Physical Gold — Buy, Store, Sell

Pooled vs Allocated Gold: Which Is Worth the Storage Cost?

By Michael Tanguma, Founder & CEO of Heirfolio. Reviewed by Diana Cruz, GIA Graduate Gemologist.

TL;DR. Pooled gold storage costs 0.12–0.50% per year and works for positions under $25,000 where you don't need a serial number. Allocated storage costs 0.40–1.00% per year plus a one-time bar premium, and is the right choice above $25,000 where counterparty risk starts to matter. Over 10 years, the difference between pooled and allocated on a $100,000 position is roughly $3,000–$5,000 — which is the price of certainty about which specific bars are yours.

The structural question

The pooled-versus-allocated decision is a counterparty-risk decision dressed up as a fee decision. Both methods cost a fraction of a percent per year. The real question is what you actually own when you read your statement, and what happens to your gold if the custodian fails.

That's a more important question than the fee. Most articles get this backward.

What pooled gold actually is

Pooled gold (sometimes called unallocated, unsegregated, or omnibus) is a claim on a share of a larger gold pool held by the custodian. You don't own a specific bar with a serial number. You own a percentage of the pool — say, 31.10 grams out of 50,000 troy ounces.

The custodian's books say you own that 31.10 grams. The pool itself is held in a vault — usually a major refiner's vault (Royal Canadian Mint, Brinks, Loomis, MKS Pamp) — backed by physical gold equal to or greater than the sum of all customer claims.

Two operational realities:

It's a balance-sheet item. Your gold is a liability on the custodian's balance sheet, not a segregated asset.
In bankruptcy, you may stand in line as a general creditor. If the custodian fails and the pool is short any gold (due to fraud, theft, or operational failure), pooled customers can be exposed.

The advantage: pooled is cheap, easy to buy in any dollar amount, easy to sell in any dollar amount, and you don't pay a bar premium because no specific bar is yours.

What allocated gold actually is

Allocated gold is your specific bar (or bars) held in your name in a vault. Each bar has a serial number, a refiner mark, an assay weight, and a purity. The custody agreement says these specific bars are your property, segregated from the custodian's balance sheet.

Two operational realities:

It's a segregated asset. Your bars are held in custody, not on the custodian's balance sheet. In a bankruptcy of the custodian, allocated customers retrieve their specific bars; they're not pooled with general creditors.
You can typically take physical delivery. Most allocated programs allow delivery in standard bar sizes (1oz, 10oz, 100g, 1kg, 400oz LBMA Good Delivery).

The disadvantage: allocated is more expensive (the storage fee is higher, and there's usually a one-time premium to convert pooled to allocated or to purchase allocated outright), and the bar-size constraint means you can't easily hold $3,500 in allocated form (the minimum is usually 1oz or 100g).

The fee structure, line by line

What you actually pay in each program. Real fee bands from the major U.S.-accessible providers (Heirfolio, OneGold, Vaulted, Hard Assets Alliance, Bullion Vault, Goldmoney, Sprott Money, JM Bullion's allocated program, APMEX's Citadel program, Perth Mint Certificate Program).

Pooled storage fees

Provider class	Annual storage fee	Minimum balance	Buy spread above spot	Sell spread below spot
Direct-to-mint pooled (e.g., Vaulted via RCM)	0.40%	None	1.5–2.5%	1.5–2.5%
Major aggregator pooled (e.g., OneGold, BullionVault)	0.12–0.20%	$100	0.5–1.0%	0.5–1.0%
Broker-pooled (e.g., Goldmoney)	0.18–0.40%	None	0.5–1.5%	0.5–1.5%

Allocated storage fees

Provider class	Annual storage fee	Minimum bar size	Buy spread above spot	One-time allocation premium
Major refiner allocated (PAMP, Valcambi via dealer)	0.50–0.75%	1 oz	2.0–4.0%	$0 (rolled into spread)
Sovereign mint allocated (RCM, Perth, U.S. Mint)	0.40–0.65%	1 oz	2.5–4.5%	$0–$50/bar
Aggregator allocated (BullionVault, OneGold, Vaulted Pro tier)	0.40–0.55%	100g or 1 oz	1.5–2.5%	0.5–1.0% (one-time)
Private vault allocated (Brinks, Loomis Switzerland)	0.75–1.20%	1 kg	Varies (dealer-bought)	Bar-purchase cost

The numbers move with provider and program tier. Always read the fee schedule before transferring funds.

