[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Preferred Way, a retirement podcast brought to you by Preferred.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Trust Company, the preferred custodian for all alternative investments.
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Today we have John from SWP with us in the beautiful Cayman Islands. So welcome, John, glad to have you here with us today. And I have to say happy anniversary. It is the 10 year anniversary of SWP.
So why don't, why don't we talk a little bit about how did SWP come to be.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Okay, thank you. Well, thank you first of all for inviting me.
It's lovely to be here. We always love working with Preferred Trust, so thank you for the invite. Yes, it's our 10th year and very exciting for us. Got lots planned.
Ten years ago, basically what happened was our two founders, Stuart and Shane, they were one of these people that used to buy metals but have nowhere to store them locally in the Cayman Islands. And so they store them at home and things like that. And so collectively and amongst their friends, they thought, there's a better way of doing this. Why don't we create our own storage facility? So they went on a hunt around the world to have a look at some storage facilities. Got best practice from all of them, came back and then they designed what I'm sitting in today effectively, which is our state of the art class 3 volt facility right here in the Cayman Islands.
It started off predominantly in storage.
They encouraged our CEO Mark Yaxley to join them in this, in this journey. So Mark joined to run the company for them. And yeah, it was predominantly storage, but then they thought themselves, well, you know, know what, we should sell the precious metals and buy it as well as offering storage. So that's when we really did start to motor as a company. And in the short time that we've been going, so 10 years, I guess can be deemed as a short time in company time scale, we've grown from zero to over $1.3 billion worth of assets in the vault right behind me, behind this wall here.
Plus we have multimillion storage under assets. Assets under storage, sorry, in our various international vault locations as well. So grown very well.
We have a great growth program lined up for the next future years and very excited. Yeah. And obviously you guys at Preferred Trust have been part of that growth. So it's great to work with partners who can, you know, really embrace what we do and share in that growth as well.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: And I think that's, you know, it's very unique in the industry. Obviously separate from the States, you know, there's a, there's a different atmosphere, if you will. With precious metals dealers in the States, vaults are typically separate. So you'll have the dealers or the companies that are buying and selling and then you'll have the companies that are licensed to vault hold and store. What's unique about you all is that you do both, which is, it's like your one stop shop, which is fantastic and phenomenal. And the really great thing too, I think what Mark and I have talked about before is you're kind of pushed away from all of the bad actors in the industry, if you will. We see a lot of that in the States, which is one of the reasons why we love to work with SWP and like to really highlight our relationship with you all because you're one of the best in the business and doing it the best. And I think there's a lot to be said for that, especially in an industry that's predominantly, you know, it's affected, especially retirees these days. So speak to that and you know, and how you've maintained your ability to stay true to what the original founders wanted.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Thank you. Yeah, and thank you for pointing that out because you're right. It is a unique way of doing business, especially in precious metals. There's a lot of bad apples as you put them out there.
We're a company that's built on integrity and trust. We, we very much expect all of our clients to receive a white glove treatment. We will ensure that we take every client regardless of what wealth they wish to invest with us, whether it's a couple of coins, up to multi millions, the very same handhold approach. We will guide people through the process. We're not financial advisors, but we'll give the very best advice that we can on precious metals so that people that maybe come into the industry with zero knowledge at least will go away after a phone call with one of my team with a bit more understanding of where they could possibly go to, you know, and we embrace the times whereby you sometimes introduce us to us to some people that you've become aware of that have fallen foul of the bad apples. And we really do enjoy being able to turn that perception around and to give them a better understanding of the industry.
But yeah, I do appreciate you pointing that out because we do turn down quite a bit of business because it's the right thing to do and we want to make sure that our client base know that we are a company of integrity and one they can trust. Trust the turtle is what we say.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Trust the turtle. Okay, so talk to us a little bit about that. We love that so out there, what that's about.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Well, you know our emblem is the turtle, the Cayman turtle. So when you were looking, if you look at our turtle and especially with the 10 year motive, that's rounded now the back of the turtle is actually made up of gold bars. You know, that's, that's the emblem of it. It was designed by our marketing directors bad actually back in the day when they were looking for the logo and obviously with the, the links to Cayman and the Cayman life is either going to be a stingray or a turtle. And turtle is the main one here and you know, it's our emblem and we have, our VIP club is known as the, the Golden Turtle Club, you know, so we have that link now and so yeah, very much so. You can trust us and you can certainly trust the turtle. That's what for us as a company.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: And it's really great too if you buy metals in store with you all and you want to visit the facility. Well, the Cayman Islands isn't a bad place to get to go and visit and spend some time.
