Hard Assets Alliance, LLC
Account Opening and Disclosure Agreement (the “Agreement”)
Last Updated: April 15, 2019
The following terms govern your Client Account with Hard Assets Alliance, LLC (“Hard Assets
Alliance” or “”) including the offering of Precious Metals Products and Services through and any cash
balances and Precious Metals held in your Account.
The Investment
Hard Assets Alliance, LLC, a New York limited liability company, has been formed to provide its
Clients with a means to directly buy, store and sell Precious Metals.
Principal Offices
485 Lexington Avenue
Suite 304
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (877) 727-7387
Website: https://hardassetsalliance.com
Email: portal-support@bullioninternational.com
Transaction Fees
The price of any Precious Metal purchase or sale order will include a transaction fee (“Transaction
Fee”), which will be included in the price shown to the Client on the trading pages and trade
confirmations.
The Transaction Fee will be based on the monetary value of the order and will be used by Hard
Assets Alliance to cover, among other things, trading, transportation (including costs of insuring
Precious Metals during transport) and other administrative costs.
Secured Storage and Service Fee
Clients will be charged a storage fee (the “Storage Fee”) on a monthly basis, in arrears. The Storage
Fee will begin to accrue on the settlement date of purchases and will stop accruing on the
settlement date minus one for sales.
The amount of the Storage Fee will be calculated by using the aggregate of the daily accrual of the
Client’s settled holdings. Asset Base Fee = (Daily Valuation * BPS)/Number of days in the year. The
value of a Client’s Precious Metal holdings for each day will equal such Client’s holdings at the
closing of business at the average closing bid price for such day or the last day that such price was
available for weekends and business holidays.
The Storage Fee will be used to cover Hard Assets Alliance’s overhead expenses, including, without
limitation, all expenses incurred in connection with the storage, security, insurance and verification
of Precious Metals (including fees and expenses paid to the Vaulting Partners and the Auditors (as
defined below), expenses associated with preparing reports and valuations, legal expenses, and
other operating expenses of Hard Assets Alliance).
Other Fees
Any additional fees such as delivery, funding, etc., will be displayed when executing the appropriate
action, and will allow the Client to confirm before submitting the request.
Redemptions
Hard Assets Alliance reserves the right, without prior notice of any kind to the Client, to redeem any
Precious Metals in a Client’s account in order to satisfy any obligations of a Client to Hard Assets
Alliance for which Client is in arrears for more than thirty (30) days (the “Obligations”), including
without limitation Storage Fees and any other fees and expenses relating to a Client’s account. If
Hard Assets Alliance redeems any of a Client’s Precious Metals for any reason, it will charge the
Client a fee of 2.5% of the dollar amount of the Precious Metals redeemed, in addition to the
amount required to pay in full all of the Client’s outstanding Obligations.
Business Day
A valid business day is one in which the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for business.
Standard trading hours are between 9:00am and 5:15pm EST. Any trading outside of these hours
would be considered extended trading hours.
Trading Day
Standard trading hours are between 9:00am and 5:15pm EST. Any trading outside of these hours
would be considered extended trading hours.
Application
Hard Assets Alliance Services may be offered through its primary website hardassetsalliance.com,
through other websites, officially sponsored client applications, documented application
programming interfaces, and other methods. These offerings collectively shall be referred to as the
Application, and your Account may be accessible through one or more of these means. This
Agreement covers the appropriate use of your Account and the rules that govern that use when
accessed through any part of the Application, but not by means other than officially supported by .
Precious Metals Products and Services Offering
Hard Assets Alliance will process the purchase and sale of sell coins and bars on behalf of its Clients.
Purchase orders may be placed in either dollars or for a specific quantity. In the event of a dollar
order placement, Hard Assets Alliance effects the purchase of the quantity of the Product type
ordered without exceeding the total dollar amount of the order. All transactions are executed by
Gold Bullion International, LLC (“GBI”).
All Products offered by Hard Assets Alliance are displayed in its Application. All Products and
Service offerings are subject to availability. will use commercially reasonable efforts to accurately
reflect the availability of all Products at the time a Client places an order to purchase or commitment
to invest in such Product. However, for reasons out of ’s control this information may not always be
accurate, and all Client indications of intent to purchase are subject to cancellation by for any reason
until such time that a purchase or investment is confirmed by to be complete. will not be held
responsible for any potential gains or losses that could have been incurred as a result of the failure
to complete an order, regardless of the reason.
Certain Products may not be available for purchase or sale during extended trading hours. Please
refer to the Product details in the Application for further information.
Variable Weight Products
The actual weight of variable weight bars varies from bar to bar as much as +/- 50 oz. Hard Assets
Alliance will use best efforts to procure bars close to the specified fine weight dependent on dealer
supply. Clients will be charged on the actual fine weight of the bar used to fill a purchase order.
Purchase/Sale Price
When a Client submits a purchase or sale order, Hard Assets Alliance will use commercially
reasonable efforts to execute the order as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving it. For each
purchase or sale order, Hard Assets Alliance will use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain best
execution pricing for that order. Orders involving multiple Products may be executed with more
than one Dealer (as defined below), and each Product may be purchased or sold at a different price
and different Products may be physically delivered at different times.
