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Precious metal investors starting their gold investment journey or transferring funds from retirement plans like the 401k plan into a Gold IRA (Individual Retirement Account) often seek help and advice about which gold companies to trust. Most readers we attract are looking to find out who are the best companies for gold investments.
Bear Lake Gold, through this Bullionvault Review page, will answer the important questions serious-minded investors ask when deciding whether Bullionvault is the best option for their gold and other precious metal investments.
Here at Bear Lake Gold, we are a reliable source for the most accurate and updated information about precious metals companies in the industry. Over the years, we have independently evaluated over 120 precious metal companies using our expert gold dealer review methodology.
A crucial part of our review methodology entails reaching out to major stakeholders in the companies we are reviewing, including the owners and/or founders, management teams, and previous and current customers. We extend our research as widely as possible because we know that the details we provide about these companies can guide your decision about the best company to invest in gold and silver through.
When we meet these people, we ask them investigative questions about these companies. The information we get from them becomes a major part of the foundation on which we form our unbiased opinions about how suitable, moral, ethical, and competitive these companies are in the precious metals industry.
We pass all the details we gather about these companies through our review methodology; the resulting output gives readers information that is factually correct and allows them to compare gold companies on a like-for-like basis.
Hence, the information we will give you in this Bullionvault review document will cover various crucial aspects about this company. For instance, its owner/founder, management team, pros, and cons, what it sells, and its rating on various consumer rating websites.
Fundamentally, we intend to answer these three important investors’ questions using the information in this review document.
After interacting with Bullionvault’s major stakeholders, we made these conclusions about the company.
Read until the end of this review, and you will find out why we made these conclusions about this gold company.
Nevertheless, we still have one more important question unanswered, “Which companies would we recommend as the best precious metal & gold IRA investment companies?”
Bear Lake Gold does not just evaluate gold and silver companies; we also recommend the best gold IRA companies in the industry for your gold and silver investments. The companies we recommend are companies that we have researched intensely and extremely.
After evaluating hundreds of precious metal companies, we concluded that the best gold IRA companies for your precious metal investments are Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, and American Hartford Gold.
When we researched these companies, we discovered great features that most companies did not have, placing them above others. We have also rated these companies as the top three gold IRA companies in the industry because we found them to be the best.
We have prepared three straightforward, easy-to-read, and free documents containing all we learned about these companies when we evaluated them. These documents also contain their reports and can be yours in no time.
Simply click the relevant buttons below and input your details. We promise that the documents will be worth your reading time.
The company was founded in 2003. However, in 2005, Bullionvault began to offer vaulted gold to interested customers via the internet. Vaulted gold means physical gold belonging to a private investor and is stored professionally in highly secure vaults. The company is located at Bullionvault (Galmarley Ltd), 3 Shortlands (7th Floor), Hammersmith, London W6 8DA, UNITED KINGDOM.
Interested customers can trade gold via the company's internet platform. We discovered that customers could also reach Bullionvault customer support via phone. Bullionvault started offering vaulted silver in 2011, and in March 2017, it began to offer vaulted platinum.
Investors who buy physical gold through Bullionvault have outright ownership of their gold and can select between five separate vaults for storing their physical gold, silver, and platinum.
In addition, we learned from a customer care agent we spoke to that customers can hold their gold or get them stored in more than one vault, thereby diversifying their holdings across more than one jurisdiction.
When purchasing gold through Bullionvault, you can purchase grams of standard bullion bars weighing around 400 ounces (ca. 12.5kg). This weight is as defined by the LBMA. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is the official association for the gold market in London, and it determines the standard for bullion bars or good delivery bars.
Standard bullion bars are bought and sold at low premiums above their gold content market value. The reason for this low premium trade is to allow investors to buy, sell and store gold bullion without paying so much.
When we spoke to an agent in the company, he told us that Bullionvault works like a gold exchange for individual investors. According to him, the company’s customers can trade, buy or sell gold with one another. In addition, the company operates like a marketplace too. It can sell gold to and also buy from customers.
Bullionvault is a two-time United Kingdom Queen's Award for Enterprise winner. In 2009, the company won the innovation award for allowing private investors to buy gold from the professional gold market. Then in 2013, Bullionvault won the international trade Queen's Award.
