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Creating A Safe Haven For Generational Wealth

By Gregor Gregersen, Founder & Director, The Reserve

The future is becoming less predictable. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is struggling with serious geopolitical tensions and the resurgence of 1970s-style stagflation, aggravated by decades of record deficit spending and unfunded pension systems.

Given this backdrop, the demand for inflation-proof physical assets – which can be owned outright as private property with minimal counterparty risk – is a sensible wealth refuge in times of financial and geopolitical turbulence. Interconnectivity between physical assets and public blockchains will further enhance the utility of physical assets, especially gold and silver.

Over the past decade, by developing reliable storage, authentication, liquidity, digitisation, and collateralisation services, we have helped create the infrastructure, processes, and technologies to enable physical wealth solutions with minimal to zero counterparty risk.

We proudly present The Reserve – a new type of high-capacity vault and alternative asset center that incorporates vaulting, technology and asset protection lessons learned since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Reserve

The Reserve is a 180,000 ft2 facility in Singapore that is currently undergoing extensive renovation to create a vaulting icon, representing the broader resurgence of physical assets and popularising the concept of systemic wealth protection.

When completed in 2023, the facility will feature event spaces, lounges and meeting rooms for wealth managers, testing laboratories, a watch atelier, safe deposit boxes, and on-site storage for precious metals, rare and strategic industrial metals, luxury watches, and art. In addition to office space, the facility will feature three distinct kinds of vaulting lease options:

High-Value UL Rated Class 2 Vaults – Ideal For Gold And Small High-Value Assets

Gold, diamonds and luxury watches are compact and valuable. Banks, logistics providers, and fund managers that store large quantities of gold can usually save on insurance premiums by using highly secure UL Class 2 vaults. These vaults, even if empty, often weigh up to 25 tonnes and are made of 15-cm thick composite alloy steel panels.

Typically, these vaults will each hold between US$100 million to US$800 million worth of valuables and can be either exclusively operated by a tenant, vault operators on behalf of a tenant, or through a hybrid arrangement whereby access is permitted only when both the client and vault staff are present simultaneously (similar to a traditional safe deposit box).

Such vaults are well-suited for long-term storage of high-value items like gold and can be branded on its external panels by the tenant. The Reserve will lease 14 such vaults to third parties.

Gold vaults at The Reserve

Segregated Art Vaulting – For Art And Collectibles

Wealthy art collectors prefer to segregate their assets in a dedicated vault, usually comprised of high-strength concrete panels. Because art pieces tend to be both bulky and fragile, segregated art vaults are often 600 to 1,200 ft2 in size and feature reliable humidity and temperature control and nitrogen fire suppression systems.

The Reserve will offer 13 art vaults complete with supporting infrastructure, including a photo studio and – having received regulatory permission – the ability to host third-party auction events.

Art vaults at The Reserve

Bulk Vaulting – For Highly Efficient Silver And Rare Industrial Metal Storage

Bulk vaulting, combined with heavy lifting equipment, allows for high efficiency and low-cost storage of valuable metals limited only by the floor load capacity and ceiling height.

Because of tighter insurance requirements and because most vaults usually do not incorporate bulk vaulting, there is currently an industry shortage of storage for metals that have become too valuable to be stored in regular warehouses yet remain too bulky to store in traditional high-value vaults.

The Reserve incorporates an extremely high floor loading capacity (up to 45 times that of a typical car park) that can securely store up to 15,000 tonnes of silver or other valuable metals in bulk storage layout. For reference, 15,000 tonnes represent nearly 28% of above-ground silver reserves.

The Reserve’s wealth management offices.

Bringing Physical Assets Into The Digital World

We believe that trust is best built through transparency, and, over the past decade, have developed a “transparency by design” approach to tracking physical assets, to enable a common architecture that allows third parties to securely collateralise and digitise physical assets.

Our latest iteration of this design philosophy is our GramChain Asset Tracking system, which stores event data hashes in real-time on public blockchains to provide unquestionable tamper evidence and usage flexibility.

GramChain standardises information into flexible “event” data structures which, in addition to physical asset characteristics, tracks public asset custodianship, public asset encumbrances as well as third-party asset audits, valuations, authentications and other custom events.

In addition to our own Singapore vault, GramChain currently tracks gold bars in Dallas, Zurich, Dubai, and Frankfurt. GramChain enforces industry standards for proof of origin while at the same time adjusting gross weight by purity. The system facilitates fungibility, enabling practical swapping of gold and other precious metals between storage locations as well as physical redemption through fungible tokens.

GramChain’s transparent architecture was adopted by CACHE Gold to monitor the gold reserves backing its tokenised gold product known as the CACHE Gold token (CGT). CACHE Gold also uses Chainlink Proof of Reserve to automatically monitor its gold bullion inventory as reported by the GramChain API, delivering this data on-chain so that its reserves are transparent and verifiable by anyone.