Order Placement
All orders must be placed through the Application or over the phone with a Hard Assets
Alliance/GBI representative.
Settlement
All purchases placed with Hard Assets Alliance require the Client to first deposit sufficient funds on
account to cover the estimated cost of the order, including Transaction Fees, plus an execution
buffer to guard against volatility in the market, each of which will disclose prior to placement of the
order. These funds will be held in a Hard Assets Alliance custodial account at a U.S. bank of its
choice (currently Bank of America, but subject to change without notice). Clients have the option of
maintaining this cash balance at Hard Assets Alliance for future purchases or withdrawal.
Upon the confirmation of a purchase order by the Client, will immediately reserve the appropriate
amount of these funds for the settlement of the order; however, funds may remain in the account
until settlement at a later time (outlined below).
In the case of sales, Hard Assets Alliance will deposit the proceeds on the Client’s cash balance or
send a check or wire for net proceeds to the Client, as per its instructions.
In certain circumstances, physical delivery to Hard Assets Alliance’s contracted vaults may be
delayed due to the transportation requirements of moving Precious Metals; however the title is
always transferred on settlement date of the order. Pursuant to the agreement between each Dealer
and Hard Assets Alliance, the Dealers will bear any costs, expenses or liabilities (including
replacement costs) if any Precious Metal purchase or sale order is either delayed or not physically
delivered after order settlement.
Hard Assets Alliance will accept Client orders 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. However, because
the firm only conducts trading 24 hours a day 5 days a week on days that the NYSE is open for
business: i) final Client execution prices for orders placed on weekends or market holidays may vary
from the price quoted within the bounds of the execution buffer, if any, quoted at the time of order
confirmation; and ii) orders may be subject to suspension or cancellation as detailed below.
Trade settlements will be on trade date + two business days cycle as illustrated below.
Trade Dates* | |||
From EST | To EST | Settlement Day | |
Day 1 | Sun 5:15:00 pm | Mon 5:14:59 pm | Wednesday |
Day 2 | Mon 5:15:00 pm | Tue 5:14:59 pm | Thursday |
Day 3 | Tue 5:15:00 pm | Wed 5:14:59 pm | Friday |
Day 4 | Wed 5:15:00 pm | Thurs 5:14:59 pm | Monday |
Day 5 | Thurs 5:15:00 pm | Fri 5:14:59 pm | Tuesday |
*Trades Date is based on the time of execution not request.
Trades placed after 4:55pm EST will be filled on a best efforts basis for that trade day. The proceeds of a sell order will not be sent until the order has settled.
Precious Metals Dealers
Hard Assets Alliance maintains relationships with various approved dealers that make up Hard
Assets Alliance’s approved network (the “Dealers”) for the purpose of buying and selling Precious
Metals on behalf of its Clients. All of the Dealers will provide Hard Assets Alliance with LBMA/LPPM
good delivery brand bars. The LBMA/LPPM maintains a list of refiners who meet certain criteria for
assaying standards and bar quality.
Precious Metals Purity
Hard Assets Alliance will purchase Precious Metals that have a minimum purity content set forth by
either the LBMA/LPPM or Sovereign Governments for all Products except 1kg bars, which will
require a minimum purity of .9999 and silver products, which will have a purity content of .999.
Suspension or Cancellation of Transactions
Hard Assets Alliance may suspend, cancel, or execute only a portion of, purchases or sales with
respect to Clients in the following circumstances:
(i) when trading of the Precious Metals is restricted on any one or more markets;
(ii) if Hard Assets Alliance determines that it is unable, for any reason, to determine the price
or value of the Precious Metals or to execute an order;
(iii) if the purchase or sale would, as determined by Hard Assets Alliance in its sole
discretion, result in a violation of applicable law or regulation;
(iv) during any disruption in the communication or computation systems used by Hard
Assets Alliance to communicate with Dealers, to determine the price or value to execute
orders;
(v) during any period in which Hard Assets Alliance has suspended its operations or is in the
process of effecting an orderly liquidation of Hard Assets Alliance;
(vi) upon the occurrence of a force majeure event, including without limitation, war, strike,
flood, terrorism, computer “hacking” event, power failure, earthquake or similar event (all
such events being “Force Majeure Events”), that would prevent Hard Assets Alliance from
fulfilling a purchase or sale order; or
(vii) for any other reason if Hard Assets Alliance in its sole discretion determines that such
order would not be in the best interests of, or could have a material adverse effect on,
Hard Assets Alliance or any Client.
Storage of Precious Metals by a Vaulting Partner
Precious Metals purchased for storage through Hard Assets Alliance will be stored by a third party
internationally recognized service provider (“Vaulting Partner”) selected by Hard Assets Alliance.
Current Vaulting Partners are Brink’s Global Services USA, Loomis and Malca Amit. Vaulting Partners
are subject to change without notice or may be added in the future.
Precious Metals stored in any vault are under 24-hour surveillance and are visually inspected on a
regular basis by independent auditors.
