During the Financial Crisis of 2008, as counterparty solvency fears paralyzed the financial world, it became apparent that physical bullion is a wealth refuge which is in very high demand during a crisis because it can address three big issues: Counterparty, Currency and Jurisdiction Risks.

Investment grade gold and silver is a liquid assets that does not need to be a liability on somebody else's balance sheet and can therefore be physically owned and isolated so that the owner need not be a creditor dependent on the solvency of financial institutions. [Counterparty Risk].

Bullion is also a natural hedge to inflating fiat currencies, which is a huge advantage in a time when governments are racing to print money. [Currency Risk]

However, throughout history, financially distressed governments have often nationalized or confiscated bullion, thereby creating the need for a jurisdictionally safe storage solution. [Jurisdiction Risk].