault of your choice.
• It regularly offers promotions, such as six months of free storage when you buy more than $3,000 worth of gold.

What We Don’t Like

• The company only ships precious metals within the U.S. and to U.S. military boxes.
• The TDS Vaults website is a little bare-bones.

SchiffGold

Known as Euro Pacific Metals before 2014, SchiffGold is largely known for its gold IRAs. The company also provides gold storage through reputable security companies around the world.

If you want to keep your gold in the U.S., SchiffGold’s only option is its vault in Las Vegas. Outside the U.S., it has vaults in Canada and Singapore.

What We Like

• The company already has gold for sale in its depositories, which means you can buy and have the gold shipped directly to your account. It’s much faster than shipping gold from your home to a depository.
• The company offers 100% segregation to keep gold under your exclusive control.
• Its security company, TDS, independently insures gold against damage and theft.

What We Don’t Like

• SchiffGold doesn’t allow customers to buy precious metals online. To purchase, you’ll need to call or email the company.
• Despite being in business for over 10 years, the company has very few customer reviews.

Strategic Wealth Preservation

Strategic Wealth Preservation (SWP) is mostly known for its offshore gold storage vaults in the Cayman Islands, but it also offers domestic storage for those who want to keep their gold close to home. It has vaults in major cities in Texas, Florida, California, and Delaware.

Its Texas and Delaware vaults are managed by International Depository Services. Loomis International (U.S.) controls the vaults in California and Florida.

What We Like

• SWP makes it easy for customers to sell stored gold back to the company.
• All accounts undergo an annual independent audit by Bureau Veritas.
• User reviews indicate that the company’s customer service is responsive and friendly.

What We Don’t Like

• Transferring gold between vaults can take several weeks.
• Customers must pay a minimum of $50 in storage fees every three months.

Using Offshore Storage Companies

Offshore gold storage depositories offer several advantages over the domestic variety. Keeping your gold outside of your home country protects it from seizure by the government.

Many financial experts name Singapore as the best place to store gold offshore because of its low crime rates and modern storage facilities. This has made it an increasingly attractive option for savvy investors.

Swiss Gold Safe

Swiss Gold Safe has been providing VAT-free precious metal storage since 2006. It offers gold storage options in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

What We Like

• In addition to gold, the company allows customers to store securities, artwork, gemstones, and other valuables.
• Swiss Gold Safe values its customers’ privacy and is very discreet.

What We Don’t Like

• The company doesn’t make its storage prices available online.
• It offers bullion buying through an affiliate, but the selection is a bit poor.

BullionStar

Founded in 2012, BullionStar offers offshore gold storage options in Singapore and New Zealand. It also facilitates the purchase and sale of precious metals on its website.

What We Like

• The company is a five-time Inc. 500 winner with an A+ BBB rating.
• It offers some of the most competitive storage rates in the industry.
• Its Bullion Savings Program allows customers to buy gold at low premiums.

What We Don’t Like

• BullionStar doesn’t offer its own gold IRA services.
• Some reviewers complain about its customer service.

Loomis International

Loomis International provides state-of-the-art gold storage in two Singapore vaults. All holdings are fully insured against theft and damage.

What We Like

• It’s easy to check your holdings at any time through its web-based inventory system.

What We Don’t Like

• The company doesn’t advertise storage fees online.

GoldCore

Headquartered in the USA, GoldCore offers gold storage in Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland, and China. It’s been in business for nearly 20 years and currently holds more than $130 million in assets.

What We Like

• Its storage fees start at just 1% of holdings per year and decrease the more you store.
• It offers good educational guides to teach customers about investing in gold.

What We Don’t Like

• The company mostly caters to high-net-worth clients.
• It doesn’t offer precious metal IRAs.

The Perth Mint

The Perth Mint offers allocated and unallocated gold storage at its ultra-secure vaults in Australia. It stores more than $6 billion (AUD) in assets for clients worldwide.

What We Like

• The company is dedicated to ethically sourcing precious metals.
• The Australian government guarantees it won’t seize gold in the event of financial collapse.

What We Don’t Like

• Customer reviews complain about high fees.
• Some reviewers report problems getting in touch with customer service.

Why Not Just Store Gold at Home?

Storing your gold at home is very convenient, but it’s not worth the risk. Even if you have your gold locked in a safe, it doesn’t take much for a skilled thief to break in and steal it, and your homeowners’ insurance will not reimburse you for the loss.

Think you can get away with hiding your gold under the bed or behind a painting? Think again. Clever thieves are well aware of the most common places to hide valuables and will search your property high and low until they find it.

If you live in a place prone to floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes, your gold could disappear in a natural disaster in the blink of an eye.

The best gold storage company will fully insure your precious metals against theft and natural disasters, making depository storage a far safer choice.

Add Gold to Your Portfolio Today

Ready to learn more about the exciting world of investing in gold? Give Oxford Gold Group a call and find out how to secure your retirement with gold and other precious metals.

Contact us online or call (833) 600-GOLD today.