Brink's Global Services: IRA Storage Fees, Insurance, Locations and Security (2026 Review)

Brink's Global Services is the vault business of The Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO), and it held 30.2% of all COMEX gold on September 28, 2026, more than any other vault. COMEX is the main US futures exchange for gold and silver, and it keeps a list of approved vaults. Brink's stores IRA metal only through your custodian, the trust company that legally holds your IRA and sends your statements. The custodian also sets the price: $110 to $1,800 a year at $250,000 in the documents SafeOunce read. So the question is not whether Brink's is big and secure, but what your custodian's deal with Brink's costs and covers.

This review checks the Brink's company that holds IRA metal: its record, prices, storage, insurance, audits, IRA cities and fit. SafeOunce asks the same questions of all gold IRA depositories. This page covers Brink's precious metals vaults, not Brinks Home, a separate home-alarm company.

The 12 facts below come from Brink's SEC filings, CME reports, custodian forms and the BBB, each dated.

Our Brink's Verdict: A Giant Vault That Publishes Almost Nothing for IRA Owners#

Brink's is one of the largest vault operators in the world, but it publishes no IRA price, insurance limit or retail contract for IRA owners. What you pay and what protects you depend on your custodian's agreement with Brink's.

What should you ask before your dealer ships coins to Brink's? Get three things in writing from your custodian: the storage fee and how it scales, the storage type, and the custody agreement. That is the contract between your custodian and the vault; you do not sign it, but the forms call it "available upon request".

Look elsewhere in two cases. One is a large account offered 0.65% to 0.72% a year, when Equity Trust's metals-only schedule (accounts opened through a dealer) charges a flat $110 to $160 for storage at the same vault (Rev. 081726). Its direct Universal IRA costs $1,110 to $1,160 all-in at $250,000, so ask which schedule applies. The other is wanting a vault that publishes its own insurance limit and contract.

What Is Brink's Global Services? Legal Names, Owner and Size#

Brink's Global Services is the secure-transport and storage business of The Brink's Company, which moves and vaults precious metals, diamonds, banknotes and other valuables in more than 100 countries. Brink's calls it BGS for short. The company's annual report (Form 10-K) for 2025 lists about 65,400 employees, about 1,200 facilities and 15,900 vehicles, with subsidiaries in 51 countries. BGS services include "secure storage and inventory management", and Brink's says it was "founded in 1859".

The exact name matters because your custodian's form, your statement and any claim use it.

Brink's Global Services USA, Brink's, Inc. and The Brink's Company: the names on your forms#

Three Brink's names appear on IRA documents: Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. on custodian forms, Brink's, Inc. on the COMEX vault list, and The Brink's Company on SEC filings. A fourth, Brink's, Incorporated, appears in Equity Trust's 2019 announcement.

The custody agreements are not public, so SafeOunce cannot say which Brink's company signs each one. Check that your statement names a Brink's company and a city, not only "depository".

Who owns Brink's?#

Brink's is owned by its public shareholders: The Brink's Company trades on the New York Stock Exchange as BCO. On February 20, 2026, it had 41,152,517 shares outstanding and 914 holders of record (a count that excludes broker accounts). The 10-K names Nader Antar as head of Brink's Global Services (and Brink's Rest of World) since April 2025. No dealer owns Brink's, unlike A-Mark Global Logistics (owned by Gold.com) or IDS (a division of Dillon Gage).

Does Brink's store gold? 7.05 million ounces on the COMEX list#

Yes: Brink's held 7,053,978 ounces of gold in its COMEX vaults on September 28, 2026, 30.2% of all COMEX gold and more than any other vault on the list. That is about 219 metric tons, worth about $29.3 billion at $4,155 an ounce (the September 29, 2026 example price). Registered bars can be delivered on a futures contract; eligible bars meet the exchange standard but are not set aside for delivery.

The table shows Brink's holdings of all four metals on the CME's gold stocks report and its sister reports.

These are large exchange bars, not the coins in anyone's IRA. The report does not show IRA holdings.

