BullionVault, a London-based online service for investors to buy and sell physical gold and silver, started offering storage at a vault in Toronto this month on demand from U.S. clients to store the metals abroad.

The vault, with 2,077 ounces of gold, is expected to attract investors who want an alternative to storing bullion in the U.S. while still being in North America, Adrian Ash, the head of research, said by phone in London yesterday.

“Customer behavior has shown us over the last eight years, that U.S. citizens and others worldwide are not that keen to hold physical bullion in the domestic U.S.,” Ash said. “A large number of our customers are anxious about confiscation risk, they cite the example of 1933,” referring to the year the U.S. government banned gold ownership.

BullionVault stores gold assets valued at about $1.4 billion in total at its five vaults. About 75 percent of its holdings are in its Zurich vault. London is its second-biggest storage facility, followed by vaults in New York, Singapore and Toronto.

BullionVault has more than 48,000 customers, according to its website.

Gold for immediate delivery fell 1 percent to $1,393.78 an ounce by 10:45 a.m. in London.