Transport and Storage Insurance
Transport of Precious Metals in connection with a purchase or sale will be provided by ’s Vaulting
Partners or by ’s Dealers directly or through insured common carrier transportation services.
The transport and storage of Precious Metals by a Vaulting Partner will be insured under the Vaulting
Partner’s insurance policy. For example, Lloyds of London insures all movement and storage of
Precious Metals on behalf of Brink’s, Loomis, and Malca Amit for the full replacement value of the
Precious Metals. The policy is an “all risks” policy, but does not cover losses for Force Majeure
Events.
Taking Personal Possession of Precious Metals
Any request by a Client to take possession of Precious Metals instead of storing them with a Vaulting
Partner will be the sole decision of the Client.
A Client that requests delivery does so with an understanding that it bears all of the risks associated
with removing Precious Metals from the Chain of Custody of an approved Vaulting Partner. Included
in these risks is the potential loss of value that occurs when attempting to return Precious Metals to
the chain of custody. This loss may be a result of the retesting and potential melting and reformation
by a certified Refiner/Assayer that may be required prior to a Dealer accepting the Precious Metals.
The Client also understands the risk and costs associated with self-storing and insuring Precious
Metals if it so desires. Precious Metals will not be delivered to any Client or its custodian without the
acceptance of risk associated with taking delivery outside of the chain of custody.
Auditing of Precious Metals Holdings
Hard Assets Alliance has contracted with an internationally recognized audit/accounting firm (the
“Auditor”) that will enter each Vaulting Partner’s facility in which Hard Assets Alliance stores Precious
Metals to confirm all the holdings. The Auditor will count each bar and confirm by serial number, if
applicable, or by the number of bars/coins in the vault.
Reporting
After each trade, Hard Assets Alliance will provide the Client with a confirmation detailing the
amount of Precious Metals bought or sold, the total execution price at which the Precious Metals
were purchased or sold and the aggregate settlement amount.
On a monthly basis, Hard Assets Alliance will send electronically each Client who stores Precious
Metals with Hard Assets Alliance a Client statement setting forth the value of such Client’s holdings,
as defined by the current indicative sale price of the Products back to ’s Dealers, based on the
closing price for the last business day of the preceding month.
The Hard Assets Alliance statement will provide a detailed accounting of the holdings and a
description of the quantity or fine weight of each bar/coin type held by the Client.
Tax and Other Considerations
Hard Assets Alliance does not provide tax advice and recommends Clients consult with appropriate
investment, tax, legal, and/or other advisors in connection with the purchase, sale, and storage of
Precious Metals.
Transfers
Precious Metals purchased through Hard Assets Alliance can be transferred to a financial institution
within the Hard Assets Alliance network. Hard Assets Alliance will work with the relevant financial
institutions to complete the transfer process, and any costs thereof will be borne by the Client. If the
transfer is to a financial institution that does not have a relationship with Hard Assets Alliance, no
transfer will be affected and the Client may be required to liquidate its holdings or accept delivery
assuming all risk as outlined under the section titled Taking Personal Possession of Precious Metals.
Currency Operations
All purchases and sales of Products and Services will be made in US dollars.
Regulatory Considerations
Hard Assets Alliance is not a financial institution, broker-dealer or a futures commission merchant,
and is not currently subject to regulation by the SEC, the CFTC or any self-regulatory organization.
Hard Assets Alliance is not an investment adviser or a commodity trading advisor and does not
provide any investment advice or commodity trading advice.
Precious Metals are not securities or futures contracts. Therefore, the protections afforded by
securities and commodities laws will not apply to an investment in Precious Metals through Hard
Assets Alliance, including without limitation, the protections provided by SIPC. All transactions are
executed by Gold Bullion International, LLC, a commodity broker-dealer registered with the New
York Investor Protection Bureau.
Account Considerations
Cash balances which are not invested in Precious Metals will remain commingled in one non-interest-bearing account which is not protected by the FDIC.
Taxpayer ID Information
U.S. Clients will be required to provide a Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number to as
part of the Account opening and Account maintenance process. Under penalty of perjury, Client
certifies that:
- The Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID number shown on its application form is its correct
taxpayer identification number (or it is waiting for a number to be issued to it); and - It is not subject to backup withholding because: (a) it is exempt from backup withholding, or (b) it
has not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it is subject to backup withholding
as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified it that it is no
longer subject to backup withholding; and - It is a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person; and
- The FATCA code(s) entered on its application form (if any) indicating that it is exempt from FATCA
reporting is correct.
Other Terms
The terms of this Agreement, and Client’s Account with Hard Assets Alliance shall also be governed
by Hard Assets Alliance’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, the terms of which are incorporated
herein by reference and made a part hereof. By checking the box acknowledging that Client has
read this Agreement in full and consents to be bound by all of the terms hereof, Client is also
acknowledging that it has read in full and consents to be bound by all of the terms of Hard Assets
Alliance’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy reserves the right to change any of the terms of this
Agreement at any time without prior notice to Client, and any such changes will be effective upon
Client and its Account(s) five (5) business days from its posting. Client’s continued use of ’s Services
and Products following any such modification constitutes its acceptance of any such changes to this
Agreement.