Is Brink's Depository Legit? Its Record With Regulators, Courts and the BBB#

Yes: Brink's is a real, long-established vault operator, and SafeOunce found no CFTC, SEC or state regulator action against it as a depository in searches on September 29, 2026. Its record does include a large 2022 jewelry theft from a Brink's truck and a fraud that falsely used its name.

SafeOunce tracks precious metals IRA enforcement actions by the CFTC, SEC, FTC and states. Brink's does not appear as a defendant in our tracker of precious metals IRA enforcement actions.

Who regulates a Brink's vault, and what Brink's told the SEC#

No banking regulator supervises a Brink's vault the way a state supervises a trust company. The main outside rules come from COMEX, which licenses Brink's, Inc. and is overseen by the CFTC, the federal futures regulator.

In a February 3, 2014 request for an SEC no-action letter, Brink's wrote: "Brink's is not a bank." A no-action letter is SEC staff saying it will not recommend enforcement for a described practice. The staff agreed, in a letter that law-firm summaries date February 11, 2014.

The request listed the COMEX rules Brink's follows: insurance "in an amount satisfactory to NYMEX/COMEX", yearly audited financial statements, a yearly inventory audit and exchange checks "at any time".

Unlike the Delaware Depository, a state-examined trust company, Brink's holds IRA metal as your custodian's agent. No IRS ruling or court case disqualifies that setup.

BBB ratings and online reviews: why they say little about Brink's IRA storage#

The BBB profile for Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. shows no rating and no accreditation as of September 29, 2026, because the BBB says it lacks enough information. The profile, kept by the BBB of Chicago, opened May 23, 2023, and lists a local start date of March 31, 2022.

Public reviews under the Brink's name mostly concern armored trucks, cash services or home alarms (Brinks Home, a separate company), not IRA storage. What BBB ratings can and cannot tell you is explained on our ratings page.

The 2022 jewelry theft and Brink's declared-value contract#

In July 2022, thieves took 22 bags of jewelry from a Brink's truck in Lebec, California, and Brink's then sued to cap its payout at the declared values. Brink's filed its complaint on August 4, 2022 (Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. v. Arat Jewelry Corp. et al., S.D.N.Y. No. 1:22-cv-06653). It says the pickup manifests "declare a total value of $ 8,700,000". It adds that "Local media reported" the loss "exceeds $ 100,000,000".

The complaint quotes Brink's contract: liability never exceeds "the lesser of the Declared Value or the actual monetary value." An undeclared or badly under-declared shipment is capped at the shipping charges or "U.S. $500", whichever is less. A ruling for Brink's on the cap on June 12, 2025 is reported; SafeOunce has not read it.

This was a jewelers' transport contract, not an IRA storage agreement; its lesson concerns shipping metal out.

The Brink's name in a gold scam: the Rust Rare Coin case#

A Utah coin dealer, Rust Rare Coin, told investors that about $77 million to $80 million of silver sat at Brink's, far more than it ever bought. CFTC release 7842-18 of November 16, 2018 says the silver "was stored at Brink's ... even though the Defendants never purchased and stored anything approaching that amount."

The CFTC put investor money at "more than $170 million", and release 7856-18 at "at least $200 million". On March 8, 2022, Gaylen Rust was sentenced to 228 months and ordered to pay $153,073,328.32 in restitution (D. Utah No. 2:19-cr-00164). Brink's was not a defendant.

Borrowed names are one trick in gold IRA scams. The other warning signs are listed in our guide to gold IRA scams.

How a Gold IRA Uses Brink's: Dealer, Custodian and Vault#

A gold IRA uses Brink's in 4 steps: your custodian opens the account, your dealer ships metal to Brink's, Brink's records it for your IRA, and your custodian reports it. Can you hold precious metals in an IRA at all? Yes, when the metal meets the fineness rules and a trustee (your custodian) holds it, under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B).

1. Choose a custodian that offers Brink's (Equity Trust, Digital Trust or IRA Express, whose trustee SafeOunce has not confirmed; September 2026) and elect Brink's on its depository form.
2. Buy the metal. The dealer ships it to the Brink's city named on the form.
3. Expect Brink's to log it in a sub-account, a separate record for each IRA "having its own reporting and physical storage" (IRA Express form).
4. Check that your statement lists the product, quantity, storage type and Brink's as the vault.

