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5 Ways To Protect Your Precious Metals Investments 

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Once you invest in precious metals, it becomes your responsibility to protect your asset. Whether you bought your precious metal in physical form or not, there are risks associated with either form of investment.   

There are many ways in which you can protect your investments. Also, you should take into consideration the number and type of stocks you have because different investments pose different risks in terms of protection and storage. You don’t want to lose your precious asset after paying so much for it; that’s tantamount to a loss. Therefore, you ought to make a concerted effort to protect your investment. 

To learn more about why precious metals are a good investment, you may click here. That said, here are a few tips on how you can protect your precious metal investments:  

1. Secure Your Safes 

Safes are secure; they require a passcode or digital code to unlock them, which in most cases can be personalized. You want to set up a code that is not completely obvious. Since you’re most likely keeping this in your house, you may want to keep this information as private as possible. A careless mouth could get you in trouble.   

Another benefit of using safes is that they are usually hefty. So, it won’t be easy for anyone to steal the whole safe. It will be tough, especially with the armored safes. Therefore, perhaps you need a safe that has an impeccable security system. It is becoming increasingly achievable with the advent of technology in the form of improvements. So, safes can be a good option if you wish to keep your precious metals in your home.   

However, a proper safe will likely be expensive. But, if the system is top-tier, it’s worth every penny because you rest assured knowing that your assets will be safe.   

Moreover, an alternative is some investors prefer to keep their assets in a secret space, such as behind the wall in their house. This method is as safe as it can be kept a secret too. While you may not be able to control the winds of misfortune that may come your way, you can control how much private information you share.   

2. Choose Your Banks 

You can also choose a banking institution to hold your physical precious metal stocks. Now usually, this type of storage attracts a fee. Banks differ in terms of the fees they charge to their clients. You should look for a bank with favorable charges that won’t affect your pockets too much. Banks are generally safe, but they are not without risk. It brings us to the next point.  

3. Risk Insurance 

Since there’s the risk that something could happen to your precious metal if it’s stored in a bank example, bank robbery, you may want to explore insurance options that are available for you. And precious metals can be embezzled by criminals, and while that may be unlikely in high-security institutions, it’s still a real risk. E that your selected banking institution has insurance for those clients who wish to store their precious metal holdings in their vaults.   

4. Do Background Checks 

You should beware of scammers in the precious metal business too. Some scammers can collude to bid up the price of precious metal coins. It’s not ethical business practice. So, it’s wise to do quick background research of any brokers or dealers you would want to engage in business with beforehand. You don’t want to partner with someone who doesn’t have your best interests at heart.   

Yes, at the end of the day, it’s still business. But that doesn’t warrant throwing ethics by the wayside. Your metals are your investments. Treat them like your own business. Watch out whom you entrust with those investments too. That also applies to when you invest in precious metal stocks, futures, or mutual funds. Ensure to do background checks on the management track record of the fund or trust before committing your hard-earned cash into it.   

5. Utilize Your Depositories 

This storage option is perhaps the most advantageous. Depositories usually have a lot of storage capacity fitting for those people who own large amounts of precious metals. Plus, they usually have facilities such as climate control which ensure that your assets are stored safely and optimally. Mind you, rooms that are temperature-controlled help to maintain the integrity of precious metals.   

Also, these facilities are usually heavily guarded with around-the-clock surveillance security. It is great news for you as the owner of the precious metals. But before you go ahead to utilize a depository for storage, please ensure to ask whether they offer segregated or communal storage options or both. If you want your holdings to be stored separately, segregated storage is your go-to. These spaces may not strictly house precious metals per se, but other valuable items too. Either form of storage is relatively secure regardless.   

Furthermore, depending on your depository partner operates, some might offer accounting and insurance services, which will bolster the attractiveness of their offer. Not all depositories have such options, but it’s worthwhile checking if they do.  

Conclusion 

When it comes to protecting your precious metal investments, the abovementioned tips can help form the basis of your exploration into what works for you. Every investor has their concerns and preferences, and you should equally respect them when making decisions. After all, precious metal investments are a business too. Losses should be avoided at all costs. But if you’re prudent, you can gain a lot by having secure investments in the bag. Therefore, always do background checks of the partners you wish to work with before doing business with them.  

Gary McFarlane

Gary McFarlane

Gary was the production editor for 15 years at highly regarded UK investment magazine Money Observer. He covered subjects as diverse as social trading and fixed income exchange traded funds. Gary initiated coverage of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at Money Observer and for three years to July 2020 was the cryptocurrency analyst at the UK’s No. 2 investment platform Interactive Investor. In that role he provided expert commentary to a diverse number of newspapers, and other media outlets, including the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard and the Sun. Gary has also written widely on cryptocurrencies for various industry publications, such as Coin Desk and The FinTech Times, City AM, Ethereum World News, and InsideBitcoins. Gary is the winner of Cryptocurrency Writer of the Year in the 2018 ADVFN International Awards.