Gold and other precious metals are sold based on the internationally accepted current price of the metal, also known as the 'spot price'. All our products are sold based on this spot price with a premium based on the type of product.

The PMCP (Perth Mint Certificate Programme) attracts the lowest premium of any product we sell, starting at ~3.9% for a mimimum order and approaching 2% for large volume orders. That is the only cost you will ever pay for unallocated orders (please read up here about the difference between unallocated and allocated orders): allocated orders require sto

Geopolitical risk simply means international political risk as posed by international economic, diplomatic and military tensions.

With the end of the Cold War, geopolitical risk was greatly diminished and many financial analysts believed it had been banished to the dustbin of history. But since 2001, geopolitical risk has been increasing and the threat of terrorism and war is an ever present process that can affect investors and savers wealth.

Geopolitical risk has been ignored in recent months as the financial and economic crisis has rightly taken centre stage. But it is

This depends on your motivation for buying precious metals. If you are simply investing in precious metals in order to diversify and in order to make a return then it is more cost effective to buy bullion and store it with a secure third party or own government certificates. If however your motivation is to own bullion in order to protect against macroeconomic and systemic risk and for financial insurance purposes rather than solely diversification and capital appreciation then you may elect to own and take delivery of your bullion.

If electing to store bullion with a third party ,

Residents in the UK can now invest in gold bullion in their pension funds. UK citizens can as of April 2006 invest in gold bullion through their Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs). US citizens could already do so in their Individual Retirement Accounts.

SIPPs are Self-Invested Personal Pensions which are new types of personal pension schemes recently introduced by the UK government. The SIPP itself is a pension 'wrapper' that holds investments until you retire and start to draw a pension income. SIPPs allow investment in a range of different asset classes including gold bullio

When investing in any asset class whether they be paper assets like bonds and equities or tangible assets like property and precious metals, an investor should do their own 'due diligence' or extensive study and research and have a basic understanding of both the fundamental and technical analysis of the investment.

Fundamental analysis is as its name suggests an analysis of the basic factors influencing the future price movement of an investment. Supply and demand factors are the key determinants along with other economic data such as total debt to GDP ratios, currency movements a

A bullion coin is a coin that is of investment grade purity (over 900/1000 and normally 999/1000 fineness) and is valued by its weight in a specific precious metal. Unlike commemorative or numismatic coins valued by limited mintage, rarity, condition and age, bullion coins are purchased by investors seeking a simple and tangible means to invest in and actually own physical gold, silver, and platinum. Similarly a bullion bar is a bar (small or large) that is of investment grade purity (normally at least 995/1000 fineness) and that is valued by its specific weight of a precious metal.

A Brief History of Gold Gold and silver have been the cornerstones of the world's economies and banking systems since these systems were first developed, and the metals have lost little of their allure even today. Gold has been a central currency from about 600 BC up until the twenty first century. From Isaac Newton's recoinage of 1717 to the final closure of the Bretton Woods gold window by President Nixon, it was the pivot of the world exchange system. Gold reserves

Precious metals remain the ultimate safe-haven assets and gold is the precious metal and universal currency par excellence.

Unlike paper investments such as bonds and equities whose value is dependent on the performance of governments, corporations and the global economy, gold is a hard, tangible, very limited in supply asset whose value is intrinsic to nature.

Many investments, including that other hard, tangible asset property, are increasingly speculative in nature and based on huge levels of debt. Stocks & property in the western world have appreciated massively in val

Palladium is a sister to platinum, a 'noble metal' (member of the platinum group of metals) with some rather unique properties that ensure a place for it in industry and as a precious metal investment. This fascinating metal is tied closely with platinum in both history and its properties. Even so, important differences remain in physical properties and in today's supply and demand economics.

In recent years, palladium has become a well established precious metal - trading worldwide in common forms such as 1 ounce, 10 ounce and 100 ounce bar sizes. Many investors have been stocking