Can you open an IRA directly with Brink's?#

No: Brink's is the vault, not an IRA custodian, so an IRA reaches Brink's only through a custodian that has signed a custody agreement with it. The law requires IRA bullion to be "in the physical possession of a trustee" (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)). The IRS keeps no depository list. The only metals business on its nonbank trustee list (April 1, 2026) is Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP, not Brink's.

Metal in Brink's "Private Client Storage" for personal accounts is not IRA metal, even inside the same vault.

Which gold IRA custodians offer Brink's storage#

Equity Trust and Digital Trust list Brink's as a storage option in September 2026, and IRA Express offers a Brink's Salt Lake City form. GoldStar, STRATA and Entrust's current forms do not.

A form that still ranks in search can be years old. Entrust's 2017 Brink's form ranked third on Google for "brinks depository fees" on September 29, 2026. Ask your custodian for its current Brink's form and check the date on it.

GoldStar says the dealer "usually determines" which depository is used, so ask your dealer which custodian it pairs with Brink's.

Every custodian's vault list and fees are compared on our page about gold IRA custodians.

Brink's IRA Storage Fees in 2026, Custodian by Custodian#

Brink's publishes no IRA storage price; custodians charge $110 to $240 a year flat for storage at Brink's, or 0.12% to 0.72% of the metal's value. Percentage prices carry minimums, such as $125 or $200 a year on the IRA Express form (documents read September 29, 2026).

One vault has five prices because each custodian or platform makes its own deal with Brink's and prices it flat or as a percentage. One basis point is one hundredth of a percent, so 12 basis points equal 0.12%. Every custodian and vault is compared on gold IRA storage fees.

Ranges on review sites, such as "0.50%-0.80%" or "$100-$300", match none of these documents.

Brink's storage cost at $50,000 and $250,000#

At $50,000 of metal, storage at Brink's costs $110 to $360 a year depending on the custodian; at $250,000 it costs $110 to $1,800. Each price comes from the custodian's or platform's own document, and account fees are extra.

Flat fees win at large balances: Equity Trust's $110 is 0.04% of $250,000. GBI Direct's schedule says 0.70% a year, charged on resale value (the bid, not your purchase price), but its IRA FAQ says 0.72%, so ask which applies. The schedule also leaves open whether 0.65% covers the whole balance or only the part above $100,000 ($1,675 at $250,000).

LendEDU's "$1.20 per $1,000" rate (August 25, 2026) matches the IRA Express form: one custodian's price, not a Brink's price list.

Total yearly fee at Brink's: custodian account fee plus storage#

With Equity Trust's $125 account fee on its metals-only schedule, a Brink's IRA costs $235 a year non-segregated or $285 segregated at any balance. That schedule covers accounts opened through a dealer. A direct Equity Trust Universal IRA charges $350 to $2,500 a year by value, so the same custodian and vault cost $235 or $1,110 at $250,000. Ask which schedule applies. GBI Direct's IRA uses Equity Trust at $125: $475 at $50,000 and $1,750 to $1,925 at $250,000.

Timing adds cost. Equity Trust bills storage "at the time the metals are received at the elected depository and each January thereafter" (Rev. 081726). So metal that arrives on December 15 is billed $110 then and $110 again on January 1. Setup ($50 at Equity Trust) and dealer markups are extra.

A gold IRA fee calculator adds these layers over the years you plan to hold. Run your own balance in the gold IRA fee calculator.

Flat fee or percentage: why the same Brink's vault costs $110 or $1,625#

A flat fee stays the same as your metal grows, while a percentage fee grows with it, so the gap at Brink's widens with every dollar of value. SafeOunce calculated 4 crossover points from the documents.

• IRA Express commingled: 0.12% passes its $125 minimum at about $104,167.
• IRA Express segregated: 0.20% passes its $200 minimum at $100,000.
• Entrust's 2017 allocated rate: 0.15% passes its $125 minimum at about $83,333.
• GBI Direct: 0.70% costs more than Equity Trust's $160 flat segregated fee above about $22,857.