[00:06:44] Speaker B: It's not a bad place, you know, and we have a lot of people either when they come past on a cruise, they let us know in advance and we'll, we'll accommodate them, let them come in, see us. It's always nice to meet the people face to face that you're dealing with on a daily or weekly or monthly basis. And also we can give a bit of inside knowledge as to the island, where to go and predominantly not where not to go, where to eat, etc. But no, it's a great place to visit. It's a lovely place, especially during wintertime. It's a good place to come down and see us now.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: That's right. And our CEO came over there not too long ago, took a tour of the vaults and know really it was very eye openening and very interesting. I don't think people realize, you know, what goes into the security behind this type of facility and what it takes to actually have a vault.
Talk a little bit about that.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Okay. Well yeah, I mean we are a Class 3 vault facility which is one of the highest rating vault facility that you can, you can have.
But we extended that further. So we actually built a concrete bunker around our Class 3 facility. So we are extremely secure, there's no question of that. And also when you look about it, we're on an island. So you've got to get to us first and then you've got to get to within our secure zone and then through Our secure bunker to get to our secure class three facility vault. So you know, we are very, very secure. We take security very seriously. We have the very latest electronic security as you'd expect, a lot of biometrics as well to be able to move throughout the building.
We have our own security team and yeah, no, it's, it's, it's a level of security that is, it's there. But when clients visit, they will notice it, but they won't feel intimidated by it. You know, we try to ensure that when they come here they have the ability to relax in their surroundings but also be aware that we take their security and the security of their metals very seriously.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: So talk to me a little bit about being an international dealer and depository. What are some of the challenges to that?
[00:09:01] Speaker B: Well, at the end of the day we have international facilities around the world where we store as well for our clients. But predominantly this is, this is our head office and our main vault facility. I guess the challenges would be logistics for sure.
So when we're dealing with our US clients, we can do drop ships, but we do offer storage. And for when looking at preferred trust Texas or Delaware facilities. But logistics, yes, can be a challenge for sure.
Not so much of supply because ultimately, you know, yes, it might take a few days to ship or whatever, but there isn't that. But logistics would be the main challenge I guess.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: So talk a little bit about self directed IRAs using retirement funds to purchase precious metals. Obviously, you know, we always get the question like what, you know, why, why should I do this in my ira? And you know, as the custodian for a self directed ira, we really don't give, you know, any kind of investment advice. What we, what we tell clients is these are the type of investments you can have in, in, you know, alternatives you can, precious metals is one of them. So I think you can best speak to, you know, what are, what are some of the pros to having precious metals in your retirement account?
[00:10:24] Speaker B: For sure. I mean it's, it's, I mean as we know, precious metals, gold especially has always been deemed as a safe haven. You know, it's one of those go tos where in times of uncertainty on the stock market, gold will, will react the reverse if you like. I was looking back at some of the spot prices earlier this year. So even on January 1st for example, the gold was coming in at 2607 and today we're currently sat at 2759. There's a lot of turbulence that's happening in the market Currently, purely because, yes, world events, absolutely, wars, etc, was happening in Ukraine, Far east, etc. Middle east, but more importantly, closer to home is what's happening in policy and politics. And with President Trump now being firmly in place, that's obviously caused some instability in the market and therefore gold is seen as that safe haven to go to. So a lot of people would invest within precious metals to be able to store their wealth and know that that wealth is going to be remaining as it were. Your chances of it actually increasing over the years is good as well. You know, is we're definitely not an eft. We're not going to go up and down or like a bitcoin and make money when you buy in and sell the next day. But to buy and to sit on it and to know, yep, that's my pension fund, I know that's going to be stable. I know that that's going to be there when I want to draw on it. It's the right thing to do. And obviously with working with you guys as well, we've got very good storage rates that we worked out with preferred trust, so that you're not paying an arm and a leg to store your wealth with any of our facilities either.
It's interesting because as I was looking at what's happened since President Trump has been in office and he's made a raft of changes already, but also threats to change and one of them is the fear of possible tariffs coming in for importation and people may not be aware, but that is then trickling down into places like precious metals because obviously the Americas, America, North America has to import precious metals. And so the possibility of tariffs arriving suddenly on precious metals is there. And so premiums at the moment are going up on the likes of kilo gold bars and 1000 ounce silver bars. Because of the very nature of what could happen. We're hoping it won't, but the market is reacting to it, so it's definitely one to watch out for currently.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: And so, yeah, as a company that deals in precious metals, in the buy and sale of them, aside from the storage, how does SWP navigate that to stay relevant in the industry and how do you work through that?
