Vaulted: Platform Profile

Overview

Vaulted is a physical precious-metals service operated through McAlvany Precious Metals LLC.

It is not a gold ETF, mining stock, futures account, cryptocurrency token, or conventional securities brokerage.

Current Vaulted materials describe direct ownership of allocated physical gold and silver.

The account structure uses serial-numbered bars or specifically allocated bar segments rather than a promise that the customer owns an unspecified percentage of a generic metal pool.

Current product mechanics differ by metal:

• gold is allocated to 99.99% pure kilo bars at the Royal Canadian Mint under the current FAQ;
• silver is allocated to 1,000-ounce London Good Delivery bars held at HSBC London under the current FAQ;
• customers can own fractional portions of those bars;
• physical delivery is available through applicable procedures and may use smaller retail denominations.

The current cost structure also needs to be separated correctly.

Vaulted's consumer headline can describe an approximately 1.8% gold cost around a transaction, but the FAQ breaks that into a platform premium plus the relationship between wholesale bid/ask and spot.

For gold, the current platform premium is 0.8%; the FAQ states the wholesale ask/bid reference is approximately 1% from spot, producing an approximate all-in distance of 1.8% from spot on each side under that current explanation.

For silver, the platform premium is 2.0%, plus the same approximate 1% wholesale/spot spread reference.

May fit better for

• investors who specifically want allocated physical gold or silver;
• users who want metal held in professional vault facilities rather than at home;
• investors who value serial-number allocation;
• investors who want small-dollar exposure to a portion of a large bar;
• users who want the option of eventual physical delivery;
• investors willing to pay ongoing storage/insurance/administration fees.

May fit less well for

• investors seeking a no-storage-fee securities product;
• users who want SIPC protection for metal value;
• investors who need FDIC protection for account cash;
• traders seeking exchange order books and limit-order depth;
• users who want immediate possession of every fractional purchase;
• investors who do not want precious-metal price volatility.

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Vaulted is a service of McAlvany Precious Metals LLC

The current End User Agreement states:

• Service provider: McAlvany Precious Metals LLC
• Brand: Vaulted

Current public materials associate Vaulted with McAlvany Financial Group, whose broader precious-metals business traces its history to 1972.

This is a physical-metals service.

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Ownership is physically allocated

The End User Agreement describes Vaulted as enabling customers to directly own physically allocated gold and silver.

After purchase, Vaulted allocates:

• serial-numbered bars; or
• designated segments of serial-numbered bars

in the exact amount of the transaction.

The agreement states that Vaulted holdings do not overlap between customers.

This is a material difference from a balance sheet claim against an unallocated dealer.

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Gold and silver custody structures differ

Current FAQ materials identify:

• Gold:
• Purity: 99.99%
• Bar format: kilo bars
• Vault: Royal Canadian Mint
• Silver:
• Bar format: 1,000 oz London Good Delivery bars
• Vault: HSBC London

The specific vaulting arrangement is an update trigger.

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Gold transaction pricing: separate premium from spread

Current Vaulted FAQ materials explain the gold purchase price using two components.

The current platform premium is:

• Gold platform premium: 0.8%

The FAQ also says the wholesale ask used for purchase is approximately:

• Gold wholesale ask: 1% over spot

So the current simplified distance from spot on a purchase is approximately:

1.0% + 0.8% = 1.8% above spot

On sale, the current FAQ describes:

• wholesale bid around 1% below spot;
• 0.8% Vaulted premium.

Simplified current disclosures show:

1.0% + 0.8% = 1.8% below spot

Part of the difference is the wholesale/spot pricing relationship described in the FAQ.

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Silver transaction pricing is higher

Current FAQ pricing for silver uses:

• Silver platform premium: 2.0%
• Silver wholesale spread: approximately 1% from spot

Simplified current purchase disclosures show:

2.0% + 1.0% = approximately 3.0% above spot

Simplified current sale disclosures show:

2.0% + 1.0% = approximately 3.0% below spot

Again, do not describe the whole 3% as a platform commission.

Metal-market spreads and Vaulted's own premium are separate concepts.

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Current annual maintenance fees

Vaulted's current FAQ identifies:

• Gold annual maintenance fee: 0.40%
• Silver annual maintenance fee: 0.60%
• Billing frequency: semiannual

The current End User Agreement explains that the maintenance fee covers costs that can include:

• administration;
• storage;
• insurance;
• allocation-related costs.