Flat vs scaled gold IRA fees follow this pattern at every vault. Why a percentage schedule overtakes a flat one is explained on flat vs scaled gold IRA fees.

Brink's fees beyond storage: shipping, handling and taking metal out#

Taking metal out of Brink's costs a $25 out-shipment charge plus a $25 handling fee per package, plus postage and insurance, on the custodian forms that list Brink's fees.

• Out-shipment charge: $25 each time (Entrust 2017 and IRA Express forms).
• Package handling: $25 per package, plus postage, registration and insurance (same forms; the Choice app help page of August 20, 2026 shows the same $25).
• Card processing: 3.75% for storage paid by credit card (IRA Express).
• Custodian exit fees: Equity Trust charges $125 per in-kind distribution or transfer out, $250 to close, $30 per sale and coin shipping and handling at cost + $10, minimum $50 (Rev. 081726).
• Carrier: "USPS registered ground" unless you choose another (forms).

An in-kind distribution means taking the coins themselves out of the IRA instead of cash. Taking physical gold out is taxed like a cash withdrawal. The tax steps for taking physical gold out of an IRA are on our distributions page.

Ask what value your custodian declares on any package leaving Brink's.

Gold IRA termination fees vary by custodian. Every custodian's exit charges are compared on gold IRA termination fees.

Segregated vs Commingled Storage at Brink's#

Brink's IRA storage comes in two kinds on the custodian forms, commingled (non-segregated) and segregated, and segregated costs $50 to $90 a year more at flat-fee custodians. Segregated means stored apart and labeled as yours. Commingled means stored with identical items owned by others, with your quantity recorded.

Segregated storage at Brink's is worth the extra $50 to $90 a year (flat-fee custodians) in three cases:

• Proof, graded or unusual coins, where identical coins would not return the premium you paid.
• A planned in-kind distribution where you want the exact pieces back.
• Large bars you want back by serial number.

Otherwise commingled storage, which is still allocated, costs less. Segregation alone did not protect First State Depository customers.

The choice works the same way at every vault. When a private shelf is worth the extra cost is covered in segregated vs commingled gold IRA storage.

Commingled metal at Brink's is still allocated to your IRA#

Commingled metal at Brink's is still recorded as your IRA's own: the custodian forms describe storage in "Individual Sub-Accounts" with "its own reporting and physical storage per IRA". Entrust's 2017 Brink's form even titles the option "Allocated Storage", meaning a set quantity of a set product is recorded as yours.

West Hills Capital's Brink's page says commingled owners hold "a share of the pool rather than specific identified bars". That is wrong for IRA metal, which is never held as a pool claim.

Allocated storage is the IRA standard. The difference between allocated storage and a pool is defined in our glossary entry on allocated storage.

Segregated silver at Brink's: what the forms say#

The only Brink's election form that prices segregated storage, IRA Express's Salt Lake City form, offers it without naming any metal limit. Entrust's 2017 form priced gold, platinum, palladium and silver at one rate. At the Delaware Depository, by contrast, Entrust and STRATA segregate gold, platinum and palladium only.

No Brink's document SafeOunce found restricts segregated silver, and none confirms it. Ask your custodian in writing before you pay the higher fee.

This matters most in a silver IRA, where coins fill more vault space per dollar. Eligible silver and its storage costs are covered on our silver IRA guide.

Brink's Insurance: What Is Published and What Is Excluded#

Brink's website promises "full liability" and "all-risk protection" for metal in its vaults but publishes no dollar limit. The only limit on record is "over $1 billion" per vault, which Brink's gave the SEC in 2014. FDIC and SIPC never cover IRA metal.

How gold IRA storage is insured differs by vault. The five questions to ask any vault are on how gold IRA storage is insured.

The table lists all six statements SafeOunce found.

"Full liability" and "all-risk": the words on Brink's website#

Brink's storage page says it keeps assets safe "with a fleet of armored trucks and all-risk protection" and claims "Full liability for stock held in our vaults". It names no limit, no insurer and no payout basis (read September 29, 2026).

