Excerpts from “Options For Storing Precious Metals”
By Catherine Austin Fitts and Carolyn Betts

“In this article, we summarize some of the better-known custodial, vaulting, and digital gold arrangements available to individual investors in precious metals and provide a list of considerations for those interested in exploring these and other alternatives available to them…“

We provide some key definitions:

• Allocated Account (versus Unallocated Account)
• Bailee
• Chain of Integrity
• Custodian
• Depository
• LBMA
• LBMA Good Delivery Status
• Safe Deposit Box
• Trustee
• Vault

And some key questions to ask, e.g.:

• Are your precious metals held in allocated or unallocated, segregated or unsegregated, form? If both options are available, what are the price differentials for individual metals?
• What relationship does the storage facility have to the investor, i.e., is it a bailee/custodian, agent or trustee or does it provide limited services at the investor’s risk?
• Is there insurance against theft? Fraud? Does the insurance run to the investor individually, or to the storage facility or to some other intermediary?
• What auditing arrangements are provided?
• If an online purchase or liquidation facility is involved, what security measures prevent identity theft? Who is responsible for breaches of the system? What is the credit of any responsible party?
• If the precious metals are purchased and/or held in a foreign country or state, what tax, customs, privacy and other laws apply?
• If the storage facility or an affiliate also operates investment funds, how does that relationship affect holdings of precious metals by individual investors?

We describe a few different types of storage options:

• GoldMoney
• VIA MAT International
• Bullion Management Group
• Perth Mint
• Delaware Depository Service Company
• GoldSilverVault.com
• Security Center
• The Swiss Option

It is now available on an open basis as of August 11, 2010.