Paper Gold vs. Physical: The "Safest" Bet for Gold in an IRA?

• •Been weighing my options recently, and I'm really curious to hear what others are doing with their gold exposure, especially in an IRA.
• •Right now, about 15% of my ~400k portfolio is in physical gold held in a segregated vault.
• •Paper gold, with its ETFS and mining stocks, always felt a bit too divorced from the actual metal for my comfort.

Been weighing my options recently, and I'm really curious to hear what others are doing with their gold exposure, especially in an IRA. I've been a major proponent of physical gold in my retirement account for the last six years, ever since I finally got my act together and started diversifying outside of just stocks and bonds. Right now, about 15% of my ~400k portfolio is in physical gold held in a segregated vault.

My thinking has always been that if things really go sideways (think major financial collapse, hyperinflation, etc.), physical possession or at least direct ownership of a physical asset would be paramount. As an exec in the bourbon industry, I appreciate legacy, tangible assets – things that have intrinsic value and have stood the test of time, much like a good aged whiskey. Paper gold, with its ETFS and mining stocks, always felt a bit too divorced from the actual metal for my comfort. It felt like I was owning a piece of paper that represented gold, rather than holding the gold itself. I mean, what happens to those contracts if the financial system melts down?

However, I'm starting to wonder if I'm being overly cautious. My advisor (who's great, but sometimes a bit too conventional for my taste) keeps pushing me to consider some of the larger, more liquid gold ETFs to simplify rebalancing and potentially capture more upside during bull runs without the storage fees. He argues that in any scenario where physical storage becomes a legitimate concern, the broader market would be in such chaos that any investment would be struggling. He also points out the difficulty of taking physical possession directly from an IRA and the potential tax implications. But then I think about that old saying, "If you don't hold it, you don't own it," and I'm back to square one.

What are your thoughts? Are any of you strictly paper gold investors, or are most of you going the physical route for retirement? And for those who are nearing retirement, how are you thinking about managing RMDs with physical gold? I've been looking at this RMD Calculator to get a handle on what those distributions might look like down the road, but honestly, the thought of having to liquidate physical gold to meet an RMD feels like a headache waiting to happen. Am I overthinking the "physical vs. paper" debate, or is my gut feeling about truly owning the asset justified?