[00:13:24] Speaker B: You have to be constantly aware of what's happening. And like I say, we're not financial advisors by any means, but we have to be professionals within our own segment that is in precious metals and what's happening within that industry. And so A, it's about knowledge of what's happening in the industry, but not just locally, that is in The US market globally. We need to know what's happening globally because that has such a massive impact on the price of precious metals. So it's more about maintaining your knowledge and also being up to date with worldwide affairs.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: So if anybody, we always tell clients when they reach out to us and they say, you know, I'm interested in purchasing precious metals. One of the things that we recommend they do is, is to do their due diligence. Right. You want to, want to look at the company that you're interested in purchasing from. You want to see what their reputation is. You want to look at their spot pric because like we talked about a little bit in the beginning, there's a lot of bad apples out there. And what we mean by that is there's, there is a lot of high pricing out there above and beyond spot price. So why don't you talk a little bit about what spot price is, what clients should kind of. Because I don't think, you know, I think it's really hard for them to understand sometimes. You know, you've got the melt value of what it is and then you've got the market value and, and really what is appropriate out there.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's a really good point to be fair. You know, people will see the market and they'll go oh, the spot price of gold like I said earlier is2759. When I buy my 1oz American Eagle for my preferred trust IRA, that's what it's going to cost me. Well, it doesn't obviously.
[00:15:09] Speaker A: Right.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: You know, basically the spot price is the base price that we all tend to use in precious metal dealers. What will happen is that you also then have a premium and the premium is made up of a number of sectors that is a number of charges and the charges are made up of for example, what it costs to get it out of the ground in the first place. You know, for your mining, what it costs to refine it, what it costs to then get it to one of your mints to make sure that it's minted correctly and is ready for market. Obviously we only use LBMA or Comex brands. Once you've got the actual metal ready to move it then got to go to a wholesaler and then from the wholesaler then comes to likes of us as distributors. So you've got that whole chain of charges costs which are associated with producing that 1 ounce coin. And so therefore when you're looking to purchase, definitely look to compare what the premium is. The spot price should be the same Roughly wherever you go, there shouldn't be any, in any fluctuation on that, but there will be a fluctuation on premium and definitely seek out the premium that you're comfortable with. I wouldn't necessarily go with the cheapest premium because often with the cheapest premium you don't get the top white glove service that I was talking about earlier and the integrity and the trust that some companies like ourselves at SWP are very proud of. But definitely do your research. Absolutely.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: Yeah. We always say, you know, you definitely want to make sure that you ask the questions and, and be prepared as well. Depending I think, upon your age and, and what you are preparing for in retirement. Is there a certain amount of time that people should be thinking about holding the metals for? Like you said, it's, it's not like Bitcoin. You can't buy it today, sell it tomorrow and make a profit. So what are people looking at as far as length of time to hold metals?
[00:17:09] Speaker B: It depends on what their expectations is in relation to their liquidity. What do they want out of storing the metals? So say, for instance, say if you have a client that is putting some of these metals in for their retirement poll, but they want to be able to draw out X amount per month or X amount per year, then they have to understand whether the company that they're working with, in our case, strategic wealth, is that liquidity there. Can that company buy that metal from you and turn it around and get the cash back into your account when you want and when, you know, when you need it, you know, whether it's for a, you know, a purchase of a car or a payment of a, of a medical bill or whatever it might be, you need to know that the company you're working with will be able to honor that. And that's something we're very proud of as well. You know, once we purchased the metals from the clients that are with preferred trust, yes, you've got a bit of a delay as regards the preferred trust aspect and swp, but normally our clients would receive their funds no later than seven business days from that, from, you know, often is the case, it's 48 hours, etc. But if we do, as an industry standard, seven working days, business days, that's when your funds are going to land in the account. So it's very much under the individual. If they want to be able to just sit on that nest egg, watch it grow over time, know that it's safe and secure. Happy days. But if you want to be able to draw it out bit by bit. Choose a company that can guarantee that liquid liquidity for you within a certain time.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's a super important point because we have had clients purchase from other dealers and pay a very high premium to purchase and then, you know, something happens. They, you know, they have a family emergency, they have something where they need the funds and drawing them out, you know, or they've reached a required minimum distribution age, you know, which right now is age 73. And, and they've put all of their, if you will, eggs in one basket. Right. They've bought all precious metals and then they end up needing the money to draw out the money and, and they're not necessarily going to get back what they spent on it, you know, depending on who they're working with. So I think that a really important point is that they really need to make sure that the company is able to provide that liquidity, like you said, within a good amount of time. So they're not waiting and they don't, you know, end up in a mess with the irs.