TCO over 10 years: pooled vs allocated at four position sizes

The fee structure looks small until you compound it. Real numbers on what storage costs over a decade, at four common holding sizes. Assumes 4% annual gold appreciation (the long-term real-return average since 1971), all fees paid in cash from outside the holding, no rebalancing, no sales.

$5,000 position

Storage type	Annual fee rate	10-year total fees	10-year fees as % of starting value
Pooled (0.18%)	~$10/yr avg	~$110	2.2%
Allocated (0.55%)	~$33/yr avg	~$370	7.4%
Difference		~$260	5.2%

At $5,000, allocated costs about a quarter ounce of gold extra over 10 years. For most holders this size, pooled is more efficient — the counterparty risk is real but small in absolute dollar terms.

$25,000 position

Storage type	Annual fee rate	10-year total fees	10-year fees as % of starting value
Pooled (0.18%)	~$50/yr avg	~$550	2.2%
Allocated (0.55%)	~$165/yr avg	~$1,830	7.3%
Difference		~$1,280	5.1%

At $25,000, the decision starts to bind. The extra $1,280 over a decade buys you certainty about which bar is yours and protection from custodian bankruptcy. For most holders at this size, allocated is the inflection point.

$100,000 position

Storage type	Annual fee rate	10-year total fees	10-year fees as % of starting value
Pooled (0.18%)	~$200/yr avg	~$2,210	2.2%
Allocated (0.55%)	~$660/yr avg	~$7,330	7.3%
Difference		~$5,120	5.1%

At $100,000, allocated is the clearly right answer. The custodian-bankruptcy exposure on a $100K pooled position is meaningful enough that the $5,120 over a decade is a small price for that protection. The bar-purchase math also gets more efficient — at this size, you can buy 1kg bars (the most cost-efficient size by spread per gram).

$500,000 position

Storage type	Annual fee rate	10-year total fees	10-year fees as % of starting value
Pooled (0.15%, negotiated rate)	~$900/yr avg	~$9,950	2.0%
Allocated (0.45%, negotiated rate)	~$2,700/yr avg	~$29,990	6.0%
Allocated (0.30%, private bank tier)	~$1,800/yr avg	~$19,990	4.0%
Difference (pooled vs standard allocated)		~$20,040	4.0%

At $500,000, two things change. First, the absolute dollar amount of the fee gap (~$20K over a decade) is meaningful enough that aggressive negotiation pays off — most providers will discount above $250K, and private-bank programs (Brink's Global Services, J.P. Morgan precious metals, UBS) offer 0.20–0.35% allocated for ultra-high-net-worth clients. Second, the counterparty-risk dollar exposure on $500K of pooled gold is large enough that allocated becomes nearly mandatory regardless of fee differential.

→ See what your storage actually costs — paste your holding

What pooled actually protects against (and doesn't)

Two failure modes worth distinguishing.

Operational theft or fraud (rare but documented). A custodian's employee steals from the vault, or executives misrepresent inventory. Real cases: First State Depository (2018), Bullion Direct (2015 bankruptcy with allegations of pool-shorting). Allocated customers retrieved their specific bars; pooled customers entered bankruptcy proceedings as general unsecured creditors. Pooled recovery rates in these cases ran from 30% to 95% depending on how short the pool was.

Custodian bankruptcy from unrelated business failure. The vault and the gold are fine; the parent company fails for other reasons. Allocated customers retrieve their bars (the gold isn't a creditor asset). Pooled customers depend on how the bankruptcy court treats the pool — usually the pool is honored if it's fully backed and properly segregated as a customer trust, but the legal status varies by jurisdiction and program structure.

The standard pooled customer protections:

Annual audit by an independent firm (Bureau Veritas, Inspectorate, Deloitte, etc.) confirming pool is fully backed.
Insurance on the vault contents (typically Lloyd's of London).
Segregation of customer pool from custodian's working inventory.

