Investing in gold can be done through bullion held in your own home, or through 12.5kg pooled bullion (shared between several people).

There are 2 ways to buy a gold bar:

"Direct ownership and shared ownership".

This^2nd option allows the investor to acquire shares in a gold bar at the same time as several other investors.

Storage is carried out anonymously by a company specializing in gold storage!

A storage certificate is issued. This certificate lists the numbered gold bars and their owners.

On the other hand, customers don't have accounts in their own name, so they can't access the storage space or physically check their stock!

Conversely, direct ownership gives you access to an account in your own name, as well as to the stock.

Shared gold: Features

The rules governing the acquisition of a bar by several investors are set by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).

A gold bar is a large ingot weighing 400 Troy ounces or 12.5kg.

The Troy ounce is equivalent to 31.10g!

The investment in a 12.5kg bar is very heavy financially, hence the principle of mutualization.

Advantages of shared Gold

The^1st advantage is storage. Companies have an ultra-secure system!

So no worries for investors.

The second advantage is that handling and administrative costs are significantly reduced, as the costs are shared between all investors.

This system also enables short-term speculation. A share can be bought or sold at any time, or even in its entirety, via a dedicated platform.

The storage company takes care of all the administrative side of transfers, which means that mutualized gold is highly liquid, which is no mean feat for a financial investment!