GramChain is working with Chainlink Proof of Reserve to establish a solid technical infrastructure to enable linking physical assets to fungible tokens (such as CACHE Gold) and eventually non-fungible tokens (NFTs) backed by real, physical assets.

The World Beyond 2022

Gold and silver tend to perform well in periods of financial turbulence while also being excellent inflation hedges, therefore these metals tend to grow in popularity during stagflation periods.

By 1981, towards the end of the previous stagflation, gold and silver holdings represented 6–8% of all US-based investment funds. In contrast, as we currently enter another period of stagflation, only 0.5% of US investment funds are allocated to gold and silver, thus a 12-fold increase gold and silver demand is not unreasonable.

Finalising The Reserve is an effort to create some of the physical vaulting capacity to capture this growth, while GramChain seeks to transparently expand the utility of physical gold and silver and further enhance growth in investing in hard assets.

GREGOR GREGERSEN is the founder of Silver Bullion, a company that trades, stores, tests, and collateralises precious metals in Singapore. A believer in precious metals’ role in systemic wealth protection, Gregor also founded the vaulting company, The Safe House, which stores over 400 tonnes of precious metals. The Reserve is his next step in ensuring secure, high-quality vaulting space for the precious metals industry in Singapore.

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Emily Oh

OPERATIONS & ADMIN EXECUTIVE
Emily Oh is the Operations & Admin Executive, a seasoned professional who values teamwork and effective communication. She is skilled at adapting to new challenges and takes a proactive and resourceful approach to every task. Before joining SBMA, Emily had experience coordinating international travel arrangements and spearheading community initiatives. Her role at SBMA will be providing operational and administrative support for projects and other matters to the team.

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Clara Chang

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE
Clara Chang joins SBMA as the Marketing & Communications Executive, enriching the team with her extensive experience in content creation, social media management, and digital marketing. Prior to joining SBMA, Clara held the position of Marketing Executive at her previous job. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University at Buffalo, one in International Trade and another in Geographical Information Science. Her core duties will include maintaining the SBMA website, managing the quarterly Crucible newsletter, among other responsibilities.

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Mr John Levin

Global Metals
TD Securities
John Levin is the Head of Metal Sales & Trading – APAC at the Toronto Dominion Bank’s Singapore office. Prior to this role, he devoted seven years to leading precious metal sales for the ANZ banking group in his home country, Australia. Notably, from 2009 to 2011, John played a significant role on the management committee of the London Bullion Market Association while serving as the Head of Precious Metals Sales for HSBC Global Banking and Markets in the UK.

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Fabian Lew

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Fabian was a Business Development and Marketing Associate before joining SBMA. He graduated from Singapore Management University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

He has joined SBMA since February, 2022.

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Margaret Wong

BUSINESS DIRECTOR

Margaret Wong, Business Director at SBMA (Singapore Bullion Market Association), brought valuable experience from her previous role at the World Gold Council (WGC). Her tenure at WGC provided her with extensive exposure to the gold community in Singapore and the broader region. This background has been instrumental in establishing strong working relationships within the industry.

Margaret’s role at SBMA encompasses a diverse range of responsibilities. She oversees office management, business support processes, finance, and administrative functions essential for the smooth operation of the team and management committee. Additionally, Margaret handles membership matters, member communications, and addresses public inquiries related to SBMA.

One of Margaret’s key responsibilities is coordinating with the Event Management Company for SBMA’s prestigious annual event, the Asia Pacific Precious Metals Conference. This flagship conference plays a crucial role in the industry, making her involvement pivotal in its success.

Described as resourceful and self-motivated, Margaret Wong brings a wealth of skills and experience to her role at SBMA, ensuring efficient operations and effective engagement within the precious metals community in Singapore and beyond.

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Albert Cheng

Chief Executive Officer

Albert Cheng joined the World Gold Council in March 1993 as a Regional Manager, becoming Managing Director, Far East in 2003. He retired at the end of March 2015 and was subsequently named its Advisor. He has also been an International Advisor to the Shanghai Gold Exchange since 2002.

His marketing career began with Dentsu Young & Rubicam, Hong Kong in the early 80’s. He began gold marketing in July 1985 when he joined the Royal Canadian Mint as a Regional Manager for Southeast Asia.

He was appointed honorary CEO of SBMA in November 2015. He is responsible for the success and strategic development of SBMA, represents the interests of the Association, and is responsible for all the legal and regulatory aspects of the work of the Association. He is the primary contact for regulators and government bodies on bullion market development.

