“It is so much better to have it in your own hands and to make sure it’s always there for you to collect.”
That’s what I said in the video. My main article ends with a preference: an ETF for the short run, real bullion for ten years or more. Here is the strongest honest case that, for most people, the ETF is the better choice even for the long run.
“Not as safe as you think”? The gold is real and counted.
In the video I said a gold ETF “is not as safe as you think.” The documents say otherwise.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) holds its gold as specific bars in vaults run by HSBC and JPMorgan, mainly in London. At the end of each business day the trust holds only bars, no “unallocated” gold. An independent firm, Bureau Veritas, counts it twice a year.
A bar in your drawer is checked by nobody but you.
“You will always pay a premium price.” The ETF doesn’t.
That line from my video is the strongest argument against bullion. Physical gold has costs most people underestimate: the premium above the gold price, transaction fees, and possibly storage and insurance every year. The World Gold Council lists all of them.
The ETF’s main cost is a yearly fee: 0.40% for GLD and 0.25% for IAU (as of late September 2026). No premium, no safe deposit box, no insurance policy.
You can sell in seconds
An ETF trades on the stock market every working day. You can sell exactly the amount you want, at close to the live gold price.
Selling a bar means finding a buyer, often going to a dealer in person and accepting their bid. If you need cash quickly, that’s slow and expensive.
“Always there for you to collect”? Only if you can get to it.
I said bullion is better because it’s always there for you to collect. But gold at home can be stolen or lost. Gold in a bank box depends on the bank’s opening hours and rules. That promise assumes you can always reach it, and nobody else can.
“Can I have my gold, please?” Ask why you’d want it.
It’s true that ordinary GLD holders can’t swap shares for gold. Only authorised participants can, in baskets of 100,000 shares.
But most investors want gold as protection against currencies losing value. For that you need the gold price, and the ETF gives you that. And if delivery really matters, some funds offer it: the VanEck Merk Gold Trust delivers coins or bars for a fee, and the Sprott Physical Gold Trust redeems for metal at the size of a full London bar.
The real risks are narrow
The fund’s report does name risks. The custodians have no written agreements with the subcustodians they use, and the trust has limited rights to inspect vaults. Gold that’s briefly unallocated during creation and redemption is exposed to a bank failure.
Those are real, but small and clearly described. Compare that with the everyday risks of keeping a bar yourself.
The bottom line of this side
For an ordinary investor who wants gold as insurance, a large, audited ETF can be cheaper, easier to sell and less hassle than a bar. It’s not obviously less safe. The “hold it in your hand” argument is emotional more than financial.
Keep reading
- Gold Is Falling. Here’s What the Big Money Actually Did
- The Devil’s Advocate: Gold’s Best Arguments Have Weakened
I’m not a financial adviser. This is my own investing journey, not financial advice. Any investment decision is your own.