Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man blog [8],
ViaMat, a Swiss logistics company that has been safeguarding precious metals since 1945, is literally the gold standard in secure storage.
They have vaults from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Dubai, and they count among their clients some of the largest mining companies in the world. They know what they’re doing.
And now they’re dumping US citizens.
ViaMat does a great deal of business within the United States. As such, the company is heavily exposed to the insane US regulatory environment.
As an example, the 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act turned into more than 500 pages of regulation! The costs and risks associated with compliance simply became too much for ViaMat to bear.
This matter-of-fact letter from ViaMat management explains their decision:
“We are currently experiencing rapid and substantial changes in the general regulations within this business. The changes mainly relate to the tax structures and taxation systems of various countries. As a consequence of these changes VIA MAT INTERNATIONAL has taken the decision to stop offering this service at its vault [sic] outside of the US to private customers with potential US-tax liability.”
This is huge. I can’t possibly overstate the potential ramifications.
For one, the big gold depositories like Gold Money and Bullion Vault ALL use ViaMat as a primary secure storage provider. So it’s only a matter of time before ViaMat’s decision cascades across these other firms.
I have written extensively about this to subscribers of our premium service, Sovereign Man: Confidential; most gold storage firms are all essentially different varieties of the exact same product. They are retail marketing channels that ultimately use ViaMat to store their gold bars. If ViaMat has US exposure, THEY have US exposure. It’s the same risk.
Now, if you’re in the United States in particular, one of the most important (and cost effective) steps you can take in international diversification is to store precious metals overseas.
Gold remains the most effective ‘anti-currency’ out there, a bet against a corrupt financial system and debt-laden sovereign governments. But remember– governments have an unblemished track record of plundering their citizens’ wealth. So if you store your gold in the US, you might as well ask Barack Obama to keep it under his mattress.
If history is any guide, storing gold abroad is critical. And it’s one of those things that you won’t be worse off for doing.
The thing is, it’s equally critical to work with a service provider that has no US exposure.
There are very few options out there. Again, most of the big boys use ViaMat, which has heavy US exposure. Or Brinks, which is a US company.
For nearly a year, I’ve been encouraging our premium subscribers to store their gold with a Singapore-based company that has the most advanced, transparent operation on the planet.
They are 100% Singaporean, and their US regulatory exposure is effectively zero.
They’re also one of the only firms on the planet that actually tests the gold it sells (and stores) through three different methods, including X-ray and ultrasound. This way you know that your gold is, in fact, gold… and not tungsten.
Best of all, they’re launching a new service to receive your existing gold at their facilities in Singapore. So if you’ve just been shut out of ViaMat, or you want to transfer your gold from another facility that has heavy US exposure, these guys will be able to do it.
They are, without a doubt, the best solution out there. And Sovereign Man: Confidential members have received unprecedented discounts and exclusive access to new services offered by this firm.
Storing gold overseas makes sense no matter what happens. And it’s critical to choose a reputable partner with no US exposure. If you agree with this premise and are serious about taking action, I’d encourage you to get started right away with a premium membership [9]. Get the actionable intelligence you need, all backed by our risk-free guarantee.