Frequently asked questions | Monetary Metals

On this page you’ll find answers to the questions we get asked most often, including:
How can I earn a yield on gold and silver?
How does Monetary Metals work?
How does leasing gold and silver work?
How can I open an account with Monetary Metals?

How can I earn a yield on gold and silver?

If you’re short on time or simply prefer to watch instead of read, check out our video on how to earn a return on your gold and/or silver.

It’s actually quite simple.

The way we deliver a yield on gold is by financing productive businesses that either need gold as inventory (gold leases) or as capital to expand production (gold bonds).

How does Monetary Metals work?

How is Monetary Metals able to pay a yield on gold and silver?

We pay a yield on gold and silver by connecting our clients with businesses that use gold productively as part of their inventory or work-in-progress. This includes jewelers, mints, precious metals dealers, refiners, recyclers, and mining companies.

We provide qualified businesses with Gold Financing, Simplified™. They happily pay a fee to lease or borrow the gold & silver they require in their business. We take a small percentage of what they pay and the rest is distributed to our clients.

How does Monetary Metals make money?

Monetary Metals makes money by making a market between owners of gold and silver and businesses that have a financing need in gold and silver. Revenue is earned by covering an interest rate spread on each financing transaction, whether a lease or bond.
This spread comes from the interest rate on the transaction. For example, let’s say Monetary Metals brings “Acme Lease A” to its clients. Acme is paying 5.5% to lease gold from Monetary Metals, and clients in the lease are earning 3% on their gold in the lease. The 2.5% difference is what Monetary Metals earns in revenue for bringing the lease to its marketplace.

What yield can I expect to earn?

Historically, Monetary Metals’ leases have paid between 2% – 5% net annually to investors. The weighted average rate of return in our lease program currently hovers between 3% and 4% and is regularly updated on our website. This rate of return is denominated in ounces and paid in ounces. For example, 100oz earning 3% every year, will generate 3oz in gold income, annually.

Gold bonds, which are securities, offer higher yields, from 6% to 19% on our recent offering. Gold bonds are available to accredited investors only.

You also earn yield on the gold in your Lease Yield Account before it goes into leases. The rate you can earn on this gold is published in your client portal, and is subject to change.

The amount you earn at this rate is based on how much gold you have in your Lease Yield Account and the number of leases you opt into. If you opt in to 100% of all available leases on our platform, you will earn 100% of the published Lease Yield rate. However if you opt into only 50% of available leases, then you will earn only 50% of the rate (i.e. 2% instead of 4%).

Once your gold goes into a lease it will stop earning the Lease Yield Account rate and will start earning at the rate that corresponds to each specific lease.

Does Monetary Metals also pay a yield on silver?

Yes. We offer silver leases and bonds in addition to gold leases and bonds. Clients can open an account, deploy their their silver, and earn yields in silver. Silver in your Lease Yield Account does not earn a yield.

Does Monetary Metals offer compound interest?

Yes! The power of compounding interest comes from redeploying or reinvesting the yield earned. With Monetary Metals you can harness the power of compound interest with ounces of physical gold and silver. When you earn yields in our leases and bonds, you can reinvest that yield in other leases or bonds, enabling you to compound your total gold and silver holdings.

When and how are the yields paid?

Most of our leases pay yields monthly, but some pay quarterly. Bond payments vary with the specific offering. Payment frequency is disclosed to clients before committing to an opportunity.

Generally, yields are paid in kind (silver yields for silver leases, gold yields for gold leases) and is deposited directly into the client’s account.

Clients can easily see the total amount of income in ounces they have earned in their client portal or on their monthly statements.

ZERO fees for storage and insurance?

Yes.

We do not charge any storage or insurance fees.

There is a cost to store and insure precious metals. But Monetary Metals is in the business of Unlocking the Productivity of Gold™ so we have a different business model than merely collecting fees on stored metals.

