Best Gold IRA Companies

Conventional wisdom says you should build your retirement nest egg over time. Aggressive investing with high risk tolerance, combined with compound interest over years and decades, usually leads to sizeable portfolios.

Things change as you draw closer to retirement, however. In the autumn of your earning years, you want to start moving your portfolio towards investments that maintain your wealth as much as they still grow it.

If you’re actually in retirement, then you not only place a premium on the preservation of your wealth but you also want to stabilize your portfolio as much as possible. Since you are now drawing on it to support yourself, you need a means of keeping things steady when economic volatility hits.

Most of your retirement investment portfolio might stay in stocks, bonds, and real estate. However, gold is something to also consider. There are gold IRAs that invest in precious metals. Using the best gold IRA companies lets you diversify some of your portfolio with a hedge against inflation and economic turbulence.

What Is a Gold IRA?

You might be wondering what a gold IRA account even is. This can be a crucial investing tool, but only if you know what it is. To start with, it helps to break it down into its two components, namely gold and IRA.

Gold

Gold is considered a commodity, particularly as a precious metal. You can diversify your investment portfolio with it, just like you do with stocks, bonds, and even real estate.

Gold also commonly works as a hedge against the relatively erratic movement of the American dollar. A common investment strategy is to use gold as a safeguard from inflation or even just a way to capitalize on increasing gold prices.

Looking at the values of precious metals today compared to 50 years ago illustrates how this works. Gold had a value of $35 per ounce in 1970. By the close of 2018, the open market was trading it at almost $1,300 per ounce.

Compare that to cash. In 1970, you would have had $35 in your wallet, and you can still put $35 in your wallet today. Then again, how much has inflation reduced the buying power?

Gold investments can be solid choices, for many reasons. Then again, it’s not for everyone. There are pros and cons to it, as with any investment. It’s not a great idea to put everything into gold, but it’s also not a good idea to put your whole portfolio into anything. So, consider including gold in your portfolio mix for diversification, but don’t go all in.

IRA Accounts

IRA stands for ‘individual retirement account’, and that’s what IRAs are: retirement investment accounts.

A conventional IRA lets you contribute some of your pre-tax money towards your retirement. Accounts such as these can grow free of having capital gains or dividend taxes assessed to them.

In the end, income tax only happens if you pull money out of a traditional IRA account.

Roth IRAs are a popular form of IRA. They are very similar to conventional IRA accounts in many ways, with the notable exception of using only after-tax funds. Roth IRAs, as well as conventional, traditional IRA accounts, are only able to save cash, bonds, and stocks.

Gold Meets IRA

Gold IRA accounts are the crossroads of IRA savings vehicles and the precious metal of gold. The investment is actually gold itself. This investment can take the form of coins and bars the IRS approves or a variety of other precious metals.

Gold IRA accounts can be established using pre-tax income or post-tax income. However, you can’t use the same gold IRA account to do both.

Coins and Bars Eligible for Gold IRAs

If you’re going to use a gold IRA as part of your investment portfolio, then you need to know what you can and can’t actually invest in. Gold IRAs, despite their nickname, aren’t just about gold. They cover a wide variety of precious metals, that also includes silver options, as well as platinum and palladium. Each of these precious metals has an approved list of specific coins and bullion bars that qualify for precious metal IRA accounts.

One thing you should know in particular about gold is a crucial IRS standard. That standard stipulates that any physical gold included in a precious metal IRA might have a purity grade equal to or greater than 0.995.

At the time of writing, the approved possibilities included the following options:

  • American Gold Buffalo Coin
  • American Gold Eagle Coin
  • Australian Gold Kangaroo Coin
  • Austrian Gold Philharmonic Coin
  • Australian Lunar Series Coin
  • British Britannia Coin
  • Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin
  • Credit Suisse Gold Bar
  • Gold Chinese Panda Coin
  • Johnson Matthey Gold Bar
  • Valcambi Gold CombiBar

Alternatively, the IRS does not allow what it considers to be collectibles in gold and precious metal IRA accounts. Items such as these are often popular with owners and investors. As such, they’re often significant elements of many investment endeavors and private collections. However, their purity standards don’t always meet IRS standards. Other times, they simply get market valued at seriously high prices. Given all this, the IRS disapproval list is considerably longer than the approved list is.

