Frequently Asked Questions
Investing in Scotch single malt whisky
What is the difference between a whisky bottle and bottles in cask?
Whisky bottles are the end product in the chain of producing whisky. You can't change the characteristics of a bottle (e.g. age, taste) anymore. On the other hand, bottles in cask are virtual bottles still maturing like a raw material, where age, quality and scarcity are not yet finalised.
Is the whisky on THE SWEX authentic?
Bottles
All bottles listed on THE SWEX are checked for authenticity and stored in the whisky safe in Sassenheim, The Netherlands. That means the authenticity of all bottles is guaranteed. However, once a bottle leaves our storage facility, this guarantee lapses, because we no longer have any insight into what happens to the bottle. The fill level of ceramic bottles cannot be checked and is therefore not guaranteed.
When someone wants to have their bottles listed on THE SWEX and the bottles appear to be unauthentic, we are forced to exclude this person from trading on THE SWEX and inform the authorities. This also applies to other forms of fraud.
Whisky in cask
The casks (whisky in cask) are stored in a secure bonded warehouse in Scotland. In order to receive the protected name Scotch, legislation requires whisky to be distilled, stored, and bottled in Scotland.
Who manages the casks?
The casks are managed by Scotch Whisky International and are currently maturing in bonded warehouses across Scotland.
What happens to whisky in cask when it's bottled?
When whisky in cask reaches its optimal maturation age, it will be bottled. Your whisky in cask will then change in a physical bottle and processed accordingly on THE SWEX.
What is the worth of the whisky I have at home ?
Do you have whisky at home and want to know what it's worth? You can find the value on THE SWEX, but only if the same bottle is listed on our index. We can't give you the value of your whisky collection, because the price is determined by supply and demand. We only facilitate the platform.
If you want to have your bottles listed on THE SWEX, these bottles will be placed in your personal whisky portfolio. You can sell the bottles from there. The bottles will be sold individually.
Where are the whisky bottles stored?
All the whisky bottles are stored in the secure vault of THE SWEX in The Netherlands, and insured for 100%.
What are the costs?
As of 1st June 2022, there are no costs on THE SWEX.
Registration, insurance, transaction, management of your whisky are free of charge.
What happens to my whisky if THE SWEX goes bankrupt?
Once you have paid for your bottles or casks, you are the legal owner of those whiskies. That means that in case of bankruptcy, a bankruptcy trustee cannot make any claims on these bottles. At THE SWEX, all items are defined by unique numbers linked to each client.
Creating my account
What are the KYC steps?
For the payments on THE SWEX, we use the services of Online Payment Platform (OPP). Since 2019 the so-called PSD2 legislation came into force; an European guideline for payments of consumers and companies.
Verification
The first time you withdraw or deposit money you will be asked to verify your identity and bank account. You will then be forwarded to the OPP platform, where you can choose between a verification via iDIN or by uploading a valid proof of identity (driver's license, passport or identity card).
iDIN
The iDIN method is the easiest and quickest way to verify your account, especially if you use internet banking. More information about how iDIN works can be found here.
Uploading proof of identity
In case you don't want to or can't use the iDIN method, you can upload a valid proof of identity (driver's license, passport or identity card). You can hide your photo and citizennumber, because these are not required in the verification process.
Verifying your bank account
After your identity is verified, OPP checks the given bank account. The verification will done via iDEAL by transfering € 0,01.
In case there are problems with the verification of your bank account, OPP will inform you by email. Problems that may occur are:
The name of the bank account does not correspond with the name on the proof of identity.
The data on the proof of identity can't be processed or are incorrect.
The proof of identity is expired.
Business
If you want to trade with a business account, you will soon be able to use the above mentioned service. Till then we kindly request to do a bank transfer to the following account:
THE SWEX
NL84 ABNA 0415 5074 72
BIC : ABNANL2A
Bank : ABN AMRO
City : Sassenheim
Mention your account number when transfering money.
We will credit your account as soon as possible after received the funds.
What are the payment methods to make my deposit?
To transfer directly money to your whisky portfolio you can use one of the following options when you are logged in to your whisky portfolio (“Balance”):
iDEAL (only for the Netherlands) - no additional costs. Please note: iDeal payments are processed once a day, so please expect your payment to be visible within one day.
Bankcontact Mister Cash (only for Belgium) - no additional costs
Bank transfer
We kindly ask you to do a bank transfer to the following bank account:
In the name of: THE SWEX
NL30 ABNA 0415 6116 52
BIC : ABNANL2A
Bank : ABN AMRO
City : Sassenheim
Please state your SWEX account number in the bank transfer.
We will credit your SWEX Account as soon as we have received the transfer, but please allow for 3 working days as transfers can take some time.
Please note! The first time you want to deposit/withdraw money, you need to verify your bank account and identify. This is a mandatory procedure in accordance with European legislation (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act).
Is there a limit to the amount that I can deposit?
When you use iDeal to transfer funds, there is a maximum of € 25,000.- per transfer.
If you wish to transfer a larger amount to your SWEX account, we kindly request to transfer the funds via bank transfer. Please find the details below:
In the name of: THE SWEX
NL30 ABNA 0415 6116 52
BIC : ABNANL2A
Bank : ABN AMRO
City : Sassenheim
Please mention your account number when transfering funds.
We will credit your SWEX account within three days after receiving the money.
What is my investor profile?
Investing in whisky, like all forms of investing, involves risk. To assess the risks, you should ask yourself what kind of investor you are. You can then always refer back to that with the investments you make. There are three general types of investment.
Defensive investment
Offensive investment
Neutral investment
1. Defensive investment
Defensive investing is investing with as little risk as possible. It's focused on healthy yield in the long term, paired with minimal risk of loss in the short term. A well-diversified investment portfolio is an important part of defensive investing. A defensive investor always prioritises stability over high yields. A defensive strategy focuses on capital preservation, with the possibility of slight profit. Because you do not expect high yields, there is no need to run a high risk.
2. Offensive investment
Offensive investing is about maximising yields, which requires a bit more risk. An offensive investor is not afraid of risk, so they can achieve much higher yields than a defensive or neutral investor. At the same time, of course, their losses can also be greater.
When investing offensively, you always have to take short-term losses into account, which is why it is important to have a long investment horizon, so short-term losses can be compensated by years of gains. That means offensive investing is not a good choice for the short term.
3. Neutral investment
A neutral strategy is somewhere between defensive and offensive. You run less risk than an offensive investor, but that means you will also potentially generate lower yields. However, compared to a defensive investor, a neutral investor achieves higher potential yields. In return, of course, they take on a little more risk. So risk and return go hand in hand.
A neutral investor has a longer investment horizon, so possible loss-making years are compensated by profitable years. A neutral strategy involves some risk to achieve a considerable yield. The goal of this strategy is to grow assets with a well-considered average risk.