Where is the Safest Place to Store Your Hard Assets?

There are only a few places in the United States where your hard assets would be absolutely, 100 percent safe: the national Gold Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, the file rooms at the Pentagon and the various military bases where American nuclear weapons are stored. These facilities feature sophisticated physical security as well as constant guard by soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines.

Sadly, the aforementioned facilities are off limits to civilian deposits of hard assets, thus leaving you with the following options, which all have certain advantages and disadvantages:

Hidden Compartments in Properties You Own

This may seem like the most affordable method, but it is also the riskiest and most difficult to insure. When you hide your numismatic collection and precious metals at home, you will develop a false sense of security called a cognitive bias. You may think that no one else would be able to figure out the location of your stash, but humans think alike more often than not. The other problem is that insurance companies will balk at the idea of writing a policy for this situation.

Safe Boxes in Properties You Own

This method is much safer than hidden compartments, but insurance can be costly unless the safe is located in a secure where it cannot be easily carried away; this means a safe heavier than one hundred pounds and attached to the residential structure.

Bank Safe Deposit Boxes

The problem with this storage method is that there are many misconceptions associated with it. First of all, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation does not cover the contents of safe deposit boxes located within banks. Insurance companies will offer coverage only after they review the terms of service agreement, which often features certain exclusions. Some banks will not allow silver or gold pieces to be stored unless they have collectible value; furthermore, banks are known to put up little resistance to government demands to open boxes.

Irrevocable Trust Companies

An irrevocable trust established in Nevada is considered to be one of the safest legal instruments in the world. If you want absolute privacy and total asset protection from creditors, plaintiffs and the government, irrevocable trusts are highly recommended; however, you will still have to inspect the physical safeguards offered by the trust management companies. Moreover, insuring the hard assets and paying for the premiums will be up to the trustee.

Vault Storage

This method is generally considered to be safer and more reasonable than bank safe deposit boxes, and the insurance options tend to be more affordable and comprehensive. The downside to vault storage is that your hard assets will not have too much protection in the legal sense; skilled attorneys may be able to establish that the owners of the vault facility are liable for ownership claims. Another issue is that access may be restricted to business hours, thereby making things difficult in case of an emergency.

In the end, since there are pros and cons in all the options available for storing your hard assets, your best bet is to never put all your eggs in the same basket and use a combination of two or more of methods listed herein.