Topic hubs
Important financial subjects, answered properly
These are the subjects people search us for. Each hub gives the direct answer first, then the facts with their primary sources, the vocabulary, the risks, the things the industry gets wrong, and a routed directory of the deeper pages we publish. No thin question lists, and no figures we cannot cite.
Gold
Gold: a working reference for buyers
Investment gold is bullion — coins or bars valued on metal content rather than rarity — and the only gold a retirement account may hold is bullion meeting the fineness standard Congress wrote into 26 U.S.C. § 408(m), held by a custodian at a depository rather than at home.
Open the gold hub
6 sourced facts · 6 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Silver
Silver: monetary metal and industrial input
Silver is priced per troy ounce off the COMEX contract, bought as coins or bars, and eligible for a retirement account only as bullion meeting the § 408(m) fineness exception — but unlike gold it is also consumed industrially, which is why its price and its premiums move differently.
Open the silver hub
6 sourced facts · 6 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Bullion
Bullion: what it is, and what it isn't
Bullion is precious metal in coin, bar or round form whose price is set by weight and fineness rather than rarity — which is precisely why it can be compared between dealers, and why collectible coins cannot.
Open the bullion hub
6 sourced facts · 6 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Precious metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs: how the account actually works
A precious metals IRA is an ordinary self-directed IRA whose holdings are bullion that clears the collectibles exception in 26 U.S.C. § 408(m), with a custodian holding the account, a depository holding the metal, and a dealer — us — sourcing and pricing it.
Open the precious metals iras hub
6 sourced facts · 7 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Pricing
Pricing: spot, premium, spread and the lock
A bullion price is the exchange-derived spot price for the metal plus a premium for fabrication, distribution and dealer margin — and the number that determines your outcome is the round-trip spread between what you pay and what a dealer will pay you back.
Open the pricing hub
6 sourced facts · 6 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Storage & custody
Storage and custody: where metal actually sits
Metal held inside a retirement account must sit with the account's trustee at a depository, insured under a specie policy; metal you own personally can be stored at home or at a depository, but a bank safe deposit box is neither FDIC-insured nor a custody solution.
Open the storage & custody hub
5 sourced facts · 6 questions · reviewed 2026-09-02
Global financial system
Currencies, reserves and payment systems
BRICS
BRICS: evidence and definitions
BRICS is an expanding political and economic forum, not a single currency or unified financial system. We track what members agree to, where they differ, and what measurable changes follow.
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De-dollarization
De-dollarization: evidence and definitions
De-dollarization describes several different trends: reserve diversification, non-dollar trade settlement and alternative payment rails. None alone proves that the dollar has lost reserve-currency status.
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U.S. dollar
U.S. dollar: evidence and definitions
The dollar remains the leading reserve and transaction currency. Its share and uses can change gradually while its network, safe-asset market and institutional advantages remain substantial.
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Global financial system
Global financial system: evidence and definitions
The global financial system is a network of currencies, banks, markets, institutions and payment rails. Power within it must be compared across separate measurable dimensions, not reduced to one GDP headline.
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Ask the desk anything on this list
Call (800) 200-9553 and a licensed agent will answer plainly — metal, premium, buy-back, custodian, storage. No script.