So I think that's super important. I know for us, like you mentioned earlier, we have been able to gather and I think that's what makes our partnership really special is that we have been able to help clients that have purchased from other companies that may have purchased paid well over what they should have for it. Been able to help them rectify the situation which we're so appreciative of, you know.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. And you know, we're always happy to do that because it's right. We're trying to build up an industry standard of, you know, this is what you should be doing. I know some, some industry standards like LBMA for example, when we are a member of the lbma. And so a lot of people will, will try to navigate towards LBMA or industry regulated companies just to ensure they have that little level of, of comfort, you know, so, so for us, yes, we're always happy to help. It's interesting though because I forgot to mention when you were talking about what's the difference between spot price and purchase price? You also have your difference of spot price and when you're selling the, the, the metals back and the difference between the two. So obviously you have your premium when you buy, you have your premium when you sell. And the difference between the two is called a spread. It's, you know, it's one of those terms in the industry. And so that's often work while having a little bit of research about to see which company offers the Best purchase and sale premium because then your spread is going to be much better as well, you know. So it's something else to take into consideration when you're doing your research.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I think sometimes, I think one of the things, and we've kind of talked with Mark about this in the past a lot of, and I think, you know, some of it obviously I think comes from the States, from you know, the advertising that happens in the States.
You laugh because you know exactly what I mean.
There's the, the scare tactics and the, you know, and, and the call outs to people, you know, at you know, 1:00am, you know, when especially the elderly who might be up at that hour, who might be, you know, a little bit more prone to seeing these type of ads and to, and to telling them, you know, there's only one of this type of coin or X amount of it and you know, if you don't get it now, you'll, you won't ever get it. And you know, and the government's going to take your, your assets and I mean how do you combat that being not from the States and yet having, you know, American investors, having people interested from America buying into precious metals with.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: You all, it's a really interesting one, isn't it? Because you know, I liken them to, how would you call it, you know, like lawyers when they're termed as ambulance chases when they go after something that's happened. Right.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: And you know, a lot of those in Vegas. That happens a lot in Vegas and.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: It'S, it's very similar in, in this particular industry whereby you have these people that do put out those amazing TV adverts, you know, that cost an absolute fortune, which therefore to someone that may not be savvy with the industry will actually look at that and go, wow, okay. They'll even sometimes pull in influences that people will recognize. Oh well, if so and so is buying into it then we should, because it's definitely something. The only thing I would say whenever I get asked this question is if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. So therefore do a bit of research first. Take that information that you've got but don't do anything with it first. Go and compare it and have a look and see what's out there. If you want to speak to the guys that preferred trust first and just say, look, I've been offered this, what do you think? And preferred trust, all of your team are knowledgeable. They'll be able to smell out a rat straight away if it's a Bad apple. And then if you want to just have a conversation, pick up the phone, talk to one of my team or myself. We don't have to be a client to speak to us. Speak to us first. Answer those questions that you're a bit unsure of, or they said this on the tv. Is that true? We'll be able to maybe give you a bit of advice as regards what we believe is the case, and then you can make a more informed decision based on that.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: I think that's a great point. I think, you know, don't be afraid to ask the questions.
This is your retirement. These are, this is your, you know, your financial haven. You don't want to end up messing with that. So ask the questions, you know, and anybody who, you know, like you said, if it's, it's, you know, if you think it's too good to be true, it's probably because it is. You know, I think that's important too. A lot of these bad actors, they. They don't necessarily want to answer the questions. They, they don't want to. To.
Because they know if they tell you their answer, it's not going to be very good. So don't hesitate to ask those questions. I think is really.
[00:24:49] Speaker B: Absolutely. And this is one of the reasons why we built our company on integrity and trust. We're happy to talk to someone prior to them opening an account. They might have that conversation and go, you know what? I didn't understand that. But it's not really for me anyway, that's fine, right? You know, that's not a problem either, you know, because ultimately you need to have bit of knowledge and knowledge is good. So even if we can help someone by doing that, it's got to be a good thing, right?
