SIPP - Gold bullion - where must it be stored?

D_Dickenson

I have a SIPP and was thinking of buying some Gold as part of it. Are there any rules on where it is stored - does it have to be in a bank or could I keep it elsewhere (under the mattress, buried in the forest etc). My thought is it would be useful to have some gold that is stored outside of the banking system so that if the credit crisis gets worse again and we end up in a situation like the do in Zimbabwe where the banking system has collapsed then being able to get ones hands on a real commidity might be a useful back up.

DavidLaGuardia

The only rule I am specifically aware of that Gold in SIPPs has to be of the bullion quality i.e. 99.5% pure excluding most jewellry and coinage. Gold has associated storage and transportation costs that are only kept to a reasonable level through ecconomies of scale; which is why ownership of part of large stash of it in a bank vault is the normal route. I doubt whether any SIPP administrator would consider under the matress, beneath the stairs or down the back of your trousers, acceptable for their responsibilities in reporting and administering ownership of the pension assets.
I am not sure if your fear in the banking system is warranted since you are not proposing to buy derivatives of gold trading. You wish to buy the actual gold itself which is held like any possession (like a painting for example) and which the banks are simply custodians of and cannot be passes to creditors. This is different to deposit money which is effectively a loan to the bank and relaint on their business activity. If in doubt, check the precise nature of your chosen investment before buying.
This site belongs to one of the providers of Gold to SIPPs (note I am not making any recommendation of their services over any other, just though it might give you more info) http://www.goldsipp.com/investment_gold.do