1. Principles of allocated custody
- Every bar or coin we hold is allocated to a single named client and identified in our register by refiner and serial number or, for coins, by description and quantity in a sealed, identified container.
- We hold client metal as bailee. Legal and beneficial title remains with the client at all times.
- We never lend, lease, pledge, swap, rehypothecate or otherwise use client metal, and client metal never appears on our balance sheet as our asset.
- No individual member of staff handles client metal alone at any point.
2. What we accept
We accept gold, silver, platinum and palladium in bars of recognised formats — including London Good Delivery bars, kilobars and smaller cast or minted bars from accredited refiners — and investment coins of recognised mints.
Metal must arrive by an approved carrier, under intact numbered seals, with documentation that establishes its provenance and the depositor’s title. Metal from outside an accredited chain of custody may be accepted subject to assay at the client’s cost. We may decline any metal that does not meet our acceptance criteria or our compliance requirements, without giving reasons where the law prevents us.
3. Receiving a deposit
- Inbound consignments are received at a controlled dock, on camera, by at least two of our custodians.
- Seal numbers are checked against the inbound documents before any seal is broken. Any discrepancy is recorded and the client is notified before we proceed.
- Each bar is counted, inspected, weighed and photographed, and its marks recorded: refiner, serial number, fineness, year and gross weight.
- The deposit is recorded against the client in our register and a deposit receipt is issued, listing every bar and recording the condition on receipt.
- Discrepancies found at reconciliation are notified to the client in writing within five business days.
4. The register
Our register records, for every bar, its identifying marks, weights, owner, location, the deposit it arrived in and every subsequent movement or change of ownership. The client portal displays the same register data — not a separate summary — so clients see exactly what we see.
Ownership certificates are generated from the register. When the register changes in a way that affects a certificate — for example a partial withdrawal or a transfer — the previous certificate is superseded and a new one issued.
5. Physical and procedural security
Our vaults are protected by layered physical security, intrusion detection, continuous monitoring and strict access control. For security reasons we do not publish details of these measures. Partner vaults are selected for equivalent standards and are reviewed regularly.
Access to areas where client metal is stored is limited to authorised staff working in pairs, recorded, and reviewed. Visitors — including clients and their auditors — are escorted at all times.
6. Segregation
Allocated bars are identified individually and stored in recorded positions. Clients who require physical segregation — for example a dedicated sealed case or compartment — may request it; additional fees may apply. Segregation is a physical arrangement and does not change the legal position, which is allocation in every case.
7. Inspection, audit and reconciliation
We reconcile the register against physical holdings at least twice a year, including counts of every bar in selected locations and sample checks of identity and weight. Our vaults are also subject to independent audit.
Each client, or an auditor appointed by the client, may inspect the client’s holding at least once in each calendar year on reasonable notice, during business hours, accompanied by our staff. We prepare a bar list for each inspection.
8. Withdrawals and deliveries
Clients request withdrawals and shipments through the portal. Before releasing metal we verify the instruction, complete any outstanding compliance checks and agree the method of collection or delivery. Releases are normally made within three business days of a verified instruction.
Metal is released only to the client, a person the client has authorised in writing, or a carrier or receiving vault named in the instruction, in each case against a signed receipt. Seal numbers and bar details are recorded on the release documents and on any waybill.
9. Transfers of ownership
Title to allocated metal may be transferred between clients without physical movement, on matching instructions from both parties and after our compliance checks. On transfer we update the register, mark the transferor’s ownership certificate as superseded, issue a certificate of change of ownership to both parties and a new ownership certificate to the transferee, and record the event in both clients’ activity logs.
10. Insurance
Unless a client’s agreement provides otherwise, metal in our custody and in our transit is insured against all risks of physical loss or damage at full replacement value under a specie policy placed in the London market, subject to its terms, conditions and exclusions. Clients are named as loss payee for their metal, and a certificate of insurance is available on request.
11. Incidents
If we discover any discrepancy, damage, suspected loss or security incident affecting a client’s metal, we will secure the area, preserve evidence, notify our insurers and, where appropriate, the authorities, and inform the affected client as soon as practicable.
12. Death, incapacity and unclaimed metal
On notification of a client’s death or incapacity, we suspend instructions on the account until the person entitled to act has established their authority, normally by a grant of probate, letters of administration, a lasting power of attorney or a court order, or the equivalent in the relevant jurisdiction.
We record next-of-kin details for every client and ask clients to confirm them periodically. Where an account becomes dormant and we cannot contact the client, we will attempt to contact the recorded next of kin and will continue to hold the metal in allocated custody. Storage fees continue to accrue.
13. Records
Register entries, deposit receipts, certificates, waybills and hand-over records are kept for the life of the custody relationship and for at least twelve years afterwards, so that title and chain of custody can be established long after metal has left our custody.