It only takes a few minutes to complete a precious metals storage account opening form, but it could mean all the difference for the investor seeking a workable, cost-effective alternative to gold and silver ETFs. The depository storage account we offer comes with an option not readily available in most ETF accounts: You can take delivery of the metal in your account, or any portion of it, whenever you wish. At the same time, given the exclusive preferred referral storage rate you receive by opening your account through USAGOLD, the annual cost to maintain your holdings is comparable (and often lower) to what most ETF vendors charge in annual fees.

All the while, your metal is stored safely at one of America’s largest independent depositories – a firm with which we have done business for decades. If you wish to proceed with a storage account, we invite you to go to the link immediately below and fill out the application to get started. As detailed in the accompanying agreement, Transcontinental Depository Services (TDS Vaults) offers segregated storage and maintains an all-risk insurance policy on the items stored. We recommend a careful review of the agreement and invite you to call our Order Desk with any questions.

Gold and silver ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds), like GLD, are a viable vehicle for those looking to trade in and out of gold regularly and to speculate on short-term trends in the gold price itself.  That said, anyone holding shares of the ETF as a long-term store of value, asset preservation tool, or foundational hedge would be wise to review the prospectus of the ETF in which they are investing. Take the GLD prospectus (specifically pages 9-12), for example. 

Salient points include:

– GLD shareholders cannot take physical delivery of their position unless they own 10,000 ounces of gold or more – a roughly $20 million position at today’s prices. 

– The physical metal owned by the ETF to back its shares is subject to sub-custodial relationships, which, as the prospectus states: “Because neither the Trustee nor the Custodian oversees or monitors the activities of sub-custodians who may temporarily hold the Trust’s gold bars until transported to the Custodian’s London vault, failure by the sub-custodians to exercise due care in the safekeeping of the Trust’s gold bars could result in a loss to the Trust.”   

– The fund is exposed to counter-party risk associated with the fund’s custodian, HSBC: “Gold held in the Trust’s unallocated gold account and any Authorized Participant’s unallocated gold account will not be segregated from the Custodian’s assets. If the Custodian becomes insolvent, its assets may not be adequate to satisfy a claim by the Trust or any Authorized Participant. In addition, in the event of the Custodian’s insolvency, there may be a delay and costs incurred in identifying the gold bars held in the Trust’s allocated gold account.”

– To boot, the fund’s annual maintenance cost is 0.4%, which is more on an annual basis than the cost of insured storage offered by USAGOLD.

“ETFs are a financial product that have counter-party risk. Counter-party risk is present when there’s a possibility the other party in an agreement will default or fail to live up to their obligations. . .[O]ne of gold’s primary benefits is being the only financial asset that is not simultaneously somebody else’s liability. Therefore, these ETFs are a poor substitute.” – Mauldin Economics’ Olivier Garret 

“While ETFs such as GLD are backed by physical gold, the process for an individual investor to acquire the actual bullion isn’t as simple as selling shares of the ETF.  What happens if physical gold is in short supply and everyone wants to take delivery of their paper gold? They can’t squeeze blood out of a stone.” – Jeffrey Gundlach