FAQs

For the security and privacy of its members, VON GREYERZ operates a 24/7 access, cross-browser based Client Portal on proprietary servers in a completely self-supporting Swiss mountain location featuring encrypted storage of all communication and file exchanges.
VON GREYERZ uses high-availability system architecture in an underground, zero-risk facility in Switzerland.

Data is continually backed up at multiple, physically separated data centers offering the best protection against EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attacks, malware, natural disasters, fraud, vandalism, fire or any other known threat.
We encourage our customers to communicate with VON GREYERZ directly through our Client Portal, as portal messages are end-to-end encrypted to safeguard the full confidentially to the transmitted information.

As a full-service advisory organisation dedicated to wealth preservation through precious metal ownership and storage, we not only provide direct access to our principals and staff, we encourage it. Clients can reach us directly by phone during normal business hours (Swiss time zone) or 24/7 through our encrypted online communication portal.

VON GREYERZ client list and the data at our vault companies are 100% confidential and secure.
Neither VON GREYERZ nor the vault companies are required to report investors’ precious metals to any authority in any country. We use the highest-level encryption services in all our locations as well as within our secured Client Portal to ensure that all client information is protected and confidential.

With VON GREYERZ your ownership of precious metals is 100% unencumbered – you own them fully and directly. Your precious metals are not leased to any third-party. The holdings are being held directly in each client’s name and VON GREYERZ does not have a Power of Attorney (PoA) or authority on them. Further, our storage facilities are located outside the banking system, meaning that we are not dependent on functioning stock markets or banks. And if you need access to your precious metals – to sell, transfer, or pick-up, they are immediately available.

We are committed to providing first-class services and excellence to our clients.

Through our secure Client Portal, clients will be able to communicate securely with VON GREYERZ and track all trade confirmations, review periodic account valuations, see Warehouse Receipts and download all documents related to your account.

Any and every time there is a movement of precious metals to or from the vault, a vault handling charge is being applied. This includes charges related to customs clearance, handling, moving into or out of the bonded/domestic warehouse and issuing a new Certificate of Ownership or Warehouse Receipt. For the high-security vaulting facility in Zurich (Switzerland), the vault handling charge is as follows:

Gold CHF 200 (or respective amount in the client’s account currency)

Silver CHF 400 (or respective amount in the client’s account currency)

Please contact our Trading Desk for the vault handling charges of the other storage locations.

Yes. We allow clients direct access to their precious metal assets for pick-up, audit etc. at their convenience.

The precious metals are insured against physical loss or damage when being transported by well-known specialised secure transportation companies, namely Loomis or Brink’s.

After a purchase, it takes two to three working days until the client’s precious metals are delivered from the refinery to the vault.

Yes. We assist clients in every aspect of the secure, safe and insured transportation of their existing precious metal assets from anywhere in the world.

VON GREYERZ does not provide any individualised tax advice or expertise and thus we highly advise that any specific tax questions and issues be confirmed by a client’s own tax expert.

Any and all residual funds left over after fund transfer for product purchase will be immediately transferred back to the client.

Prices are fixed immediately upon the date of trade execution once client funds are received through the VON GREYERZ’ Client Portal.

As soon as the investment funds arrive, our Trading Desk will immediately execute the requested precious metals purchase for the client. Precious metal transactions are executed through Swiss refineries’ Trading Desk hours which are 08:15 to 17:15 Swiss time.

VON GREYERZ purchases LBMA-certified gold and silver bars directly from major Swiss Refiners like Argor-Heraeus and MKS PAMP. With regard to coins, our Trading Desk sources them through A-Mark in the Wholesale Market. The actual provider used by VON GREYERZ depends upon from where we can get the best pricing at the time of trade execution.

We only accept bank wires for purchases. In the Client Portal the detailed banking/transfer instructions are explained.

