WRONG!
The 401k system allows for the purchase of gold and silver and I'm not talking about the ETF's. The funds can be used to purchase physical gold and silver that is segregated and placed in a safety deposit box.
If it's managed by your company these options may not be available.
I find it improbable that a 401K plan allows you to have physical gold for the reason that the government would not know if you had sold that asset and didn’t pay a penalty. These tax structured plans call for paper trails and paper transactions and physical gold in your safety box doesn’t allow them their intrusion fun.