Visit to the SWP Vault

Discussion of the Gold portion of the Permanent Portfolio

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dopplerdave
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Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by dopplerdave » Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:33 pm

Last week my wife and I finally managed to visit the SWP vault facility on Grand Cayman. This was a visit planned back in early 2020 that was interrupted by the Wuhan lock down. Our plane tickets were placed on hold, and we waited all this time for the Island to finally reopen. Meanwhile, we sent all our gold coins to SWP. Then in early 2021 our outlook on the US economy had gotten so negative that we sold our remaining real estate in the US and used the proceeds to buy more coins. Right now, half our savings are invested in the PP via ETFs at a US brokerage and the other half is stored as coins at SWP. I call that our VP, but it is for insurance rather than speculation.

Grand Cayman is only an hour’s flight from Miami, but it took us another day to get to Miami from our home in central Mexico. Prices for everything seemed high, but then I get sticker shock just visiting the US. Another good way to visit is to take a Caribbean Cruise. (There were three huge cruise ships in the Georgetown harbor during our brief stay). If you go, you should take a taxi and be very careful crossing any streets as they drive on the wrong side of the road. And be sure to arrange ahead as they will not let you in without an appointment.

The visit was set up through Mark Yaxley who has a series of videos available on the SWP website (swpcayman.com) called “Inside the Vault”. We were met and shown around by DB, their Operations Manager. We were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement which was intended to protect their proprietary secrets and their security systems. I explained to DB that I would be posting my observations here and to let me know if there was anything specific he did not want me to mention.

Anyway, the building itself and the vault are just like the videos. About 5 people work there. I would guess the vault is about 1000 square feet and the total facility about twice that. You enter through a warren of rooms and hallways that are arranged for security. Our coins were stored in two plastic bins which DB had put into one of these rooms where we went through them to count and admire the coins. Although everything we own is 1 oz coins, they are an odd mix and many were still stored in the same tubes that they were in while in the US. Then we visited the vault. It is a “Class III” vault which refers to how long it takes to break into. As I understand it, that is the highest level.

The vault was filled with really heavy duty shelving that held all the bins. There were also stacks of 400 oz gold bars (25 lbs.) Whoever owned these had a whole shelf to themselves. The vault was about 90% full, and SWP is in the process of doubling their capacity.

My takeaway from the visit is this:

SWP is real and not just a website. It is professionally staffed, and based on the service I have received, is very dependable. I have shipped stuff to them, and bought and sold through them without a hitch. I have not taken delivery from them.

Based on their growth they are successful. So I expect them to be around for a long time. Everything is independently audited and insured. And without getting into details, it is very secure.

I was originally steered to SWP by a posting on this blog. I hope these observations will be of value to anyone looking for a secure off-shore segregated storage facility that also buys and sells.
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dualstow
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by dualstow » Sun Nov 13, 2022 5:51 pm

Very interesting, Dave. Thank you!
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welderwannabe
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by welderwannabe » Mon Nov 14, 2022 7:54 am

Thanks for the writeup, thats excellent.
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by seajay » Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:09 am

dopplerdave wrote:
Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:33 pm
they drive on the wrong side of the road.
That's the correct side of the road for around a third of the global population :) Dating back to feudal horseback days where most would prefer a sword in their free right hand, reigns in their left hand, and pass a ongoing attacker on the left side. In contrast in the US (France/others) from the late 1700's big wagons were pulled by teams of paired horses and the driver typically sat on the rearmost left horse to leave their right hand free to lash the horses and for passing oncoming traffic the preference was to pass on the right side.
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by vnatale » Tue Nov 15, 2022 9:16 am

seajay wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2022 12:09 am

dopplerdave wrote:
Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:33 pm
they drive on the wrong side of the road.

That's the correct side of the road for around a third of the global population :) Dating back to feudal horseback days where most would prefer a sword in their free right hand, reigns in their left hand, and pass a ongoing attacker on the left side. In contrast in the US (France/others) from the late 1700's big wagons were pulled by teams of paired horses and the driver typically sat on the rearmost left horse to leave their right hand free to lash the horses and for passing oncoming traffic the preference was to pass on the right side.


Anyone know where the width of railroad tracks back date to?
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by welderwannabe » Thu Dec 08, 2022 3:30 pm

dopplerdave wrote:
Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:33 pm
Last week my wife and I finally managed to visit the SWP vault facility on Grand Cayman. This was a visit planned back in early 2020 that was interrupted by the Wuhan lock down. Our plane tickets were placed on hold, and we waited all this time for the Island to finally reopen. Meanwhile, we sent all our gold coins to SWP.
I see they have insurance via Lloyds of London. Do you have your own insurance in addition? Wondering as to the difficulty of getting my own insurance on a bullion in a vault in the Caymans, especially with a small holding (< $50K).
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by dopplerdave » Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:55 am

I think an individual policy on top of the one you are already paying for via the annual storage fees would be a waste of money. There is an annual audit by an independent outfit that counts every coin in every container which I assume is required by the insurance agency (Lloyds). By the way, the Lloyds insurance covers only the usual stuff (theft, loss, etc.) but not acts of war. But I would be interested to hear what you find out if you look into an individual policy.
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by ppnewbie » Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:27 am

Thanks for the SWP info. I enjoy their YouTube videos. And wonder about using a service like this.
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Re: Visit to the SWP Vault

Post by welderwannabe » Thu Dec 22, 2022 1:01 pm

dopplerdave wrote:
Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:55 am
I think an individual policy on top of the one you are already paying for via the annual storage fees would be a waste of money. There is an annual audit by an independent outfit that counts every coin in every container which I assume is required by the insurance agency (Lloyds). By the way, the Lloyds insurance covers only the usual stuff (theft, loss, etc.) but not acts of war. But I would be interested to hear what you find out if you look into an individual policy.
The issue with their insurance is unless you are listed as a named insured (which you probably arent) they hand a check over to SWP and not you. If their vault got robbed and they were facing bankruptcy, you could be in a court fight to get any share of the insurance. Not sure how all that works.

The ANA insurance covers gold in vaults. I carry a policy of theirs for gold in my possession. Its not a ton of money, only .31% of the bullion value. I believe their vault policies are even cheaper, but not sure if they would cover gold stored in a vault like that in bins, vs safety deposit boxes. Im just not sure.
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