[00:25:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. I know we have a mutual client who I spoke with several months ago. He actually helped us with a little bit of an article that we did between the two companies.
Older gentleman who's been investing in, in precious metals for quite a while. And his story was very compelling about the reasons why he did it in his journey through investing and learning and the mistakes he made along the way and the improvements that he made and that he never stopped learning. And I think that's super important for anyone out there listening that is interested in this. Call Preferred Trust, call swp, Head to our websites, take a look and let us know. Because everyone has their starting point. So even.
[00:26:06] Speaker B: You're absolutely right, you know, and even if you, if you do head to our website, head to our YouTube channel, because on there we Have a massive education bank, if you like, which Mark did right at the very beginning when, when our company was set up from over 10 years ago. But it's so relevant now. None of that information, none of that education has changed. It's all relevant. And so you know, some of those YouTube videos that we got up there, they've had over a million hits because people are watching them and understanding the basic fundamentals of investment and precious metals. So you can educate yourself that way as well. You know, I mean, hey, we, we learn every single day, myself included. You know, I constantly am like a sponge. I will try and absorb everything I can from, from the information that's out there. So just be selective where you're getting it from and learn and like you say, ask the questions, pick up the phone, drop an email, doesn't matter, you know.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: Exactly, exactly. Okay, so since it's year 10 of SWP, what do you guys have planned this year? What are you doing to celebrate?
[00:27:17] Speaker B: Well, we're doing a few things. We're having, we're in the process of organizing a conference right here in Cayman Islands. Obviously you guys are going to be invited very much in the, yay.
It's very much in the organization stage yet. So that's yet to be announced formally, but that's one of the big things that we're doing to encapsulate our 10 years. We are also going to be doing a promotion, a year long promotion, which again, details haven't come out yet, but again your clients will be able to buy into that.
And basically, yeah, as a company we're taking stock. It's almost like a SWP 2.0. We're like, wow, we've reached here. What's the next stage? So we're now planning, what are we, what's the next 10 years look like for us? And that's quite exciting as well because as an example, we've just opened up a facility in Dubai.
So that's our latest.
[00:28:19] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:28:20] Speaker B: Yeah, we've just expanded. We've opened our latest facility in Dubai. So that's great. Somewhere else for our clients to be able to store in. We're never going to stop opening places where our clients ask us to open. You know, if there's a demand, we'll research and if it's a possibility, we will. But we're just going to keep evolving. But we're going to keep evolving using our core values all the way through. So nothing's going to change. Even if we double our size in 10 years, next 10 years, our core values, our integrity, our trust, that's always going to remain the same.
[00:28:56] Speaker A: So. And from our side, from the preferred trust side, I know this year to help you guys celebrate, we are offering some discounts for accounts that are absolutely waiving some fees. So now's the time to do it. Help us celebrate with, with you all. So if you are out there listening and you're interested in opening a self directed IRA and using it to invest in precious metals and purchase through SWP and store with them, got some great deals for you guys. So give us a call, reach out to us, visit our website, drop us an email and, and we'll talk to you about those and get you started.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: Yeah, no, you've, you've been very generous actually because the fees that you're waiving, I know, help help drive your business. And so that's a, that's a very generous offering that you've done there. But yeah, absolutely, it's a great offering for your, for your client base and you. Do, you know what, you know, we're here, we're here to support you guys as we have done since day one. And it's an absolute pleasure working with you guys and it's an absolute pleasure working with your client base. So no, thank you. Because ultimately our 10 years is exciting and for you to be able to offer that as well is very supportive and exciting. So thank you.
[00:30:07] Speaker A: Yeah, we're more than happy to. We love working with swp. You guys have been phenomenal. Our relationship has grown over the years and you know, we love to work with companies we know work with integrity and they care about their clients and that's, that's the most important thing. And so I thank you so much for joining us today, John.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: You're very welcome.
[00:30:27] Speaker A: Great talking to you. I always love listening to you. Anyway, it's great to hear your accents. I love that.
[00:30:33] Speaker B: Next time I'll have to speak in French.
[00:30:35] Speaker A: I'm sure you get told that a lot.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:39] Speaker A: So hopefully we'll see you during your celebration this year for sure. Yeah, we'll be talking to you soon. So thanks so much, John. And thanks for watching today on another edition of the Preferred Way.
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