BullionVault

Highly Recommended

I have been using the BullionVault service since 2008, when I was looking for a way to protect cash savings at a time when Stirling was falling in value quite steeply due to monetary intervention during the current financial crisis.

I think the service fills a very valuable market niche for investors and savers seeking to protect capital at this time of extraordinary credit contraction and default risk from over indebted Government and the highly leveraged financial services sector.

From a customer perspective I have found the experience of doing business with BullionVault to be problem free, highly convenient and inexpensive.

I particularly like:
- Account opening procedure was simple and reasonably quick
- Storage fees are lower than you would pay using an ETF vehicle and with BullionVault you have recourse to physical bullion, while they take care of storage hassles and insurance
- The ability to trade bullion when the markets are closed, so you don’t need to make time during your work day to place orders
- Transparency of the daily audit and the fact you can check the value of your holding without logging on
- Security features such as the text alerts sent to your mobile for any logons or transactions
- Availability of customer service representatives, you can get them on the line rather than just being diverted to a recorded message.
- The ability to store in different jurisdictions I think offers some additional insurance against political risk

It is worth mentioning that when you place buy or sell orders on BullionVault you are transacting on a live trading platform, so the transaction may not be instantaneous as you are making a bid at a certain price and it has to ‘fill’. It allows you to take a view on short term price movements and bid accordingly. I found this intuitive enough and even a little entertaining. Their Robots provide liquidity even in the aftermarket, so if you want to move quickly you can still get filled.