Global Gold Storage Fee In CHF, Ouch
Global Gold storage fees are invoiced annually in arrears.
The storage fees are calculated on a pro rated basis (meaning how much of the year did you store it) and on the average value of the precious metals in storage during the respective invoicing period, with a varying rate depending on which metal is stored by them.
Being a Swiss firm you might expect Global Gold to be more expensive than other offshore Gold storage companies. The personal service does translate into more cost and difficulty in making purchases, but are not reflected in storage fees.
Global Gold fees actually do not differ that much from U.S. based Hard Assets Alliance, and they do decrease, percentage-wise, as the value of your total metals in storage increases.
See a table of Global Gold Storage Fees here
U.S. Investors Feel The Pinch Of A Strong Swiss Franc (CHF)
I suppose we should be thankful that the Swiss government has decided to devalue its currency with an effective “peg” (floor or ceiling depending which way you want to look at it) to the Euro.
Yet historically, the Swiss Franc is still strong versus the U.S. Dollar and has gained about 2% since the first of the year. Makes me wish they would have issued the invoice in early January instead of the end of January. Right now it takes about US$1.10 to buy 1 Swiss Franc.
The problem for us is that the storage fee for Global Gold is charged in CHF, Swiss Francs.
The easiest way to pay is with MasterCard, Visa or [this is still around???] Diners Club. No Discover, no American Express.
That gives me only one credit card to pay my Global Gold storage fees with, a MasterCard with Citibank and they really soak me on currency conversion.
Double Whammy
So not only do I feel the pinch from a strong Swiss Franc currency working against me but I then have to pay another 3.5% or so for currency conversion to my credit card bank. Of course, I suppose I do get about 1% cash back, some consolation.
The alternative is to pay via bank wire. International wires usually are $35 – $50, so that’s not going to save me any money. And I certainly wouldn’t want to convert my USD into CHF at Wells Fargo before doing the wire – last time I checked they have an unreal bid – ask spread on foreign currency, but maybe that’s just for the actual paper bills.
Grab Your Storage Report At The Same Time
When you login to Global Gold’s secure area, make sure and download your year-end storage report also. Both the storage report and invoice are in PDF format.