It is invoiced for six-month periods ending June 30 and December 31 under the current agreement.

The agreement also permits the provider to change the maintenance fee with 30 calendar days' notice under the stated terms.

The live FAQ percentage and the legal agreement's change mechanism should both remain visible.

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Maintenance fees can be paid from cash or metal

The End User Agreement describes two payment methods for maintenance and applicable other fees:

1. debit from the Vaulted Cash Account;
2. deduction of an equivalent amount of precious metal.

If a maintenance fee remains unpaid after the agreement's stated period, metal can be used to cover it under the current authorization.

An investor therefore should not assume the metal quantity can never decline absent a sale.

Ongoing fees can be satisfied by reducing the position if cash is unavailable under the governing terms.

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Small-dollar purchases are supported, but there is no hard universal minimum to store

Vaulted marketing materials describe the ability to purchase small dollar amounts of gold rather than requiring the customer to buy a whole kilo bar.

The End User Agreement also reserves the right to establish a small minimum purchase requirement.

The account can allocate a fractional bar segment to the customer.

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Vaulted cash is not FDIC insured

This distinction must be explicit.

The current End User Agreement describes the Vaulted Cash Account as a non-interest-bearing demand account with McAlvany Precious Metals LLC and states that it is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC.

The physical metal itself is also not an FDIC-insured deposit.

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Precious metals are not SIPC-protected securities positions

Vaulted is not a conventional securities brokerage account.

Insurance associated with vault custody can address covered physical loss risks.

It does not compensate an investor because:

• gold price falls;
• silver price falls;
• spreads widen;
• the investor sells below cost;
• currency or market conditions change.

Custody insurance is not investment-performance insurance.

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Physical delivery is available, but bar mechanics matter

The current agreement states that whole allocated gold bars can be delivered when an investor owns enough metal for a whole bar.

It also describes options for settling smaller gold positions using smaller denominations such as coins or bullion bars.

Silver's allocated 1,000-ounce bars are not ordinarily delivered as those exact vault bars to a fractional customer; smaller-denomination silver delivery can be arranged under applicable procedures.

Delivery can introduce:

• fabrication premiums;
• shipping;
• handling;
• insurance;
• taxes;
• minimum-denomination constraints.

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ACH funding can create a long cash-withdrawal hold

The current End User Agreement states that funds deposited by ACH may not be available for withdrawal for:

• ACH cash withdrawal hold: 60 days

This does not necessarily mean a gold purchase cannot occur during the hold once funding is accepted.

It means the user should not assume recently ACH-funded cash can immediately be withdrawn back out.

Keep funding mechanics separate from metal liquidity.

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Buy and sell orders are OTC executions, not exchange trades

The End User Agreement explains that precious metals trade primarily in the over-the-counter market.

Vaulted determines transaction pricing using wholesale-market references plus its premium.

The agreement also states that a pre-trade estimate is not a guaranteed execution price.

Metal prices can change before execution.

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Tax claims require conservative treatment

Precious-metals taxation can depend on:

• type of metal;
• form of ownership;
• holding period;
• transaction type;
• physical delivery;
• account type;
• applicable federal and state law.

The review should not provide individualized tax advice.

Assessment

Vaulted adds a useful distinction to ROIStreet's precious-metals coverage because the user is buying allocated physical metal rather than a securities wrapper.

The ownership structure is the key feature:

• unique serial-numbered bars or designated bar segments;
• direct physical allocation;
• professional vault custody;
• physical delivery pathways.

The cost comparison requires more care than the simplified "1.8%" headline.

For gold, current FAQ mechanics separate a 0.8% Vaulted premium from an approximately 1% wholesale bid/ask relationship to spot. For silver, the platform premium is 2%, with the same approximate 1% wholesale/spot reference.

Ongoing cost is also meaningful:

• gold: 0.40% annually;
• silver: 0.60% annually;
• billed semiannually under current terms.

The legal agreement also makes two protections clear that should not be softened:

• the Vaulted Cash Account is not FDIC insured;
• physical-metal custody protections do not insure commodity-market losses.

This makes Vaulted structurally different from both a bank account and a precious-metals ETF.