Paper vs. Physical for Gold IRAs - What's your take?

• •I've got a good chunk of my retirement in precious metals (north of $300k now, pretty proud of that considering I started just before the pandemic).
• •But the deeper I get, the more I question some of my early assumptions, specifically around physical vs.
• •"paper" gold (or palladium, in my case).

Okay, so I've been wrestling with this for a bit now, and I'm curious what everyone else's experience has been, especially those of you with Gold IRAs focused on things like Palladium. I've got a good chunk of my retirement in precious metals (north of $300k now, pretty proud of that considering I started just before the pandemic). My family here in Salt Lake City has always been big on tangible assets, so for me, a Gold IRA seemed like a no-brainer for diversification and hedging against inflation. But the deeper I get, the more I question some of my early assumptions, specifically around physical vs. "paper" gold (or palladium, in my case).

My financial advisor, who's been a godsend helping me navigate this space, has always leaned heavily towards actual physical metals because of the whole ownership aspect and the protection against counterparty risk. That's why my Gold IRA is stocked with physical palladium held in an approved depository. And frankly, that feels good. Knowing that if everything goes sideways, I've got actual metal, not just a promise. But then I look at the liquidity of ETFs like PALL or GLD, and it's hard to ignore. The ease of trading, the lower storage fees (sometimes), and the tighter spreads are definitely appealing from a purely transactional standpoint.

I know the purists will always say physical, physical, physical, especially for an IRA where the long-term play is key. But has anyone here genuinely regretted going physical? Or, conversely, has anyone gotten burned by the paper gold equivalent in an IRA setting? I'm talking specifically about the IRA context, not just speculative trading. My worry is that while the security of physical is great, is the opportunity cost of potentially missing out on quicker adjustments in a volatile market too high? Or am I just overthinking it?

Really interested to hear some real-world stories or perspectives. Is the peace of mind of owning the physical metal worth the trade-offs in liquidity and potentially higher fees long-term for you all?