World Platinum Investment Council and BullionVault Launch the Lowest-Cost Physical Platinum Marketplace

LONDON, March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• The first platinum offering on BullionVault's platform  
• Provides investors with access to the lowest-cost physical platinum bullion product in the world 
• Partnership with BullionVault extends WPIC's mission to stimulate investor demand for physical platinum worldwide 

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) and BullionVault today announced the addition of platinum to BullionVault's online trading marketplace. This marks the first time platinum has been offered on BullionVault, the world's largest online precious metals marketplace for buying, selling and storing physical gold and silver bullion. The launch targets the underlying growth of investor demand. BullionVault will, for the first time, give private individuals access to vaulted platinum at the same low costs currently enjoyed by institutional investors.

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From today, individuals will be able to buy and sell platinum bullion at the best possible price via BullionVault - the only precious metals market which stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. More than 65,000 private investors from around the world have invested in gold or silver through BullionVault, with current holdings in excess of 37 tonnes of gold and 650 tonnes of silver, all stored and insured in specialist facilities.

Physical platinum customers can now buy platinum in the form of London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) Good Delivery bars, vaulted in London. Customers are able to buy, hold and sell as little as one gram at a time of professional-grade platinum in GBP, USD, and EUR currencies. Weighing between 1 and 6 kg, these Good Delivery bars are assayed to be 99.95% pure platinum, or better.

With the new offering, the World Platinum Investment Council and BullionVault are delighted to introduce participation in the platinum market to a wider investor audience.

Marcus Grubb, Director of Market Development at the World Platinum Investment Council, said: "One of our primary objectives at the WPIC is to make it simpler for individuals to invest in platinum through cost-efficient investment products. Our partnership with BullionVault represents a significant step forward in our efforts to improve liquidity, accessibility and pricing in the global platinum market, and will go far to address the latent and pent-up demand for platinum investment. Adding platinum to BullionVault's online marketplace now is particularly timely, given the ongoing deficits in the physical platinum market and the price beginning to show modest signs of recovery. BullionVault's successful track record with gold and silver, makes us confident that our partnership will help to further grow global investment demand for platinum."

As part of a multi-year agreement, the WPIC is supporting the continued development and marketing of BullionVault's online platinum market. As of today, BullionVault will offer platinum in multiple currencies and languages through local websites.

Paul Tustain, Founder and Chairman of BullionVault, said: "While many private investors like to hold bullion coins and small bars in their possession, BullionVault's success shows there is a large and growing number who prefer owning precious metals securely in professional storage, ready for sale at full value the moment they choose. Physical platinum has to date been difficult for private investors to trade efficiently, or without incurring VAT in Europe. With platinum currently priced at a historic discount to gold, what has always been an interesting area for development has become compelling. We look forward to helping grow investor demand for platinum in our partnership with the WPIC."

The partnership with BullionVault is the latest in a series of strategic initiatives announced by the WPIC intended to further stimulate and service the growing investor demand for physical platinum. In March, the WPIC announced a new association with India's Muthoot Exim, the precious metals division of the 130-year-old conglomerate of Muthoot Pappachan Group, to launch India's first platinum deity products. This follows a number of announcements in 2016, including a partnership with the Royal Mint, the world's leading export mint, to develop and launch a range of platinum bullion coins and bars. In July 2016, WPIC also announced that it was supporting the promotion of the Japan Physical Platinum ETF, managed by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), to investors in Japan.

Notes to Editors:  

About the World Platinum Investment Council 

The World Platinum Investment Council Ltd. (WPIC) is a global market authority on physical platinum investment, formed to meet the growing investor demand for objective and reliable platinum market intelligence. WPIC's mission is to stimulate global investor demand for physical platinum through both actionable insights and targeted product development. WPIC was created in 2014 by the six leading platinum producers in South Africa: Anglo American Platinum Ltd, Aquarius Platinum Ltd, Impala Platinum Ltd, Lonmin plc, Northam Platinum Ltd and Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd. The World Platinum Investment Council is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to give investment advice.

Prospective investors in platinum should take professional advice and rely upon their own research and due diligence.  Other than statements expressly attributed to it, WPIC makes no representations in this press release upon which any reliance can be placed, in particular in relation to any forward-looking statements.  All statements in this press release are correct at the time of going to press but no guarantee is given that they will remain so for any substantial period of time.

For further information, please visit http://www.platinuminvestment.com.

WPIC's offices are located at: 64 St James's Street, London, SW1A 1NF.

About BullionVault 

BullionVault.com is the world's largest precious metals market online, providing private investors with the lowest-cost dealing and storage of investment-grade bullion. Launched in 2005, it is an associate member of the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM), a full member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), and has received two Queen's Awards for Enterprise (Innovation 2009, International Trade 2013). BullionVault users currently own $1.5 billion of gold (£1.2bn, €1.4bn) between them - more than is held by most of the world's central banks - plus a further $387m (£311m, €365m) in physical silver.

For further information, please visit http://www.BullionVault.com

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SOURCE World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC)