BullionVault Review
When reading the information below, please bear in mind that the gold dealer BullionVault can change its sales conditions at any time. Even though we will make every effort to reflect up-to-date information, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the information contained underneath. This website is not responsible or liable in any way for the actions of its readers.
A peer-to-peer platform for trading gold and silver bullion
BullionVault is a registered corporation in Great Britain that is headquartered in London. Its American office is located on Madison Avenue in New York City. The gold dealer BullionVault is part-owned by the World Gold Council, the market-development organization for the gold industry.
The function of the BullionVault website is to provide a peer-to-peer internet exchange platform for gold bullion bars (99.5% or higher purity) and silver bullion bars (99.9% or better). So BullionVault is something like the Napster of the gold and silver bullion market since it connects private buyers and sellers from all over the world. These individuals buy/sell gold and silver bullion bars (and parts of them) directly from/to one another on the BullionVault site, for which BullionVault charges a commission. Buyers who choose to take physical possession of their bullion bars incur a withdrawal fee. However, most of the individuals who trade at the BullionVault site choose to hold their purchased bullion at a secure storage vault (for an annual storage fee). These are managed by Loomis International and Brinks in Zurich, London, New York, Toronto and Singapore. Customers can spread out their bullion assets across these storage vaults.
Pricing
BullionVault charges its customers a commission for dealing on its website plus a monthly storage fee (if the bullion is stored in a vault).
The amount of commission you will pay depends solely on your total trade volume within a given year, no matter whether you are buying/selling gold or silver. For the first $75,000 in annual trade you will be charged a commission rate of 0.50%. The next $750,000 in trade beyond that will already see your commission rate lowered to 0.10%. After that (so if you trade more than $825,000 of gold/silver in a year), your commission rate will drop even lower to a mere 0.05%.
If you choose to store your traded bullion in a vault, you will incur a monthly storage fee on top of the charged commission rate. The monthly storage fee (that includes insurance) differs on whether you are storing gold or silver bullion in your vault. For gold it is only 0.01% ($4 minimum per month) of your traded/stored gold amount. For silver it is a bit more with 0.04% ($8 minimum per month).
Ordering
Opening an account with BullionVault is free and takes less than a minute. Customers can then transfer funds to their BullionVault Client Money trust account immediately. Proof of identity is required within two weeks after registering. The gold and silver that is for sale is physically located in a secure storage vault. Upon making a bullion purchase from one of the sellers, the bullion will change ownership and the seller will be paid immediately out of the buyer's BullionVault Client Money trust account.
Payment
Customers transfer funds to their BullionVault Client Money trust account directly from their bank account. Other forms of payment such as credit cards, PayPal etc. cannot be used to deposit funds. Once the payment has cleared, customers can use the deposited funds to purchase their gold or silver bullion.
Shipping/Withdrawing of Bullion Bars
A withdrawal of standard 100g gold bars can be initiated directly from the customer's online BullionVault account. Investors with large holdings need to contact BullionVault to request the withdrawal of entire Good Delivery bars of gold (400 troy oz, about 12 kg). Small bullion bars (50 grams minimum withdrawal) can also be requested to be withdrawn. All bullion withdrawals are subject to withdrawal fees.