written by reader Hard asset alliance

by glseneca | July 16, 2012 11:17 pm

Are you familiar with Hard Assets Alliance? It seems they offer physical gold[1] stored and give you the option to hold your metals overseas – in Zurich, London, Sydney or Singapore[2]. I would appreciate your feedback.

http://www.hardassetsalliance.com[3]

Endnotes:
  1. gold: https://www.stockgumshoe.com/tag/gold/
  2. Singapore: https://www.stockgumshoe.com/tag/singapore/
  3. http://www.hardassetsalliance.com: http://www.hardassetsalliance.com

Source URL: https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2012/07/microblog-hard-asset-alliance/


20 responses to “written by reader Hard asset alliance”

  1. This is a startup, I think, with a bunch of partners in many of the major newsletter publishers — so I bet we’ll hear a lot more about it. I don’t know if they’ll do anything really different than well-established firms like GoldMoney.com or the Perth Mint or any of the dozens of smaller dealers and brokers who will store for you. Haven’t personally looked at the details and I probably won’t do so, since I don’t have much need for more gold and my specifications for storage and recall of my precious metals holdings are neither particularly demanding nor unmet.

  2. Dave says:

    One catch that I see is a $5000 minimum on transactions, so you can’t buy one coin at a time.

  3. I have looked at the details; also received a number of super-secretive prerelease e-mails telling about that smashing ‘new’ concept of mouse-click buying of physical bullion. Hard Assets Alliance looks a bit like a mere frontend on existing offers like those of DDSC (Delaware Depository Service Co). It is true that HAA bullion comes a lot closer to the concept of investing in phyzz than GLD or other precious metals ETFs (just paper; systemic and counterparty risks),. On closer inspection though, I must say that I cannot see anything ‘revolutionary’ about the concept: rather than that $5000 minimum mentioned above, the real catch turns out to be price per ounce (let alone per 400 oz or 1000 oz bar). Precious metals investors fall into two, largely equally popular, categories: they either want to hold phyzz in their hands and are willing to pay some markup over spot (in this case, HAA is too expensive; there are better prices for physical bullion all over the place, including large and small internet vendors offering mouse-click ordering, and you might want to buy lower from these) or they want it stored in a safe place, probably off-shore/optional jurisdictions in which case BullionVault has a proven record and significantly better terms (end-of-day auditing, liquidity, storage fees come to mind), better price recovery systems, and overall lower prices at that. HAA may be fine for the — somewhat atypical — retail customer who isn’t so sure about whether they want their bullion vaulted or delivered (incurring additional charges) and are prepared to pay the price for that kind of hesitation. I’d rather buy phyzz online cheaper or enjoy the lower price, added benefits and professionalism of BullionVault though.

  4. joe says:

    But bullion vault is not cheaper. bullion vault sells unallocated gold, then charges a high markup if you want to take delivery. So if you want YOUR gold, expect a 5% or higher fee. I can’t see any benefit to bullion vault. The other problem is bullion vault sells all their gold from their own prop desk. What happens if everyone sells? Can bullion vault handle that level of liquidity? I wouldn’t want to find out.

  5. Adrian here from BullionVault. Just a couple of points:

    BullionVault users own allocated gold. There is no lending, leasing or credit arrangement of any sort. Allocation is proven – publicly each day – by the Daily Audit, showing that client gold is all there, in full, and that there are not multiple claims on the same metal.

    Not sure what’s meant by ’prop desk’ above, but BullionVault is an open exchange, where all users can post bids and offers as they choose. Yes, we quote prices to ensure you can deal whenever you wish. But peer-to-peer trading accounts for 2/3rds of volume – and volume was $2.5bn (with a ”b”) in 2011. This is very different, and very much more liquid, than the single counter-party of traditional dealers.

    Since our users hold metal in the form of large, Good Delivery bars, the liquidity of the global wholesale market is also on tap. It also means you’re not paying retail fabrication costs up front. Users who wish to can pay those charges and take physical possession if they choose. As for BullionVault’s pricing, we rank number one worldwide on any serious measure (see TrustableGold, Political Metals). Can’t speak for the new program’s costs — can’t find them detailed anywhere in full.

  6. Brad says:

    HAA is a front-end for Gold Bullion International (http://www.bullioninternational.com/). I don’t know if HAA offers a value add that would make it worthwhile instead of going direct to GBI (or if GBI even deals direct with retail customers). Here is the press release for it: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/7/prweb9703582.htm

  7. Donna says:

    Is the Hard Asset Alliance a legit company?

  8. Roger says:

    Donna,

    Hard Assets Alliance is definitely legit. We have a full review including an article titled “can I trust Hard Assets Alliance” at our website Buy And Store Gold

    Roger.

  9. Chuck Handshy says:

    Not sure they are staying around. They are having a problem getting transfers out in a timely manner. I have requested a money transfer to my bank account and it has been close to a month and several calls and still the transfer is pending. Now I am getting answering machine instead of person. At this time I couldn’t recommend them.

  10. Ole says:

    I’ve been using Hard Assets Alliance for about the past 2 months and have not had any problems with getting funds from my bank to the account. Usually takes about 2 working days once it is set up the first time. The only areas that i would say that have been “avg.” has been the web site is sometimes very slow to load. it only happened to me recently in past month or so and it could be my internet connection as well. minor inconvenience. the other is that i would like to see more variety in the sizes/locations of the metals especially those locations outside the US. i know that this will probably improve through time but right now it is sufficient for my purposes, but would like more.

  11. Wayne Nesmith says:

    This FYI only. Not my endorsement of HAA. My jury is still out.
    Read these 2 articles:
    Quick Take: The Gold Trade
    TheStreet.com-Jun 20, 2013
    NEW YORK (TheStreet) — TheStreet’s Jill Malandrino and Oliver Garret of Hard Assets Alliance and Casey Research discuss where gold is …
    TheStreet Joins Forces With Casey Research To Provide Expert …
    MarketWatch (press release)-Jun 18, 2013
    … and a more robust and interactive gold price and chart user experience powered by the Hard Assets Alliance (www.hardassetsalliance.com).

  12. Kelly Brown says:

    What’s the thinking on HAA, now several years down the road?

    Thanks!

  13. Scott says:

    Also curious how this company is viewed now. Anyone?

  14. Gary says:

    I am looking at HAA as well. Anyone have any updated info on them? Quality of service? Costs reasonable for storage? Customer Service issues? A few weeks ago I contacted bullioninternational.com with specific questions on my investing needs. Alex of their customer service recommended that I use HAA, probably for the reason of my wanting to invest about $7,000 and in gold coins (used for currency not collectibles). Alex was very helpful but it sounds like they want bigger investments from investors which I was fine with. Anyone else have any updated info on HAA??

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