How private families move from paper claims to serial-numbered bars held in their own name, outside the banking system.

Paper claims are not the same as bars in your name

Family offices often hold gold through funds, certificates, or unallocated pool accounts. Those structures can be efficient, but they are still claims on someone else’s balance sheet. Allocated gold is different: each bar is identified, recorded against the client, and stored in a vault that is not part of the commercial banking system.

That distinction matters in a stress event. If the intermediary fails, unallocated holders typically join a queue of creditors. Allocated clients can point to a bar list, a storage agreement, and the right to inspect or withdraw the metal.

What “allocated” should include

• Serial numbers, weights, and refiners listed in your name
• Segregated storage, not a pooled unallocated account
• Insurance that covers theft, damage, and vault failure
• A documented right to visit, transfer, or take delivery

How a family office typically builds the reserve

1. Define the role of gold: strategic reserve, not a trading book.
2. Choose bar sizes that match expected holding periods and liquidity needs.
3. Complete identity and source-of-funds checks before the first purchase.
4. Lock a live price, settle, and receive a vault confirmation.
5. Review the holding at set intervals and keep a buyback path open.

Own the metal, not a promise of metal. Allocation is the line between a commodity claim and property.

Typical bar sizes for a private reserve

Larger bars reduce premium per ounce. Smaller bars are easier to gift, split, or deliver. Most family offices mix both.