An SMSF may invest in precious metals, such as gold, Silver or Platinum, either through a security trading on the ASX or by physically holding the investment.
Investing via the ASX
Investing in precious metals is possible through the ASX. When investing through this method, there are specific ASX codes that will be linked to the investment.
The codes listed must only be used when units are held by the fund in the listed investments:
|
Security Name |
Code |
Metal |
|---|---|---|
|
ETFS Physical Gold |
GOLD |
Gold |
|
ETFS Physical Platinum |
ETPMPT |
Platinum |
|
ETFS Physical PM Basket |
ETPMPM |
Platinum |
|
ETFS Physical Palladium |
ETPMPD |
Palladium |
|
ETFS Physical Silver |
ETPMAG |
Silver |
Automatic daily revaluations will be active, as the securities will form part of the Simple Fund 360 ASX data feed.
To create the investment in Simple Fund 360 with a link to the ASX code, check out the help on How to add an Investment Account to the Chart of Accounts.
Investing in precious metals
When a fund invests in physical quantities of precious metals such as purchasing Gold Bullion, the investment will need to be set up in Simple Fund 360 with a new security code. The security code will need to be unique, i.e., GOLD is already in use and an alternative must be entered.
Before creating the investment, decide what control account you wish the investment to be listed under in the financial reports. Recommendations are to use control accounts 76000 Other Assets or 71000 Collectables.
Create the Investment account and record the purchase
1. Navigate to Accounting and select the Chart of Accounts.
2. Click on 
and select Investment.
3. Select the Investment Type. Recommendations are to use control accounts 76000 Other Assets or 71000 Collectables.
4. Select Securities and click on Create New.
5. Input a Security Code, Security Name and set the Market Type to Commodities and Precious Metals, click Save
6. Select the Security Code and click Save to create the investment.
7. Record the purchase at cost and input the units as the number of ounces purchased.
8. If applicable Gold Insurance can be recorded as an expense to the Investment Expense Account 37500/InvestmentCode.
To reflect changes in the price, you will need to update the value price per ounce (oz) manually. For more detail on how to update a security price, refer to Manually Revaluing Security Prices.
Spot prices for precious metals can be found on a number of websites, such as Perth Mint.