VON GREYERZ purchases LBMA-certified gold and silver bars directly from major Swiss Refiners like Argor-Heraeus and MKS PAMP. All the gold bars come supplied with an official Certificate of Authenticity direct from the manufacturer. As we are sourcing the precious metals directly in the primary market, the purchased bars will be securely transported from the refinery to the vault in sealed boxes guaranteeing the chain of integrity. With regard to coins, our Trading Desk sources them through reputable providers like A-Mark directly in the Wholesale Market. Upon client’s request and during client’s inspection of their precious metal holdings, all necessary testing equipment is further available. All 400 oz gold bars stored at the Mountain Vault facility in Switzerland are additionally verified by way of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Finally, those clients seeking additional verification of their insured assets are welcome to bring in their own independent, third-party experts to assay their insured assets at any time.

When investing with Von Greyerz, the precious metals are held directly in the client’s name and Von Greyerz does not have a Power of Attorney (PoA) or any authority on them.

The Warehouse Receipt is issued directly by one of our storage partners which are deliberately independent of Von Greyerz. Said certificate is unique, given to each individual client, and states precisely the Beneficial Owner as well the identification markers of their bars & coins, i.e. their weight, purity, serial number, and name of their refinery (if applicable).

It is to be noted that gold bars and coins are stored in sealed boxes and that the seal number is specified in the Warehouse Receipt. Every time that a security seal is broken and updated, a Warehouse Receipt with the new seal number is issued. With this additional security feature, a client can verify that the box containing their precious metals has not been opened without client authorisation. Clients can visit and inspect their assets anytime during normal business hours or upon special request.

The client can designate one or more persons with a Power of Attorney. The PoA gives authority to a third-party to purchase, sell, and provide other instructions in the name of the client’s account.

A signed form as well as a passport copy of the person(s) designated with a Power of Attorney are required.

Please contact us so that we can advise and assist you during our highly personalised and user-friendly client onboarding process.

The process is in fact quite simple, involving basic identity verification, online document delivery, account creation, fund delivery and then precious metal product and storage selection.

Once clients have started with the client onboarding process, they will have access to our secure online platform, where they can safely and privately communicate directly with our team and safely transmit data and documents.

All data is transmitted through encrypted SSL (SHA-256 with RSA Encryption) connections and stored securely in Switzerland within our highly protected (and guarded) proprietary servers.

As soon as the client onboarding is completed and the account has been approved, clients will receive an official account opening confirmation specifying their account details. Once completed, clients can then wire all funds needed for us to place an order to execute their precious metal request through our Trading Desk.

Through our Client Portal, clients will be able to communicate securely with Von Greyerz and track all trade confirmations, periodic account valuations, Warehouse Receipts and all account documents.

Von Greyerz offers institutional investors the facility to buy physical gold bars and store them outside the banking system at a cost comparable to investing through a gold ETF.

The typical method for investing in physical gold for institutions would be via gold ETFs. But an ETF is a paper investment in gold and does not give direct physical ownership. Through Von Greyerz Precious Metals Division – GoldSwitzerland – institutional investors can acquire gold bars in their own name which are stored in private vaults outside the banking system. The investor owns the individual bars directly in their name with serial numbers, weight and purity markers. The appointed officers of the institution or their accountants have access to inspect the Gold. There is instant liquidity and Von Greyerz will buy, sell or transfer the bars at the request of the investor. The cost for buying, storing and insuring the physical gold bars is comparable to the cost of buying “paper gold” through an ETF.

In today’s very fragile and indebted markets, post Lehman, and in the midst of increasing economic risk and funding limitations, any company CFO and Treasurer should assess the potential downside to both columns of the balance sheet in order to protect the company’s assets and its shareholders. The case for a balanced percentage of Gold to protect a company’s cash is likely to both preserve and enhance the company’s assets especially at a time when cash becomes more of a liability and a risk rather than an asset.

Types of legal documents vary depending on the entity and country of registration—i.e. basic trust documents and approvals for trust investors, corporate confirmations for corporate structured entities, and individual ID’s for individual clients.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Accounts team for more information.

Generational wealth should be managed with reverence and with the purpose of preserving and enhancing the assets for future generations. Due to a century of money printing (starting with the creation of the Fed in 1913), most investment assets such as stocks and property have risen significantly in the last hundred years. This has created considerable private wealth. The current fragile state of the world economy, with most major sovereign states and their financial systems virtually bankrupt, will make it extra difficult to preserve this wealth. In meetings with Family Offices in the last couple of years, we have found that there is too much emphasis placed on short term and traditional risk-parity strategies and performance rather than the long-term protection of wealth. Furthermore, we have a seen a dangerously high preference for risk assets and levered private equity investments in many family office investment models, which again, seem unusually weighted toward higher risk and reward motives rather than longer-term risk management.

