Investing in Gold
Gold
Gold can be used in a self-invested pension by clients who are looking to diversify their investment portfolio. Gold is sometimes seen as something clients feel they know and understand as a tangible asset in a way they may not feel they understand stock market investments.
Gold can be accessed in our self-invested pensions in two ways:
- Via the Royal Mint (wholly owned by His Majesty’s Treasury),
- Via an online platform – non-physical gold traded through an online platform. Providers must be one of our Investment Partners and meet our due diligence requirements.
Gold is not regulated by the FCA and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme
How to invest in gold
Please note that some investment form may not require a paper application form to be sent to us due to our streamlined processes. Please call us, or email us to find out whether a paper application form is required.
To submit a new account application to an investment firm, the process is as follows:
- Obtain an application form from the investment firm
- Submit the completed form to us via secure message or post
- We will complete the form, and return this to the investment firm
- The investment firm will set up the account
- We will then arrange for the funds to be sent to the investment firm and notify you once this has happened
- You contact the investment firm to place deal unless you have instructed the investment firm to manage investments on your client’s behalf
It typically takes up to 10 days for the new account to be set up by the investment firm. However, this is dependent on the third party firm’s processing timeframes.
If you are looking to add gold to an existing investment account, please find the process here.
Criteria for holding gold
In order for gold to he held in a SIPP with Curtis Banks, the proposed investment must meet all of the following criteria:
- Purity of not less than 995 thousandths
- In the form of a bar or wafer
- Of a weight accepted by the bullion markets
Gold platforms with investment partners
We have two existing investment partners through which clients can invest in gold via a Curtis Banks SIPP. Details of these two partners can be found below.
BullionVault
BullionVault lets UK private investors access the professional bullion markets and is the world’s largest online investment gold service, taking care of £2.9 billion for more than 100,000 users. BullionVault arrange for gold bars to be stored in professional-market vaults and are full members of the London Bullion Market Association, who are an independent authority on the global precious metals industry.
They have provided some helpful information about holding gold within a SIPP, which can be found here.
How does it work?
We will create the account for you with BullionVault. We may require updated ID from you to enable us to do this. If this is the case, we will let you know.
The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint (wholly owned by His Majesty’s Treasury) offers the opportunity to hold, manage and sell physical gold bullion held within your pension scheme.
The Royal Mint is a full member of the London Bullion Market Association, who are an independent authority on the global precious metals industry.
You can find out more by accessing the Royal Mint’s ‘Gold for Pensions’ webpage here.
How does it work?
You will need to download and complete a SIPP form from The Royal Mint’s website. You then provide this form to Curtis Banks via Secure Message, or via post. Curtis Banks will then set up an account with The Royal Mint and you will receive log in details. You can use these details to add physical gold, or a digital share in gold to your SIPP.