In 2010, the World Gold Council partnered with a technology fund whose major investor is Rothschild Investment Trust (RIT Capital Partners) to buy Bullionvault’s equity stake.
The World Gold Council is the market development body of the gold industry. The members of this body are renowned gold mining firms whose joint market capitalization is more than $200B.
You can buy gold and silver from Bullionvault by following these simple steps.
Immediately after the company receives your deposit, you can place your order via the Bullionvault website.
Bullionvault will need you to validate and verify your identity within 14 days of funding your account. You can do the verification online by submitting a copy of your passport, ID Card, or Driving License alongside a copy of your bank account statement. The statement must belong to the bank account that you have linked to your Bullionvault account.
If you cannot verify your account using the method above, you can send a standard bank form that your bank has stamped to Bullionvault by post. Interestingly, you can deposit money in your account and trade even before Bullionvault validates your identity. The account verification and validation process takes only a few days.
Paul Tustain founded Bullionvault, and he is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
Bullionvault is a precious metal trading platform that allows investors to sell and purchase physical gold, silver, and platinum.
Individual investors can also trade their gold, silver, and platinum bullion stored in secure vaults via Bullionvault.
With Bullionvault, you will get outright ownership of your gold, silver, and platinum. In addition, the company regularly audits and inspects precious metal holdings and publishes their reports.
As mentioned, investors can purchase vaulted gold frequently via the Bullionvault Automatic Gold Investment Plan.
New clients who open an account with Bullionvault will get 4 grams of free silver.
Bullionvault markup for buying and selling gold is normally around 0.07%, whether you are buying or selling gold.
Bullionvault commission is both for buying and selling gold from its platform. Below are the charges that Bullionvault takes as commission.
The commission fees for buying gold apply when you want to sell too.
Bullionvault calculates all commission tiers manually, and on the client account registration anniversary every year, the commission rates will go back to 0.5%.
Bullionvault clients will pay 0.12% of their gold worth yearly for insurance and storage. Bullionvault bills monthly, and the fees are subject to a minimum of $4 per month.
The Withdrawal Fee for standard gold bullion bars (400 troy ounces) is 2.5% of your entire gold worth. For 100g gold bars, Bullionvault surcharges 3 to 6%. For non-standard gold bar sizes, Bullionvault charges 7.5%.
Bullionvault deducts the cost of wiring funds directly to the customers' bank account from the amount the customer withdraws. However, the fees are usually at most $30. European Union wire transfers are free; Bullionvault charges no transaction costs.
Customers pay special fees for the Automatic Gold Investment Plan. Bullionvault charges customers a 0.8% transaction fee when they buy and sell gold at the daily London price. The ongoing charges for storage and insurance run as normal.
Bullionvault charges for SMS and other account transaction notifications are clearly stated on the company’s website.
Bullionvault sells gold, silver, and platinum coins and bars. Usually, coins are more expensive than bars. The precious metals available in the company's catalog are;
The minimum purchase customers can make of gold, silver, and platinum is 1 gram.
The minimum purities for Bullionvault bullion bars are;
Every ingot comes with its "passport," showing the refiner's name, history, and all the movements it has made since it was minted. Bullionvault does not sell white gold. From what we learned, the focus of Bullionvault is gold and silver sale.
In March 2013, Bullionvault launched its Automatic Gold Investment Plan. The plan allows interested investors to buy gold at the daily London price.
As an investor, immediately after setting up your account with Bullionvault, you can deposit funds as you would in your normal bank accounts. The company will buy gold automatically for you using the money in your account.
In this manner, you will not need to place orders to purchase gold or trade directly on the company’s trading platform.
We learned from the agent we spoke to that you can set up an automatic monthly payment or standing order from your bank account to make regular deposits. For instance, Bullionvault will deduct your specified amount every month from your regular bank account and use it to buy gold for you.
Bullionvault’s Automatic Gold Investment Plan differs from regular savings because investors can choose when and how much they want to deposit into their accounts.
Investors can change their deposits' amount and frequency and stop making deposits at will without incurring any penalties.