We make money by putting metal to work so our clients can earn more metal. In other words, we only make money when you make money. This creates a healthier alignment of incentives between company and client.

By providing complimentary storage and insurance on any undeployed metal, we are incentivized to bring attractive opportunities for our clients to earn a yield on gold and silver and grow their total holdings.

Why is it so cost-effective to buy and sell gold with Monetary Metals?

Our aim is to get clients the most gold possible so they can put more of their ounces to work. High premiums mean less gold that can be put to work in gold leases or gold bonds. Monetary Metals sells and buys gold (and silver) at a spread to the London Fix price, or the spot price, depending on when the trade occurs. Below is a table of our spreads according to the volume of the transaction.

Tier	Spread
Under $250k	0.75%
$250k – $1 million	0.55%
$1 million or more	0.40%

How does Monetary Metals stack up against other precious metals investments?

The New Way to Hold Gold explores the conventional methods of holding gold and silver and illustrates how those methods compare to Monetary Metals. Download your free copy now.

Are there any reviews of Monetary Metals?

Yes! You can find reviews of us on third-party sites like Bullion.Directory, Better Business Bureau and TrustPilot.

Where does Monetary Metals store my gold & silver?

Monetary Metals works with multiple best-in-class depositories and vaulting institutions throughout the world.
However, Monetary Metals is not a storage company. We use our network of storage providers to facilitate our gold yield products which put metal to work to earn you a return denominated and paid in ounces.

Can I buy gold and silver for delivery from Monetary Metals?

No. Monetary Metals is not a bullion dealer. We rely on professional institutions in the bullion dealing industry to support our Gold Yield Marketplace®. Clients may redeem metal from their account in the form of bullion which is shipped to them but we do not sell metal for direct delivery to clients

Leasing gold and silver

How many leases has Monetary Metals completed?

We’ve funded over 70 leases since our start in 2016. You can view previously funded offerings on this page.

If the price of gold goes up while my metal is in a lease, do I still get the price gain?

Yes. You own the metal, whether it’s on lease or not.
If the dollar price of gold doubles, then the dollar value of your gold doubles as well. If the dollar price of gold falls, then the dollar value of your gold in the lease falls.
Monetary Metals is focused on one thing – enabling you to grow your total ounces of gold. Leasing gold provides a unique way for clients to express a long gold investment thesis, while earning income on that position for the duration of the holding period.

What happens to my gold when a lease is over?

In most cases, you can choose to continue leasing your metal for another year or have it returned to your account.
If the Lessee chooses not to roll the lease for another year, your metal will be returned to your account.

Is there a lockup on my metal?

There is no lockup on any metal that is not actively earning income in a lease.
For metal that is actively earning income in a lease, it cannot be withdrawn until the lease matures. Lease durations are typically 12 months or less.

Does Monetary Metals carry insurance on my metal?

We require all vaults and depositories where metal is stored to have insurance. We also require each lessee to insure metal on lease and list Monetary Metals as the loss payee on the insurance certificate.

We have an additional policy through a leading global insurer based out of the UK that is used to cover some, but not all, of our leases, as deemed necessary. Insurance coverage for each lease is disclosed in the individual Lease Presentation for clients to review.

Can a lessee sell my leased gold or silver?

No.
Lessees are not allowed to sell the metal under lease unless they’ve already purchased replacement metal to maintain the full lease amount. The lease is used to finance their inventory, not to reduce it.
While inventory is routinely bought and sold, the lessee must always ensure that 100% of the leased metal amount is present and accounted for. If they want to fulfill a customer order using metal under lease, they must first use the customer’s funds to purchase an equal amount of replacement metal. Once that replacement metal is confirmed to be in transit—with a tracking number—the lessee can then ship the original metal to their customer.
For example, say a bullion dealer has a 1,000 oz gold lease and holds that amount in gold coins. A customer places an order for 50 gold eagles. The dealer uses the customer’s funds to buy 50 oz of new coins, bringing total inventory to 1,050 oz. Once the new coins are in transit, the dealer ships 50 coins to the customer—returning the inventory to 1,000 oz. At no point does the inventory drop below the lease requirement.
This process ensures your metal is always fully backed, while giving the lessee the operational flexibility they need to run their business.

