Before purchasing physical gold, a systematic checklist prevents costly mistakes. Here are the 12 steps every Swiss investor should follow.

Pre-Purchase Steps

  1. Define your purpose: Store of value / crisis hedge (→ large bars, low premium), numismatic investment (→ coins with rare dates), or flexible liquidity (→ Goldvreneli, Maple Leaf).
  2. Determine your budget: Investment gold is VAT-exempt in Switzerland — so your full budget goes to gold, not tax. Silver is NOT VAT-exempt.
  3. Check the current spot price: Use GoldKurs.ch or spot.goldkurs.ch to see the current CHF gold price before contacting dealers.
  4. Compare at least 3 dealers: PostFinance, ZKB, Philoro and at least one online dealer. Compare the total CHF price including any delivery fees.
  5. Verify dealer credentials: Ensure the dealer is FINMA-registered or a member of the Swiss Association of Precious Metals Dealers (FMHS).

Purchase and Storage

  1. Request a receipt with serial number: For bars ≥10g, the serial number is essential for resale and insurance.
  2. Decide storage before buying: Home safe, bank safety deposit box or professional vault. Do not bring gold home if you have no secure storage ready.
  3. Insure immediately: Check your home insurance specifically covers precious metals. If not, add a rider before delivery.
  4. Photograph and document: Photograph all holdings with serial numbers visible. Store photos securely in cloud storage separate from the physical gold location.

Post-Purchase

  1. Enter in Stack Tracker: Add purchase price, date, weight and location to GoldKurs.ch Stack Tracker for real-time P&L tracking.
  2. Set a price alert: Configure a price alert for your target sell price and for a key support level (stop-loss awareness).
  3. Declare for wealth tax: Enter the value on your annual tax return as at December 31.

✅ Stack Tracker + Price Alerts — Basic Plan

→ Start for CHF 14.95/month