Read the custody agreement. Specifically look for: "customer property held in trust," "segregated from custodian's general assets," "Lloyd's insurance for X% of inventory value." If those phrases aren't in your custody agreement, you're more exposed than you might think.

When pooled is actually better

A few cases where pooled is the correct answer regardless of position size.

You're buying in small, frequent increments. A $200/month gold purchase plan accumulates in pooled because the bar-purchase math doesn't work at that increment. Pooled lets you compound the position without bar premiums each step.

You want flexibility to exit in any dollar amount. Pooled sells in $1 increments (or close to it). Allocated bars sell as whole bars — you can't sell half a 1oz bar without converting back to pooled first.

You're using gold as a working liquidity reserve, not a long-term hold. If the gold is part of a tactical allocation that you may move into other assets within 1–3 years, the lower pooled fee structure works better. The counterparty risk on a short holding period is smaller than the cumulative fee drag on allocated.

You don't need delivery optionality. Some allocated programs charge $200–$500 per delivery event plus shipping and insurance. If you'll never take delivery, you may be paying for an option you won't exercise.

When allocated is the only honest answer

Equally important, the cases where pooled is structurally wrong.

You're using gold as your last-resort liquidity reserve. If the thesis for owning gold is "what I want when the system fails," pooled gold held on a custodian's balance sheet defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have an asset that survives someone else's failure. Allocated bars in a major refiner's vault — or in your physical possession — are the only forms that fully satisfy that thesis.

Your position is large enough to be a meaningful percentage of a single custodian's pool. If you own $2M of pooled gold at a custodian with a $40M pool, you're 5% of their book. That's enough to be specifically exposed to operational issues. Allocated removes that concentration risk.

You're building a generational position. A 30-year hold means 30 years of custodian-survival risk on pooled. Allocated is the more durable structure for inheritance-grade holdings. Combined with proper documentation of bar serials and custody locations, allocated gold passes to heirs cleanly. See Inheritance Tax on Jewelry for the tax treatment.

You want the option of physical delivery. Pooled programs typically convert to allocated before delivery, often charging the allocation premium at conversion. Buying allocated from the start lets you take delivery at any time with predictable cost.

The home-storage alternative

A third path: skip the custodian entirely and store at home. The TCO math changes meaningfully.

Safe and installation: $800–$3,000 one-time.
Insurance rider: $200–$800/year for $50K–$200K of coverage (varies by carrier and location).
No annual storage fee.

Over a 10-year hold on a $100,000 position:

Storage path	10-year total cost	What you give up
Pooled (0.18%)	~$2,210	Counterparty risk, no specific bar
Allocated (0.55%)	~$7,330	None — gold is yours, segregated
Home storage (with insurance)	~$3,500 ($1,500 safe + $200 × 10)	Theft risk above insured limit; no audit trail

Home storage looks cost-competitive with allocated, but the comparison hides the actual risk profile — see the dedicated breakdown in The True Cost of Storing Physical Gold at Home.

How to evaluate a pooled provider's custody agreement

Eight items to confirm before depositing.

Insured by whom, for how much. Lloyd's of London on the vault contents up to the full pool value is the standard. Anything less is a red flag.
Audit cadence and auditor. Quarterly third-party audit by a recognized firm (Bureau Veritas, Inspectorate, Deloitte) is the standard. Annual is acceptable. Self-attestation is not.
Vault location and operator. Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Brinks, Loomis, MKS Pamp are recognized vault operators with their own audit and insurance protocols.
Pool backing methodology. The agreement should specify "the pool is fully backed at all times" — not "we maintain reserves" or "we may at times hold sufficient gold."
Customer property vs custodian property. Look for "held in trust for the customer" or "segregated from the custodian's general assets."
Conversion to allocated. What does it cost? How long does it take? Some programs charge 0.5–2.0%; others are flat fees.
Delivery options. Standard bar sizes, lead times, costs. If delivery isn't available, the gold is functionally paper.
Bankruptcy treatment. What jurisdiction governs the custody agreement? How is the pool treated in insolvency?