In summary, the Bullionvault Automatic Gold Investment Plan allows you to regularly purchase gold automatically at the daily London price.
All you need to do is to transfer money from your regular bank account into your Bullionvault account, and the company uses your money to automatically buy gold for you.
Hence, it is a hands-free gold investment plan because you do not need to actively place any orders or trade.
Bullionvault is not a gold IRA (Individual Retirement Account) custodian. It is a precious metal company based in the United Kingdom that allows customers to buy and sell precious metals generally.
Not all products from Bullionvault are gold IRA-eligible. In addition, it does not help clients with all the paperwork required to set up their gold IRA accounts.
However, Bullionvault’s website explains a way to buy precious metals from it using money from your regular IRA.
If you are interested in opening a gold IRA (Individual Retirement Account), we recommend opening an account through a specialist like Goldco.
The company allows customers to store their precious metals across highly secure vaults in 5 different countries.
The intent is to choose the storage location that best suits your investment needs. The listed locations where you can store your precious metals are;
We advise our readers to store their precious metals in a secure storage facility as it is a very safe and excellent idea. Bullionvault works with renowned storage vaults across the globe.
Bullionvault insures all coins and bars, and you can select your preferred locations for precious metal storage. We also found out that Bullionvault does not mandate any client to store precious metals through them.
Suppose, as an investor, you live in London. You could choose to store your precious metals in New York and Singapore.
Nevertheless, if your idea of holding physical gold in your home appeals to you, you could select Zurich or London.
You can also transfer your precious metal to a different vault in another country if you feel more confident about it or if you change your mind.
Bullion Vault has a YouTube channel containing many precious metal trading video tutorials. One of the most popular videos on the company’s YouTube channel is “How to buy gold the safer, easier and cheaper way.”
You can sell your precious metals through or to Bullionvault. That means you can sell your precious metals directly to Bullion Vault or other customers on the platform at the daily London price.
Not A BBB-accredited business
1 star out of 5
There is only 1 review recorded on BBB so this score is not statistically relevant
No Reviews Were Found
No Reviews Were Found
4.4 out of 5 stars
This rating was based on 1,210 reviews on Google
No Reviews Were Found
No Reviews Were Found
4.7 out of 5 stars
This rating was based on 2143 reviews shown on the Trustpilot site
At the moment, Bullion Vault gives new customers who open accounts with it free 4 grams of silver. While this promotion is good, there are better options in the industry.
For instance, Goldco gives FREE SILVER WORTH $10,000 when you open a gold IRA through it and qualify for a rollover.
Conclusion to our BullionVault Review
Bear Lake Gold has concluded its review of Bullionvault and has deemed the online gold and silver company as legitimate. As one of the world's largest online bullion dealers, Bullionvault boasts over 40,000 clients and holds physical gold of up to 30 tonnes in allocated accounts.
Although opinions were divided on the fair pricing and fees, clients were unanimous in their praise for the Automatic Gold Investment Plan, which allows for easy gold ownership without active trading. With the option to physically withdraw gold from the allocated account and a quick deposit and withdrawal system, Bullionvault is a reliable storage solution for retail investors.
However, Bullionvault's lack of membership and rating with prominent consumer rating sites like BBB, BCA, and Facebook raises concerns for Bear Lake Gold and results in the company not being rated as one of the top 30 gold IRA companies.
For those seeking the highest level of transparency in their precious metal investments, Bear Lake Gold recommends Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, and American Hartford Gold. These companies have received A and 5-star ratings on trusted consumer rating sites and have proven to be top choices for gold investors based in the United States. To learn more, download Bear Lake Gold's separate review guides of these top three alternatives by clicking the relevant buttons in the “Top Three Bullionvault Alternatives” section below and entering your details.
Our #1 Precious Metals & Gold IRA Company - Best Overall
Augusta Precious Metals is our best rated overall precious metals company
Our #2 Recommendation - Best For Promotions
Goldco is our second top rated gold and precious metal company. Having been top rated all of last year they were very close top Augusta Precious metals
Our #3 Gold & Silver Company -Great Prices and Great Customer Service
American Hartford Gold is our third top rated company.