Having said all this, not all gold investments revolve around piles or pieces of the actual metal. There are extra gold investments that can include peripheral considerations. Another possibility is ‘paper’ investing into exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs.

Possibilities include but are not limited to the following:

  • Gold commodity ETFs
  • Precious metals commodity futures
  • Precious metal mutual funds
  • Stock shares in companies that mine gold

Gold paper investments might prove more alluring to risk-averse investors as compared to holding actual gold. If you want to diversify past physical gold but stay close to it, then paper options are a worthwhile conversation with your broker.

Gold IRA Pros and Cons

Gold IRAs are very specific investment vehicles. As such, you need to know both the benefits and the disadvantages.

As a matter of fact, gold investment might not even make sense for many investors. However, other investors might find it makes good sense relative to their own investment strategies and how their portfolio might be established at the time. Diversification away from too many stocks can be crucial for those in retirement or nearing it, and physical commodities can certainly be something to explore.

The following are some of the biggest pros and cons you should know regarding gold IRAs:

Pros

Tax Advantages: Gold IRA accounts have tax incentives in much the same way that conventional and traditional IRAs do. You can use a gold IRA to diversify your portfolio while still enjoying tax benefits.

Total Control: The IRS does set rules about the kinds of precious metals and products that you’re able to buy. However, gold IRA accounts still leave you control and freedom that surpasses what you enjoy in a traditional IRA. Pick many coins and bars. Leverage the market when you buy low and sell high. If you suspect gold prices are about to dip, then you can sell off your bars and coins to prevent an investment loss. Just put those funds into a money market fund until it’s the right time to go back in and buy.

Insurance for Your Portfolio: Gold did really well during the economic slide in the latter part of the 1970s. It also proved itself to be no fluke since it again did well during the financial crisis period of 2008-9. This physical asset is a potent possession during economic turbulence.

Gold Holds Its Value: Even when gold is down, at least relative to its previous performance history, it can still be a consistently valuable component to your portfolio. If the dollar and conventional stock and bond markets all underperform, then gold is a robust hedge. It’s also quite powerful when inflation goes up.

A Smart Long-Run Move: There’s no guarantee of future performance in any money matter, but gold’s history is one of consistently good performance. While cash depreciates thanks to inflation, at least most of the time, gold tends to go up quite a bit. An ounce of gold just a few years ago was worth nearly 40 times what it was a half-century ago. Your retirement needs proven appreciation in it, and gold fits the bill.

Cons

Gold Yields Just Gold: Paper-based investment classes often pay out at least something. Stocks and bonds have various profits and payouts as perks to counterbalance the risks involved, especially when the income of yields, interest, and dividends can all disappear in a flash. You may have spent decades in the stock and bond markets taking risks and aggressively growing your nest egg. Yields, dividends, and interest likely fueled that growth, but gold doesn’t provide them.

Expenses and Fees: Establishing precious metal retirement accounts and then holding the assets can incur certain expenses. Examples include one-time initiation fees and annual custodian fees. Even traditional IRAs have these, but gold IRAs also have storage fees. There might be even more fees based on which trust company you decide to use. Having said all this, the market is relatively mature now. The gold IRA was established by Congress in 1997. From then until the 2008 financial crisis, the gold IRA was something novel. There weren’t many firms offering it, and so the expenses involved were greater than those involved with traditional IRA accounts. However, the demand for just gold IRA accounts alone shot way up in the midst of the Great Recession. Gold prices went right up with that demand. Streamlined processes and an expansive group of firms providing precious metal IRA accounts brought down industry costs across the board.

Not for the Timid: Creating a conventional IRA isn’t nearly as hard or expensive as putting together a precious metal IRA. You have to really trust the institutions you are dealing with. You also need to truly believe in the safety of your investment, considering how this is one investment class where you’re not likely to ever see the actual tangible results.

