Voima Weekly #19 – The Anatomy of Premiums

Gold price.

When an investor buys gold or allocates capital to it, they see one number: the spot price. But behind the scenes, much more is happening — and that explains why the real price of gold is never just spot. People often talk about “fees”, “commissions”, or “the spread”. These are not subscription charges or entry fees.¹ They are real, necessary costs of the process that turns raw metal into a secure, tested, and globally recognised asset. And on top of that, the provider must earn a margin.

What follows is a simple anatomy of how the true price of physical gold is formed.

The spot price is a raw market quotation, not a finished product. It reflects the world of paper gold — futures, OTC contracts, and dealer markets. It includes none of the things that make gold a physical, secure, and ownable asset. In the physical chain, gold must first be refined to 999.9 purity and then cast into bars or coins. It must be shipped in insured, high-security logistics, stored and protected in vaults, and finally verified through assay testing such as XRF and ICP. On top of that, the dealer carries its own operational, risk-management, and compliance costs. This is why spot is a raw-material price — not the price of the final product. The comparison is simple: the price of a barrel of crude oil is one thing; the price you see at the fuel pump is another.²

Premiums on physical gold move with market conditions. When availability tightens or dealers’ own inventories become thin, premiums rise quickly. During the COVID crisis, coin markets saw temporary levels of +15–30% — not because gold was “running out,” but because certain dealers were running out of gold while refineries were simultaneously congested. These situations often last from a few days to a few weeks: premiums rise, inventories are light, and marketing emphasises scarcity. It is important to remember, however, that gold does not run out. The price adjusts. In the physical market, every transaction has both a buyer and a seller, and global liquidity exists regardless of any single retailer’s stock situation. This is why it makes sense for an investor to use a service where inventory and liquidity are not tied to one counter, but supported by multiple vaults and a broader market. In moments like these, the investor’s best asset is a cool head — and a gold account that remains flexible through the cycle.

The “premium” a customer pays does not flow entirely to the bank or dealer. It is primarily the cost of the metal value chain being passed through. In physical gold, the customer pays for the fact that the product is genuine and fully tested, that it is available in the right form and within a reasonable time, that it is held securely, and that it can be sold back quickly and close to spot. In other words: the customer is paying for the reliability and liquidity of the physical infrastructure —not an entry fee.

Why is Voima’s pricing 0.5–1.99%, and what does it say about the market? This is an exceptionally tight range, especially given that the service is operated from Finland, where labour, security, logistics, audits, insurance and general operating costs are far from low. Despite this, the margin remains highly competitive by international standards.

Looking back, we priced this more tightly than we needed to. Gold has risen steadily and impressively for decades, and clients have benefited not only from that appreciation but also from the service and the secure infrastructure that comes with it. In the Finnish retail market, premiums on physical gold typically range from 3% to 25%. Since our founding, we have consistently been the most cost-efficient physical gold provider in the Nordics — and we remain so today. The comparison holds up internationally as well.

Finland still has one particular characteristic: it is one of the cheapest places in the world to source gold from the recycling market, as households regularly sell jewellery into the system. The majority of these flows ultimately end up at Voima for refining and onward sale. The market works as it should — and we let it work.

Investors and savers are increasingly interested in a diversified gold account — a structure where physical gold is always in the flow of trading, can be held across multiple locations, and remains redeemable. When premiums and physical availability fluctuate, the importance of infrastructure becomes evident. This is what we have been building deliberately, and in the next phases these capabilities will expand even further.

When you look at the gold market over a longer horizon, one pattern becomes clear: gold does not reward haste, but consistency. The same applies to pricing and service. A well-built infrastructure allows the investor to focus on what actually matters — not on inventory shortages, premium spikes, or the processes happening behind the scenes. Gold’s value arises from economic cycles and from a monetary system whose natural direction is expansion. In that environment, gold offers a form of stability that no other asset can fully replicate. The ease of ownership, however, comes from building the process correctly — and that is the service promise that makes this stability genuinely accessible to the investor.

–Marko Viinikka
Founder, CEO
Voima Gold Oy

¹ A significant portion of Voiman G’s client base consists of HNWI investors and their family offices. Many come from the traditional asset management world, where subscription and management fees are often viewed as “extra costs.” That mindset can easily carry over when interpreting the pricing of physical gold — even though it is not a subscription fee at all, but the real cost of testing, refining, transporting, and safeguarding physical gold.

² The comparison to the fuel pump works, but one difference is worth noting: in Finland, fuel prices are dominated by taxation, whereas gold is exempt from VAT and highly liquid in the international market. As a result, the final price of physical gold can sit very close to spot — the difference reflects the cost of the process, not a tax structure.

Disclaimer: Voima Weeklies are the personal writings of the undersigned. They do not necessarily represent the official view of Voima Gold Oy or any other company, nor do they constitute investment advice or a recommendation to purchase securities.