At least $1 billion per vault: what Brink's told the SEC in 2014#

In a February 3, 2014 request to the SEC, Brink's said it kept "over $1 billion of insurance coverage per vault or secure facility", available "for each and every claim". The cover included "mysterious disappearance and employee infidelity, without an exclusion for officers and senior managers". In plain terms: metal missing with no known cause, and theft by staff, even managers.

Brink's said its New York and London facilities were each insured for "between $1.25 billion and $2.75 billion", and it pledged to keep "at least $1 billion" per vault.

For scale, Brink's COMEX gold holdings of September 28, 2026 were worth about $29.3 billion at the September 29 example price, spread across more than one facility. A per-vault, per-claim policy is sized for one event, not every ounce at once, which is normal for large vaults.

These 2014 figures were written for mutual funds' bullion, and the request defined "gold bullion" to exclude coins. Brink's has published no current limit for IRA metal.

What Brink's insurance excludes, and the part Brink's pays itself#

Brink's 2025 annual report says its policies cover "losses from most causes, with the exception of war, nuclear risk and various other exclusions", and only above deductibles it carries itself. A deductible, or retention, is the part of a loss a company pays before insurance starts.

• Retention: cover only "in excess of what we consider prudent deductibles and/or retentions" (10-K for 2025).
• Underwriters: "different groups of underwriters at negotiated rates and terms" (10-K for 2025).
• A dealer's version: GBI Direct says Lloyd's of London insures storage "on behalf of Brink's ... for the full replacement value", except "Force Majeure Events" (events outside anyone's control).

The Delaware Depository publishes its exclusions and a $1 billion plus $100 million limit (FAQ, September 29, 2026); Brink's publishes neither.

Declared value and the proof coin gap#

Brink's transport contract pays losses only up to the declared value, so a coin worth more than its metal is protected only if that higher value is on record. No IRA custody agreement with Brink's is public to show whether storage works the same way. At the Delaware Depository and the Texas Bullion Depository, insurance pays metal value unless a declared value is on file.

Proof coins are specially struck versions that cost more than their metal. The example below shows the gap at a vault that pays metal value; it is not a Brink's figure.

Before sending proof coins in an IRA to Brink's, ask your custodian in writing what value it declares and whether Brink's pays metal value or purchase price. Why proof coins in an IRA cost more to buy and are often insured at metal value is covered on our proof coin page.

Brink's Security and Audits: What Is Checked and What Is Not#

Brink's vaults are checked by COMEX, by insurers and by The Brink's Company's outside auditors, but no published audit covers the coins held for IRA owners. In 2014, Brink's described its facilities to the SEC as having perimeter cameras, motion detectors, "bullet-resistant doors and airlocks", "24/7 armed guards" and "a minimum of two alarm systems".

A SOC report is an outside auditor's review of a company's controls over client assets; none on IRA custody at Brink's is public. Depository audits share this gap across the industry. What depository audits miss is covered on our audits page.

COMEX licensing and the yearly audit of exchange bars#

Brink's, Inc. is a COMEX and NYMEX licensed depository for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, at facilities in New York and New Jersey. That is how CME notice MKR11-20-25B of November 20, 2025 describes it. The notice set Brink's maximum COMEX storage rates from March 1, 2026.

The notice calls these "the maximum amounts of fees that can be charged" but gives no billing period, so no yearly cost is shown. Brink's exchange rates are public; its IRA rates are not. No document SafeOunce read shows the Los Angeles or Salt Lake City sites as COMEX-licensed.

What COMEX is, and why its vault list matters, is in our glossary.

How to check your metal is really at Brink's#

You can check your metal at Brink's in 5 steps, all through your custodian, because Brink's reports IRA holdings to the custodian, not to you.

1. Ask your custodian for the Brink's holdings report for your sub-account. In the First State Depository case, the CFTC said custodians "did not physically possess or hold the assets".
2. Match the product, quantity, storage type and city with your invoice. Expect a lower dollar value: Equity Trust values metal at the previous day's metal price and leaves out dealer markups (Disclosure Rev. 121625). That gap is not missing metal.
3. Ask for serial numbers if you hold large bars.
4. Ask for the custody agreement, which the forms call "available upon request".
5. Treat any report that comes only from your dealer as unverified, as the Rust Rare Coin case shows.

