The Royal Mint has opened up its vaults for investors wishing to hold gold in a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) or a small self-administered scheme (SSAS).
Chris Howard, director of bullion at The Royal Mint, said this was the first time bullion — specifically Royal Mint Refinery 100g and 1kg bars, and Signature Gold bars — had been authorised by HM Revenue and Customs and HM Treasury for holding in pensions.
Currently, only the aforementioned gold bars are authorised and no gold coins. The Royal Mint stated that this is because bars carry a smaller premium than coins, so it makes sense that the bars are offered for the purpose of purchase as an investment.
The bullion bars are linked to current gold price. At the time of press, costs for the 100g Gold Bar Minted currently start at £2,888.05. Royal Mint Refinery gold bullion bars come with a 1 per cent fee (plus VAT), and annual charges are based on the average daily market value of the investor’s total gold holding stored in the vault, which is charged quarterly in arrears.
Stewart Davies, group chief executive of Momentum Pensions, said the new trading within Sipps and SSASs will make holding gold easier and will reduce the risk of gold mis-selling. “Advisers will have to make their clients fully aware of the fees and analyse them in the context of other options available. If clients already hold physical gold, advisers will need to assess which option is the most cost-efficient and secure for their clients.”
Claire Trott, head of pensions technical at Talbot and Muir, said, “We do from time to time have enquiries from people wanting to do this because of the security they see in physical gold. We have a relationship with Royal Mint, and can see this facility opening up gold investment to those that have previously been put off by the complexities.”
charlotte.richards@ft.com
