You have to weigh this against the risk of physical ownership: lost, stolen, forgotten, etc.
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I used to work with a gold bug. He told me he had a decent percentage of his assets in physical gold, and that it was in a safe in his basement.
If I owned that much physical gold, I wouldn’t tell anyone that I had it, let alone where it was stored. I wouldn’t tell my mother where it was stored, let alone some guy from work.
When I asked if he was afraid of it being stolen, he said, “aren’t you afraid to have your wealth in ones and zeroes on somebody’s computer?”
Which is an interesting point. Unless I’m mistaken, all (at least most) bank accounts, stocks, brokerage accounts, etc (and some bonds, too?) are ones and zeroes on somebody’s computer. Sure, you get monthly statements and all. But it’s still vulnerable to e-theft just like physical gold is subject to theft.
Other than stupid mistakes on the part of the holder of the electronically-kept asset (e.g. falling for phishing), though, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such theft.
I imagine they’re backed up in lots of different computers in different locations. So even if your the city where your bank is headquartered is nuked, your account should survive.
I would be more worried about a major hacking event than anything else, I guess.
Not making a point, I guess. Random thoughts on theft or other loss of assets. I’m kind of making guesses, and I’d be interested to hear from people with more knowledge about it.