Is your gold really in your IRA? Our guide is your gold really in your IRA explains what to do if a check fails.

Brink's Vault Locations for IRA Metal: New York, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City#

Custodian and dealer documents name three Brink's cities for IRA metal: New York City, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, while Brink's publishes no IRA vault list. Equity Trust "approved three locations of Brinks Global Services" on November 19, 2019, without naming them. The Brinks depository locations below come from each document, with its date.

The Brinks Salt Lake City depository appears most often, in six documents: the four in the table plus the Allegiance Gold and Birch Gold pages listed further down. Springfield Gardens is named only on Entrust's 2017 form; GBI Direct (2026) says "Brinks New York vault".

Review sites add Miami, Dallas, Toronto, London, Zurich and Dubai, but no custodian form offers them for IRA metal. Your custodian's form, not Brink's website, decides which city holds your metal.

What Happens to Your IRA Metal If Brink's, Your Dealer or Your Custodian Fails#

IRA metal at Brink's belongs to your IRA, not to Brink's or your dealer, so their failure should not turn your metal into their asset. Recovery can still take time and cost money.

If Brink's fails. The custody agreements are not public, so their bailment and bankruptcy terms cannot be checked. A bailment means holding someone else's property without owning it. Allocated metal is designed to stay outside a vault's bankruptcy estate (the Delaware Depository's 2016 SEC letter; IDS's "bailment" terms), but that is industry evidence, not a Brink's document.

The general rules are on what happens to your IRA gold if a depository fails.

If your dealer fails. Metal already in your IRA's sub-account is not dealer inventory. In the Rosland Capital bankruptcy, products sat in "the customer's separate and individualized account at DDSC", the Delaware Depository. Orders never delivered make you an unsecured creditor.

GBI Direct may also sell metal without notice when obligations are more than 30 days in arrears, charging 2.5% (its agreement). Equity Trust's disclosure (Rev. 121625) says it may sell metal to pay unpaid fees and force distribute the rest, and a forced distribution from a traditional IRA is taxable.

Customers of failed gold IRA companies have faced both cases. Claim steps for each case are on our list of failed gold IRA companies.

If your custodian fails. The custodian is the owner of record, so a replacement custodian or court receiver moves the sub-account. The First State Depository case (CFTC complaint 2022) involved 2,102 accounts, 90% of them IRAs; intact accounts came back after a receivership with a 5.6% surcharge. First State was not a Brink's vault.

Which Gold IRA Companies and Dealers Use Brink's#

Five sellers name Brink's for IRA metal on their own pages: Birch Gold Group, Allegiance Gold, GBI Direct, West Hills Capital and BGASC, as of September 29, 2026.

Allegiance names STRATA as its custodian, but STRATA's own depository list shows Delaware Depository and the Texas Precious Metals Depository, not Brink's. Ask which custodian would hold your metal at Brink's.

Birch's Brink's page also cites "nearly 1,000 facilities in over 120 countries" (May 6, 2026); the 10-K for 2025 says about 1,200 facilities and more than 100 countries.

Gold IRA companies pick vaults for their own reasons. Every seller's vaults and fees are compared on our page about gold IRA companies.

Brink's Pros and Cons#

Brink's strengths are scale, independence from dealers and the large insurance cover it described to the SEC in 2014; its weakness is that almost nothing about IRA storage is published by Brink's itself.

Who Brink's Suits, and When to Ask for Another Vault#

Brink's suits an IRA owner whose custodian offers it at a flat fee and who is content to rely on the custodian's contract rather than published vault terms.

Put these 5 questions to your custodian before metal goes to Brink's.

1. Ask which Brink's city and storage type your metal will use.
2. Ask for the current Brink's fee, the fee schedule your account is on and the date on the form.
3. Ask whether the fee is flat or a percentage, and when it is billed.
4. Ask for the custody agreement with Brink's and the basis of the insured value.
5. Ask for the Brink's holdings report each year.