What kind of companies do you lease to?

We lease to businesses that use gold and silver productively, as work-in-progress or inventory. For example, jewelers, mints, precious metals dealers, and refiners.
They happily pay a fee to lease the gold and silver required by their business. Our lease financing eliminates the price risk present in traditional bank financing and protects their margins.

Opening a Monetary Metals account

What’s the minimum amount to open an account?

The minimum to open an account is 10 ounces of gold, or 1,000 ounces of silver, or the USD equivalent.

How do I open an account?

You can begin the process here: Open your account. Or if you prefer to talk to a Monetary Metals team member, schedule a call at a convenient time for you.

How long does it take to open an account?

It takes anywhere between 10-15 minutes to complete the required steps to open an account. You can start the process here.
Once you complete all required steps, your account is typically opened within 24 hours. You can complete the entire process online.

What is required to open an account?

Monetary Metals accepts client from around the world. To open an account, you’ll need to:
– provide a photo ID if you are a US resident; for non-US residents, a copy of a valid government-issued ID and a supplementary document showing proof of address may be required.
– complete a W-9 (or a W8BEN or W8BEN-E for foreign account holders).
– complete the Monetary Metals Account Agreement and Opt-Out Lease Agreement.

You can get started, here.

If you prefer to talk to a Monetary Metals team member, you can schedule a call at a convenient time for you.

How can I fund an account?

You can fund an account by either purchasing metal through us, or by sending in metal you already own. We accept all major bullion products when funding a Monetary Metals account, but require a minimum shipment of 10 oz of gold or 1,000 oz of silver.
We have clients across the globe, and can accept precious metals in many vaults around the world, not just in the US.
For metals being shipped from a residential address in the United States, we provide complimentary shipping and insurance and will send you a pre-paid shipping label.
For metals being shipped from a vault, or outside the United States, please contact a Relationship Manager for more information.

How do I withdraw metal from my account?

Clients can initiate a partial or full withdrawal of any metal not actively earning in a lease or bond by completing a one-page form. Metal can be sold for cash, redeemed for physical delivery, or shipped to a different storage account.
Metal that is actively on lease must wait for the lease to mature before it can be withdrawn.

If the lease account is in the name of a trust, who needs to sign the documents?

The answer depends on the trust formation documents, which one of our team members can review for you.
You can begin the process to open an account, here.
If you prefer to talk to a Monetary Metals team member, just schedule a call that suits your timeframe.

What type of gold and silver do I own in a Monetary Metals account?

Monetary Metals uses allocated pool for all metal balances, and yield payments.
This is the most liquid, efficient, and marketable form of physical ownership, and it perfectly suits the business purposes of putting gold and silver to work for you.
When clients want to withdraw, they can liquidate their metal for cash, or they can convert their metal into specific bullion products for delivery.

What are the taxes on gold and silver income?

Income earned in gold or silver through Monetary Metals lease or bond programs may be subject to applicable taxes. For U.S. taxpayers, Monetary Metals provides a completed Form 1099-INT for tax reporting purposes at the end of the year.

Monetary Metals does not provide tax advice. Because everyone’s situation is different, we strongly recommend consulting your tax advisor for guidance specific to your circumstances.

For a deeper dive into tax considerations—including international tax topics—you can read our article and view our videos that explore these issues in more detail.

Do I have to be an accredited investor?

No. You do not need to be an accredited investor to open an account and participate in our leasing program. If you want to participate in our gold bond offerings, then yes, you must be an accredited investor. Accredited investors are defined based on wealth and income thresholds, as well as other measures of financial sophistication. To qualify as accredited, you only need to meet one criterion (wealth, income, or professional) not all of them.