In our recent presentations at major Family Office Conferences, it was clear to us that many managers of major family wealth are very much focused on traditional assets such as stocks, bonds and property. Few managers realise that in real terms, measured against gold (money that can’t be printed/diluted), traditional assets like commercial property as well as the securities markets have declined 75-85% in the last 10-13 years. These assets were inflated by money printing and the credit bubble in the last few decades. They are likely to continue their major under-performance in real terms going forward.

Gold has been a critically important asset throughout history. During periods when the financial system is unstable, wealth preservation becomes very important. Owning gold stored outside the banking system with personal access for the investor is the ultimate, and most historically-confirmed allocation for protecting wealth. This is especially the case in times when the return of investors’ money is at risk due to the fragility of regional and global banking systems (Iceland/Cyprus). During such times, investors should put sufficient funds into gold so that they are protected against banking failures or the decline in the value of paper money. The percentage to be held in gold depends on the circumstances of the investor, but 15-25% should be considered as a minimum.

VON GREYERZ accepts private clients, legal entities (private operating and non-operating/SPE companies) as well as trusts, foundations, pension funds and other institutional investment companies. This means we service private individuals, institutional accounts, corporate accounts and family offices.

Account opening is subject to Swiss anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and Know Your Client (KYC) provisions.

For Swiss investors we offer the option to purchase silver and platinum without VAT when the precious metals are stored with us in a bonded facility in Switzerland.

The minimum investment in precious metals with VON GREYERZ is CHF 400,000 (ca. USD 400,000) or 250 ounces of gold or its equivalent value in other precious metals.

Although not an open risk, the most obvious concern would be direct accessibility to the assets during times of heightened conflict and/or travel limitations, which would make direct access to the assets difficult or delayed. VON GREYERZ cannot override such circumstances, but we can ensure the security of the clients’ assets as well their liquidity from our Zurich trading desk during all market and global conditions, short of an outright closure of trading activities, in which case delays in liquidity would follow.

A primary objective for precious metal ownership is risk diversification and hedging against the now undeniable vulnerabilities facing the purchasing power of the major global currencies due to extreme monetary policy expansion and other worst-case market and geopolitical risks/scenarios.

History has taught us that the more a country is indebted, the more fiat currencies are created to “solve” such debt balances, a policy which always ends in massive currency dilution regardless of reported or unreported inflation data. Furthermore, the higher the debt risks, the higher is the risk of sovereign confiscation of citizen wealth in the name of “national security.” An equally important part of any personal risk assessment must address the necessity of international wealth diversification by placing assets in different jurisdictions, especially those with the highest personal and privacy rights. Physical gold, moreover, once owned and safely stored in the most advantageous locations, can be easily converted into any currency at any time needed.

VON GREYERZ history as well as vision is one of legacy-making permanence and industry leading service. Toward that end, we maintain a debt-free balance sheet, a carefully vetted and professional executive team as well as an advisory board of the highest caliber legal, banking and compliance professionals. Succession planning within the organisation is internal and well-developed to ensure a seamless continuity of organisational knowledge and service. In short at every level—financial, executive, advisory and board—VON GREYERZ has taken all necessary measures to ensure operational stability.

Given that all clients have direct, fully allocated ownership of their precious metals, their holdings are neither part of our balance sheet nor do we have any control over (or right to) those assets, including no Power of Attorney (PoA) on said assets. In the highly unforeseen event of an operational failure at VON GREYERZ (given decades of healthy operations and managerial planning and zero-creditor risk), no third-party creditors or other entity would be able to place a claim against any client’s precious metals.

Since we do not engage in any manner of pre-financing asset purchases or the use of any hedges, margin accounts or other form of speculation with the respect to the precious metal holdings, our business model effectively eliminates such business/creditor risks. Our balance sheet holds no exposure to derivative financial contracts (including futures contracts) but only physical precious metals.

The foregoing measures are completely in line with our wealth preservation principles of eliminating all counterparty risks (including our own enterprise risk) for our clients.