Located in Switzerland, GOLD AVENUE is part of Bullion International Group, the retail division of MKS PAMP GROUP — a Swiss family-owned company with a long history in the precious-metals industry. As an online platform, GOLD AVENUE helps private investors buy, hold, and sell physical precious metals — simply, securely, and transparently and with the added benefit of a VAT-free storage solution.
Last year, more than 53,000 new users joined the platform, representing a 60% increase compared to the year before. Today, the GOLD AVENUE community has grown to over 190,000 users, with more than €650 million in gold and other precious metals safely stored in its fully-insured vaults.
Nicolas Cracco joined the business in senior finance roles before being appointed Chief Executive Officer. He now leads the company’s development, with a clear focus on making physical precious metals easier to access for private investors, while maintaining high standards of security, transparency, and service quality.
Can you outline your customer base?
Our customers are private investors. Some are buying precious metals for the first time, others are more experienced and actively use metals as part of a diversified portfolio. What they all share is a desire for direct ownership, clear pricing, and the ability to buy and sell without friction. Platinum investors, in particular, tend to be well informed and selective, often looking for metals that behave differently to gold and silver. While we are a retail-focused platform, many of our clients have significant investments in precious metals and use GOLD AVENUE as a long-term solution for holding and managing their portfolios. This reflects a broader shift toward self-directed investing, especially across Europe.
Although we are headquartered in Switzerland, most of our clients are located outside of Switzerland, primarily across Europe. Our online-only model allows investors to conveniently track and manage Swiss-stored precious metals from wherever they are. Importantly, we operate in five languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish) because for precious-metals investing, clarity matters. Offering a local-language experience helps investors feel informed and confident, particularly when investing in metals like platinum that may be less familiar to them than gold.
What investment products do you offer?
We offer physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bars and coins from trusted sources and widely recognised mints, including MKS PAMP, Swissmint, Perth Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, The Royal Mint, the Royal Mint of Spain, and the South African Mint.
Our range of products ensures choice, liquidity, and flexibility across different market conditions. Investors tend to favour simple, well-known formats, especially in platinum. When availability tightens or premiums move, investors often adapt by choosing the most liquid products rather than delaying their investment. This behaviour has been clearly visible in recent platinum demand.
1 oz Platinum Fortuna bullion bar, obverse. Picture credit: PAMP
Nicolas Cracco, Chief Executive Officer, GOLD AVENUE
In platinum, the 1 oz PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna platinum bar stands out as being the most popular product among our clients. Its iconic design, standard format, and ease of resale make it a preferred choice for investors seeking exposure to platinum.
What are your storage and vaulting options?
One of the key advantages for platinum investors is access to VAT-free platinum storage, directly through our platform. While in many European countries, platinum is subject to VAT when it is delivered, with GOLD AVENUE, investors can choose to store their platinum in our bonded, insured Swiss vaults, where VAT does not apply as long as the metal remains in storage.
This allows investors to gain exposure to physical platinum without paying VAT upfront, which can make a meaningful difference to overall cost. Most of our clients choose secure Swiss storage rather than delivery. All metals are held on a fully allocated basis in insured vaults. Investors remain the legal owner of their metal at all times and can sell or request delivery whenever they choose.
Importantly, VAT-free does not mean illiquid: platinum stored with us can be sold back instantly, 24/7, with 0% commission. For platinum investors, this solution brings together lower acquisition costs, physical ownership, and immediate liquidity — all in one place.
Why do you think investors are showing such strong interest in platinum?
For precious-metal investors, platinum occupies a unique middle ground as it is both a precious and industrial metal. This creates a different dynamic compared to gold. Constrained supply and sensitivity to economic trends make platinum an attractive diversification option, particularly during periods of uncertainty.
What developments do you see that could impact platinum investment as the year progresses?
Last year saw a clear shift in momentum for precious metal investing, and we are seeing that investors increasingly want physical metals, held securely, but managed through a modern digital platform that offers flexibility and control.
Looking forward, we expect several themes to remain important, with ongoing interest in physical precious metals as global uncertainty continues to drive investors to real assets. Platinum will again benefit from this trend as investors seek diversification beyond gold.
For platinum in particular, diverse and resilient demand against ongoing supply constraints and dwindling above ground stocks strengthen the investment case, providing further support.
Taken together, these factors suggest platinum will continue to attract investors looking to broaden their precious-metals exposure.