If a provider can't answer all eight in writing, pick another provider.

Frequently asked questions

What's the real difference between pooled and allocated gold?

Pooled gold is a claim on a share of a larger pool — you own a percentage of the gold, not specific bars. Allocated gold is your specific bar (or bars), with a serial number, held in a vault in your name. Pooled is cheaper to store but carries counterparty risk; allocated is more expensive but is your segregated property even if the custodian fails.

How much does it cost to store gold annually?

Pooled storage costs 0.12–0.50% per year. Allocated storage costs 0.40–1.00% per year, plus a one-time bar premium. On a $100,000 position, that's roughly $200/year pooled and $660/year allocated. Over 10 years, the difference is about $5,000.

At what holding size should I switch from pooled to allocated?

The conventional cutoff is around $25,000. Below that, the counterparty risk in dollar terms is small enough that the fee savings on pooled make sense. Above $25,000, the dollar exposure to custodian failure starts to matter, and allocated's segregated-asset protection is worth the extra fee. Above $100,000, allocated is the clearly correct answer for most holders.

What happens to my pooled gold if the custodian goes bankrupt?

It depends on jurisdiction, the custody agreement, and whether the pool is fully backed. If the pool is properly segregated as customer trust property and fully backed by physical gold, customers generally retrieve their gold pro-rata. If the pool is on the custodian's balance sheet as a liability and shorted (less physical gold than customer claims), customers may stand in line as general unsecured creditors and recover only a percentage. Allocated customers always retrieve their specific bars regardless of the custodian's solvency.

Can I take physical delivery of pooled gold?

Sometimes, but usually only after converting to allocated first, which carries a conversion fee (0.5–2.0%). Some pooled programs (Vaulted, Goldmoney's GoldMoney Personal) offer direct delivery in standard bar sizes. Always confirm the delivery option, the lead time, and the cost before depositing into a pooled program.

What's the most reputable allocated gold storage provider?

For U.S. investors: Vaulted (vaults at Royal Canadian Mint), OneGold (vaults at Brinks and Loomis), Hard Assets Alliance (vaults at Loomis Switzerland, Brinks, and the Perth Mint), Sprott Money's allocated program, and APMEX's Citadel Global Depository. For very large positions: Brink's Global Services and J.P. Morgan precious metals offer institutional-tier allocated. Always verify Lloyd's insurance, audit cadence, and vault operator before depositing.

Are pooled and allocated gold taxed differently in the U.S.?

The IRS treats both as collectibles. Gains on sale are taxed at the collectible rate (max 28% federal) plus state tax, regardless of pooled or allocated structure. The cost basis is what you paid (or the date-of-death FMV if inherited). Holding-period rules are the same. Consult a tax professional for your specific situation. See Inheritance Tax on Jewelry for the inheritance-specific treatment.

Does insurance on pooled gold protect me from custodian bankruptcy?

No. Lloyd's of London (or equivalent) insurance on a vault covers physical loss — theft, fire, transport damage. It does not cover the custodian's financial failure or fraud at the executive level (the latter is sometimes covered separately by a directors-and-officers policy, but customer claims still go through bankruptcy court). Insurance on the vault is necessary but not sufficient protection for pooled customers.

How often should I audit my allocated gold?

Annually at minimum. Major refiners and reputable allocated programs send annual audit confirmations to each customer with the specific bar serial numbers held in their account. You can request additional inspection visits (some programs allow physical vault visits with notice). For very large holdings, a third-party annual audit commissioned by the customer is reasonable.

Should I split my gold across multiple custodians?

For holdings over $500,000, yes — concentration risk on a single custodian becomes meaningful. A common structure: 50% at a sovereign mint (Royal Canadian Mint or Perth Mint), 25% at a major private vault (Brinks or Loomis), 25% in physical possession (home or bank safe deposit). The diversification reduces single-point-of-failure exposure across operational, jurisdictional, and counterparty risks.

Tools mentioned in this article

Storage cost calculator — paste your holding, see TCO across pooled, allocated, and home storage
Gold melt value calculator — input weight + karat, see live melt value