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Ms Pawan Nawawattanasub

CEO
YLG Bullion Singapore Pte Ltd

Pawan is the CEO of YLG Bullion Singapore and founder of YLG Bullion International. She has almost 40 years of experience in the jewellery industry and established YLG in Thailand in 2003. In 2012, she brought YLG to Singapore. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Thailand Gold Traders Association, the Thailand Futures Exchange’s Arbitration Committee, and the Rotary Bangkok committee. She holds a master’s degree in Political Science.

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Mr Shaokai Fan

Head of Asia-Pacific (ex China) and Global Head of Central Banks
World Gold Council
Shaokai Fan is the Global Head of Central Banks at the World Gold Council, responsible for advising governments on gold matters, and enhancing the gold market through engagement, dialogue, and thought leadership. He works directly with central banks and sovereign wealth funds on investment considerations. Prior to this position, Shaokai held multiple roles at Standard Chartered Bank, including Director for Asia Strategic Initiatives and Associate-Director for Public Sector coverage. Shaokai holds a Masters of Public Administration from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and an undergraduate degree in finance and economics from New York University.

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Mr Alan Liew

Head of Bullion & Commodities Trading
United Overseas Bank Limited
Alan is Head of Bullion and Commodities Trading for Group Trading in Global Markets, United Overseas Bank (UOB). Alan joined UOB and started the bank’s commodities trading business in 2014, previously he spent eight years in Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) trading both precious and base metals. During his tenure at SCB, he obtained the SGE gold trader licence and was part of the pioneering team for the SGE business and the FX quantitative trading team. Prior to trading, he worked for Monetary Authority of Singapore in the Financial Risk Management Division. He holds a BSc (Hon) in Computer Science at National University of Singapore and a MSc in Financial Engineering at Nanyang Technological University.

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Mr Nikos Kavalis

Managing Director
Metals Focus Singapore Pte Ltd
Nikos Kavalis is a founding partner of Metals Focus. He has over 20 years of experience in precious metals, having previously worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland and GFMS. Since September 2019, Nikos has been based in Singapore, where he also runs the local subsidiary of Metals Focus.

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Mr Nuttapong Hirunyasiri

CEO
MTS Gold Global Trading Pte Ltd
Nuttapong Hirunyasiri is the CEO of MTS Gold Group, one of Thailand’s top 10 companies and top 3 bullion companies. He started MTS Gold Group’s first overseas office in Singapore and has been expanding the group business internationally. He focuses on product development and innovation for gold investment, with the aim of being a leader in providing the full suite of gold investment services in the ASEAN region.

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Mr Raman Walia

Executive Director, Head of Commodities Sales – APAC
JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.

Raman is Executive Director and Head of Commodities Sales, APAC, for J.P. Morgan. He joined JPMorgan in 2008 in New York, moved to Singapore in 2011, and helped expand the precious metals business in the region. Raman has an MBA from Cornell University, and likes to travel in his spare time.

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Mr Andrew Clarke

Head of Brink’s Global Services
Brink’s Global Services Pte Ltd

Andrew Clarke is the Head of BGS (Brink’s Global Services) for Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. He has held various leadership positions throughout his career in secure logistics and risk management with Brink’s, which started in Hong Kong in 2010. Andrew relocated to Singapore in 2018 to expand the precious metals line of business along with Brink’s portfolio of services and industries.

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Mr Kazuya Naoki

Head of Metals, Asia
ICBC Standard Bank Plc, Singapore Branch

Kazuya (Kaz) Naoki is the Head of Metals, Asia of ICBC Standard Bank in Singapore and is responsible for the precious & base metals sales and trading in the region. He joined Standard Bank Plc Tokyo Branch in 2008 and was relocated to its Singapore Branch in 2013 whose controlling stake was acquired by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 2015. Prior to joining Standard Bank, Kaz spent 11 years focusing on commodity trading and risk management with Mitsui & Co in Tokyo, Sydney and London. Kaz has been serving on the SBMA Management Committee since 2016.

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Mr Vinh Nguyen

Head of Precious Metals, Asia
StoneX APAC Pte Ltd

Vinh Nguyen joined StoneX Group in Singapore at the beginning of 2008 and responsible for its APAC precious metals activities since 2019 until now.

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Mr KL Yap

General Manager, Singapore Refining Business Unit
Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte Ltd
KL YAP is the General Manager of Metalor Technologies (Singapore) Pte Ltd’s Singapore Refining Business Unit. He joined Metalor in 2013, initially in Refining Sales. In 2014, he became Refining Business Unit Manager, leading the development of a new precious metal refinery. KL was Vice Chairman of SBMA from 2017 to 2021, now serving as Chairman. With a degree in business commerce, finance, and marketing, he brings prior experience from refinery and heavy industries.