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When individuals need a secure location to store their precious metals, they often turn to reputable facilities like the Delaware Depository.
Renowned in the precious metals industry, this depository offers unparalleled security and reliability.
Strategically situated in an area with minimal risk of natural disasters, the Delaware Depository ensures the utmost protection for your assets.
The company intentionally selected a location away from major financial hubs such as New York or Washington, D.C., prioritizing both security and peace of mind for its clients.
Before we get started, investing your savings is a serious task. When it comes to adding precious metals to your portfolio, how do you know which companies to trust?
That is why we have researched every company in the industry and selected the very few with the highest customer service standards.
This way you can easily compare the best companies in the business, and choose one that fits your needs and investment goals.
Read the list to see if Delaware Depository passed our strict customer service standards to become one of our top recommendations.
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About Delaware Depository
The Delaware Depository's philosophy on the subject is that the depository is protected from threats that befall businesses in these major hubs. The area of Delaware where the depository is located never suffered a terrorist attack in addition to never suffering a terrible natural disaster.
Self-Directed IRAs
These retirement accounts are for people who want to own precious metals as part of their portfolios. By law, these folks are not allowed to keep any precious metals at home if they're part of such a retirement account. They must be stored in a secure and separate third-party facility. The Delaware Depository is just such a facility.
Folks who want to create such an IRA have to buy new precious metals specifically to put into the account. It's not allowed to put anything that is already owned into this account. Also, people aren't allowed to buy their own precious metals for inclusion in the account.
They must go through a third party known as a custodian. Companies that sell bullion and bullion coins either have such custodians on staff or have partnerships with other firms that provide clients with custodians.
The custodians perform all of the applicable transactions for the customers to whom they are assigned.
The Delaware Depository maintains a list of reputable and highly regarded custodians so that investors and the companies from which they buy their precious metals can work with these custodians if they so choose.
Ostensibly, this is to protect clients from accidentally taking possession of the precious metals they want to put into their accounts. If they do, even for a very short time, then it counts as having possession of the precious metals, which makes them ineligible for inclusion in the account.
Further, if such precious metals are in a person's account, then accidentally or purposely taking possession of them counts as withdrawing them. If someone is not yet 59.5 years old, then that person would pay penalties and taxes on the withdrawn precious metals that could total 10% of the investment or more.
Only certain things are allowed in a self-directed IRA. Bullion of any precious metals is allowed as long as it meets the purity standards. That's 99.5% for gold, 99.9% for silver, and 99.95% for palladium and platinum. Bullion coins are allowed if they also meet those purity standards.
A few American Eagle coins don't meet the standard but have been treated as legacy items that are allowed in self-directed IRAs.
Some of the other bullion coins that are allowed are the American Eagles that meet the purity standards, Canadian Maple Leaf Coins, Australian Kangaroo Coins, Vienna Philharmonic commemorative coins, British Britannia coins that are dated 2013 or later, Chinese Panda coins, and Mexican Libertad coins.
South African Krugerrands and British sovereigns are not the right purity standard and are not considered legacy coins, so they are excluded.
You're not able to own collectibles in a self-directed IRA because their value isn't as stable as that of precious metals. Even the most valuable coins in the world don't count because their value is in their rarity, the consensus on their worth, or both. Such collectibles that aren't allowed are coins that are not bullion, sports cards, postage stamps, and other similar items.
Not Just IRA Precious Metals
The Delaware Depository is more than just a receptacle for rich folks' precious metals. From individual investors to actual countries, nearly every possible entity that can own precious metals stores them in the Delaware Depository.
The depository is simply fanatical about security. Everything is recorded at both ends of every transaction. Everyone who works with precious metals in conjunction with depository operations is thoroughly vetted.
The Delaware Depository hires enough staff to field multiple inspection teams so that everyone's precious metals are checked again and again to ensure accuracy and security.
