Once you have decided to invest in investment gold, it still has to be bought well. We suggest you:

• Find a dealer you can trust: look into them, read the reviews, and check that the intermediary is sound
• Spread your purchases over time: for large amounts it is generally wise to split them up, monthly or quarterly, so that swings in the price have less effect on your entry price.
• Split your holdings: rather than buying one 500 gram minted bar, buy two of 250 grams or five of 100 grams. That way, if you need cash, you are not forced to sell the lot.
• Protect the coins you buy with a sealed case, which also lets you opt, when you sell, for the most favourable tax treatment.

Always check that the site you plan to buy gold from is a dealer you can trust. A few things are worth checking:

• The company is properly registered, with a physical address, ideally in France if you are buying from France
• The dealer can be reached by telephone and by email
• The goods you buy are insured and carried securely by a specialist carrier

Be wary of any seller who pushes you to invest through tactics such as emails posing as your bank, claims of zero risk or tempting promises

Buying gold in cash is forbidden in France and every transaction must be declared. Proof of identity is required. Steer clear of intermediaries who offer to get around this.

GoldReserve has its head office in Paris and its logistics centre in Strasbourg. Every shipment is insured and secured, through cover we take out on top of our carrier’s own insurance.

Gold is traditionally seen as a safe haven in times of economic, financial or geopolitical crisis. Many investors hold gold and use it to spread their holdings.

At Gold Reserve, we put that down to four basic qualities of the metal:

1. Gold is universal. Everyone knows what gold is and that it is precious, and that idea has been rooted in culture for generations, at least as long as there are children’s stories with chests full of gold coins…
2. Gold is timeless: beyond the fact that it does not degrade, gold rests on more than two thousand years of history, through wars, revolutions and epidemics, holding its value over the long run.
3. gold is a real asset, tangible and easy to carry. It cannot be synthesised and, by definition, exists on earth in a finite quantity.
4. Gold is a neutral asset. It is nobody’s liability or debt, so it cannot go bankrupt the way a company or a state can. No authority controls it, unlike a currency, and its value is set freely by supply and demand.

One caveat: a safe haven does not mean absolute safety. The gold price can move significantly, up as well as down.

Each product has its own advantages, depending on what you are after:

• Gold bars and minted bars are excellent savings products. They are 999 fine and carry a unique serial number that attests to their authenticity.
• Gold coins struck after 1800, such as the Napoléon, let you put in a few hundred euros just as easily as several thousand, and are generally 900 fine. They also make a fine gift for family occasions.
• Collector coins carry high premiums according to their rarity, whether from their effigy or a small mintage. They are the delight of numismatists and specialists, and are equally within reach of buyers looking for something out of the ordinary

GoldReserve offers all of these and will guide you through the purchase. Get in touch to talk it over.

Investment gold benefits from a favourable tax regime in France.

On purchase, investment gold is exempt from tax.

While it is held, gold generates no income, so it is not taxed. Nor does it fall within the scope of the French wealth tax on property, the IFI.

On sale, there is a choice of two regimes:

• The flat-rate tax on precious metals (TMP) of 11.5% on the sale amount. Simple, though not always the better choice
• The capital gains tax (TPV): the gain is worked out, then taxed at 19% for income tax and subject to social levies of 17.2%, a combined rate of 36.2%.

This capital gains regime also brings an allowance of 5% for each year held from the third year onwards, which means full exemption after 22 years.

Gold Reserve provides an invoice with every purchase carrying the information needed to opt for whichever tax regime the customer prefers. These rules apply to buyers who are taxed in France; if you are taxed elsewhere, your own country’s rules apply.