Hard Asset Alliance

[China Bull]

http://www.hardassetsalliance.com/

Might be worth a look if you are looking for an online service to buy/sell gold and silver and want to store outside the US or in the US (non-US investor). A good write up on it can be found here:http://buyandstoregold.com/hard-assets-alliance-review/. One supposed advantage is that since it is US based, no need to file anything under FBAR. I like it because it now has Singapore allocated/insured storage, which i believe is getting to be preferred for "new money" wealth from not only Europe and US but from other parts of Asia. Singapore is probably going to be more insulated from any conceivable pressure from US in the case of confiscation or other reporting pressure should it ever come to that, although no one knows for sure . Go were the new money is going, and that is not to Europe and Swiss, but to Singapore and Hong Kong. Just my two ounces of gold worth......

[LazyInvestor]

Anyone has any experience with this company?

[China Bull]

Once i am registered and open an account, i plan to entrust them with some of my gold holdings. I'll be happy to report on how they are but to be fair i have not used anyone yet for offshore holdings of gold so nothing to compare it with. they are essentially a front for Gold Bullion International, a large wholesale agent for gold and other PM - they work with some of the "big boys" like Bank of America, etc. and other institutional investors.

[BearBones]

Would be curious as to MT and Craigr's analysis of this, especially compared to Perth.

Negatives:  Looks like the spot price is a bit more than buying elsewhere (e.g., Goldmart or Gainsville), and the storage fee is 0.5-0.7%/year. So, if you wanted to store $100k in gold, it could cost you 700/year (vs about 30 for a SDB in US or Canada). If you want gold to rebalance, I do not see how selling price is defined (i.e., could be a large spread from purchasing prices). If you want to take possession, I bet you have to pay substantial shipping costs (not defined on web site). Plus, I am not sure that you can pick up your gold from facility. I think that a shipping address has to be defined in advance, and this may  not be practical in a SHTF scenario. Plus, if you do not pay storage fee and do not have enough cash with them, they can liquify after 30 day grace period. Etc.

I bet that one of HBs tacit purposes of having overseas gold was having hard assets in another county that are not reportable to (and therefore not seizable or heavily taxed by) your government. Doubt this holds true for HAA.

[bullionstar]

http://www.hardassetsalliance.com/

Might be worth a look if you are looking for an online service to buy/sell gold and silver and want to store outside the US or in the US (non-US investor). A good write up on it can be found here:http://buyandstoregold.com/hard-assets-alliance-review/. One supposed advantage is that since it is US based, no need to file anything under FBAR. I like it because it now has Singapore allocated/insured storage, which i believe is getting to be preferred for "new money" wealth from not only Europe and US but from other parts of Asia. Singapore is probably going to be more insulated from any conceivable pressure from US in the case of confiscation or other reporting pressure should it ever come to that, although no one knows for sure . Go were the new money is going, and that is not to Europe and Swiss, but to Singapore and Hong Kong. Just my two ounces of gold worth......

You are right that Singapore is a country where we are likely to see  "new money" flow in due to the reputation and low crime rates in the city. This is a trend that we as a bullion company has been observing for the past year or so. Since October 2012, the government of Singapore has lifted VAT/GST of 7% from all importation and purchase of investment grade precious metals including gold, silver and platinum. Our company took advantage of this and decided to set up operations on the island and the response from customers, both local and international, has been great so far. One unique feature that we offer all our customers is the option of free storage for precious metals purchases that are made with us. The storage would be free for a minimum of two years and we are seeking to keep it free after that as well. This vault location is in the Eastern part of Singapore and is managed by an international vault operator who has vast experience handling precious metals storage. Everything that our customer stores inside are fully insured. Do give our website a visit and drop us an e-mail at support@bullionstar.com or a call should you require more information. We would be able to cater to your varying needs. www.bullionstar.com

[jason]

I think the problem with Hard Assets Alliance is that they are a US company.  That means if the SHTF, they are probably going to have to go along with whatever the government wants.  They possibly will not be able to send wires outside the US.  I'm not sure if they could lose the ability to send the gold by mail overseas.  I think, for this reason, companies like GoldMoney are a better option due to the flexibility they have being outside the US.  The IRS reporting requirements are the tricky part with GoldMoney.

[LazyInvestor]

Any updates or experiences with this option?

[MachineGhost]

I think the problem with Hard Assets Alliance is that they are a US company.  That means if the SHTF, they are probably going to have to go along with whatever the government wants.  They possibly will not be able to send wires outside the US.  I'm not sure if they could lose the ability to send the gold by mail overseas.  I think, for this reason, companies like GoldMoney are a better option due to the flexibility they have being outside the US.  The IRS reporting requirements are the tricky part with GoldMoney.

The problem is you don't own anything with GoldMoney other than a ficitinous liability of the corporation compared to actual gold stored in a vault.  I would go with Hard Assets Alliance.  They can easily severe any relationship they have with vault storage companies due to U.S. government pressure and let the customers on their own to arrange for delivery, transfer, etc...