The depository uses all of the possible state-of-the-art equipment to keep track of everything, including X-rays, impeccably designed and calibrated scales, ultrasound scanners, and the very latest technology when it comes to vaults.
Not only does the depository maintain the security of the vaults with both technology and highly trained personnel, but it also always observes the personnel who are onsite the whole time they're there.
Backing up all of the precious metals, not to mention the depository and its employees themselves, is a nearly all-encompassing insurance policy from Lloyd's of London. The policy is for $1 billion. Of course, the usual exceptions apply: acts of war, acts of God, and cyber attacks.
Management Team
According to the Delaware Depository's website, the management team has more than a combined 200 years of experience in the field. The vaults are Class-3, which means that the vault doors will, in the unlikely event of a burglary, withstand two hours' worth of abuse and attacks.
Given that the Delaware Depository is staffed 24/7/365, the chances of burglars having two hours to break through the vault while remaining unnoticed are virtually nil. The entire property is monitored around the clock by the latest in camera technology.
The vaults are all UL-rated, as well, which means that they adhere to a stringent set of guidelines that are more than a century old and that have been continuously updated.
Also, the depository doesn't count the gold within it when tabulating its balance sheet, which is crucial for remaining objective while protecting clients' precious metals. The main building covers 72,000 square feet, and all of it is fortified against attack.
Independent auditors constantly check and recheck all of the precious metals stored in the Delaware Depository and all of the accounting procedures the depository uses, and these auditors follow SSAE No. 18 procedures. These are the latest update to the Generally Accepted Auditing Standard.
The Online Reviews
The Better Business Bureau rates the Delaware Depository A+ and grants the business full accreditation. The reviews are almost all five-star.
There are complaints, to be sure, but a quick perusal of them shows that they're mostly from clients who either didn't get their way or misunderstood the processes. The Delaware Depository answers nearly every complaint with a thoughtful, thorough, and professional response.
Multiple reviewing agencies and websites award their highest marks to the Delaware Depository. Sutter Gold Mining, American Bullion, and Bonds Online are just three of them.
Additionally, major precious metals traders such as Goldco, Noble Gold, and Augusta Precious Metals swear by them. Comments such as, "You won't find anything better," and, "The Delaware Depository is the industry leader," are common in these reviews.
Investing in Precious Metals
The Delaware Depository doesn't sell or buy precious metals. They're just the depository. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are popular as investments because of their stability and long-term, yet modest, growth.
Investors will seldom make a killing with precious metals, but they won't lose their shirts either.
Precious metals aren't prone to wild price swings in the same way as other investments, such as stocks, futures, and commodities, are.
Generally, it's not a good idea to have more than about 10% of your portfolio in precious metals. Diversification is the key to successful investing. Even though precious metals are extremely safe and stable, they don't provide income through dividends in the way that stocks can.
As previously mentioned, when investors put precious metals into an IRA, they can't withdraw them until they turn 59.5 years old. Once they turn 72 years old, however, they must begin to make at least minimum regular withdrawals from the self-directed IRAs.
The Delaware Depository works with both investors and custodians to facilitate easy transactions.
The Second Depository
The Delaware Depository recently expanded to Nevada. The new building has all of the same levels of security procedures and equipment that the Delaware location has.
Both Delaware and Nevada don't charge sales tax on stored bullion and coins, making these states the right choice for both depositories.
The Final Word
The Delaware Depository safeguards folks' precious metals. The company has a stellar reputation among not only companies that deal with precious metals but also banks, other investment houses, and governments of all levels all over the world.
The Delaware Depository concentrates not only on top-flight security, scrupulous honesty, and superb customer service but also on improvements.
The company is always seeking to do things better and more efficiently than before. In fact, there is so little negative to be said about the company that this reviewer heartily recommends the Delaware Depository for all of your precious metals storage needs.
Remember to read out list of the Top Gold Companies to see if Delaware Depository made the cut.
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