A custodian that cannot answer in writing is a reason to pick another custodian or vault.

SafeOunce takes no money from any company named on this page.

How Does Brink's Compare With Other IRA Depositories?#

Brink's is the largest gold holder on the COMEX list and the least transparent vault for IRA owners, while the Delaware Depository and Texas Bullion Depository publish more about fees and insurance.

The best gold IRA depositories are not simply the biggest. A ranking on insurance, audits, ownership and cost is on best gold IRA depositories.

Brink's vs Delaware Depository#

Brink's holds 38.8 times more COMEX gold than the Delaware Depository, but Delaware is a state-examined trust company that publishes its insurance limit, exclusions and personal fees. Brink's publishes none of these.

At Equity Trust, IRA storage costs the same at both vaults: $110 or $160 a year (Rev. 081726).

The Delaware Depository's full profile is on our Delaware Depository page.

APMEX's Citadel storage: run by Brink's, but not an IRA option#

APMEX's Citadel storage program uses Brink's vaults, charges 0.55% a year and is not documented for IRA metal. Its terms name "Brink's Global Services USA, Inc." as "the exclusive provider of secure storage" (archived August 23, 2026).

Citadel and other dealer-owned vaults sell storage to personal accounts. How Citadel and other dealer-owned vaults compare is covered on our dealer vaults page.

Citadel storage is "fully allocated and fully segregated" and audited "on a periodic basis ... as determined appropriate by Citadel management". Citadel belongs to APMEX. APMEX's IRA program itself is reviewed on our APMEX page.

Brink's private client storage outside an IRA#

Brink's advertises "Private Client Storage" for precious metals outside retirement accounts, with no published prices, and GBI Direct resells storage in Brink's vaults at 0.70% to 0.80% a year up to $100,000. New York vault purchases there need a $1,000 minimum. Personal storage is not IRA storage: IRA metal must be held for your custodian under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B).

Is Brink's IRS-approved?#

No: the IRS approves no depository; IRA bullion must be in a trustee's physical possession, and Brink's holds it for custodians such as Equity Trust. That rule is 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B); "IRS-compliant" on dealer pages is sales wording. An "IRA approved depository" is simply a vault your custodian contracts with. What the phrase IRA approved depository really means is covered on our depositories guide.

Is Brinks Home Security part of the same company?#

No: Brinks Home is run by Monitronics International under a long-term license to use the Brink's name for home alarms, according to Monitronics' SEC filings. That is why searches for Brinks security prices per month show alarm plans, not vault storage.

Can you visit your metal at Brink's?#

Brink's publishes no visit policy for IRA owners, so any visit has to be requested through your custodian. The forms offer "Personal Pick-Ups" only as a way to take metal out. How to arrange a trip to visit your gold IRA metals is on our visits page.

Can your IRA gold be stored at a Brink's vault outside the US?#

No custodian form SafeOunce found offers a foreign Brink's vault for IRA metal; the forms name only Salt Lake City (IRA Express, undated) and, on Entrust's 2017 form, New York City and Los Angeles. The 2014 SEC request covered Brink's US and UK vaults for mutual funds, not IRAs.

Whether IRA gold stored offshore can ever qualify is covered on our offshore page.

Does storing IRA gold in Utah or New York change your taxes?#

No: state income tax on IRA withdrawals follows where you live, not where the vault is, so Salt Lake City or New York storage does not change it.

Every state is compared on state income tax on gold IRA withdrawals.

Where is the safest place to store gold?#

For IRA gold, the only legal place is a vault that holds it for your custodian. Home storage made IRA coins a taxable distribution in McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021). Non-IRA gold may be kept at home, but a standard ISO HO-3 homeowners form caps money, bullion and coins at $200 (policies vary).

The court case is covered on home storage gold IRA.

Where are the US gold depositories located?#

IRA vaults used by US custodians sit in states including Delaware, Texas, Utah, New York, California and Idaho, while the Treasury's own gold is held separately, including at Fort Knox (Treasury data, August 31, 2026). Our depositories guide lists the vaults US custodians use.