Test of Your Patience: If you want significant profits sooner rather than later, then investing in gold isn’t the way to go. Short of economic catastrophe, where gold is often a proven winner, the value of gold moves quite slowly. Most of the time, only the truly dedicated investors get anything out of it.

Rules and Regulations

All IRAs are subject to IRS rules about how they are created and then kept up. Obviously, the particular physical assets have limitations already discussed previously in this content. However, there are other factors to consider, including but not limited to the following:

Administrator Regulations: If you want a precious metals IRA, the IRS mandates that you open one with an administrator that they approve of for handling gold and related commodities. Even if you choose to self-direct it, you still need administrators, such as custodians and brokers, who can at on your behalf for certain operations.

Age Requirements: You can’t access your gold IRA until you are 59 years and 6 months of age. Even then, you’re under no obligation to start withdrawing or taking distributions when you hit that age. However, you have to start taking your distributions by age 70 if you have yet to do so.

Contribution Limits: Prior to age 50, you are limited to just $6,000 in annual contributions to your gold IRA. That goes up by a grand to a yearly cap of $7,000 once you do turn 50. You can fund your annual contributions via a rollover or a purchase that you make through your designated administrator.

Early Withdrawal Stipulations: Much like conventional IRAs have 10-percent penalties for most early withdrawal, gold IRAs follow suit. However, they also parallel the same exceptions to the rule that traditional IRAs usually have, including the following:

-An IRA owner would like to buy a new home for the first time. They can apply up to $10,000. This exception can also be used for funding the education of a family member.

-An IRA owner is hospitalized or gets disabled and has no means of paying their medical bills.

-An IRA owner loses their source of employment and needs access to money.

-An IRA owner dies and a beneficiary needs funds access.

Kinds of Precious Metals: If you self-direct your IRA, there are limits to what metals you’re able to include. IRS stipulations require a minimal purity level of gold to be either 0.995 or higher or 24 carats.

Storage: Any physical commodities involved in a precious metal IRA have to be stored in IRS-approved vault locations. If you actually personally possessed the gold, then the IRS would consider this to be a distribution. You would be subjected to the applicable taxes and penalties.

Tax Matters: If you take physical possession of your gold, then you’ll be subject to income tax. That will apply to the withdrawal point or date, unless any of the previously mentioned exclusions apply. Profits from withdrawals might be subject to the capital gains tax.

Storage Choices for Gold Bullion

Something truly fascinating about gold as a physical commodity, and in particular gold IRAs, is the storage circumstances. Precious metals, not just gold, are always at risk of fraud or theft.

Given this, the IRS deems it crucial to safeguard IRA-associated commodities inside vaults and facilities that the Internal Revenue Service specifically approves of. Such stringent storage requirements don’t just exist to protect the stockpiles but also to make sure that inventory levels are recorded and tracked accurately.

Even though the IRS has stringent rules about storing precious metals for associated IRAs, several ways still exist for storage that meets the regulations. They are as follows:

American Domestic Storage Vaults

These are highly recommended by many industry experts. There are six depository vaults in the domestic United States that hold virtually every metal that’s a part of precious metal IRAs. This isn’t just gold, but also silver, platinum, and palladium. The six vaults are:

  • Brinks Security
  • CNT Depository
  • Delaware Depository
  • HSBC Bank USA
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank North America
  • Scotia Mocatta

Storage is possible both inside the United States and internationally. Any account owners that fear their metals might be confiscated in the future might consider overseas options more alluring.

Precious metal seizure on a mass scale isn’t talked about much, but there is historical precedent inside the United States, as it happened during the Great Depression. Countries like Singapore or Dubai are far less likely to ever do something like that.

International Storage Vaults

These are another highly recommended option for your precious metal IRA gold and assets. Until recently, the IRS mandated that precious metals for gold IRAs had to stay inside the United States. However, the rules are now relaxed a bit, and investors have the chance to use IRS-approved vaults on international soil. There are still some familiar names, though:

  • Brinks Security has a location in London, UK.
  • HSBC Bank USA has vaults in London, Zurich, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank has two vaults, one in Singapore and one in London.
  • Regal Assets only has international vaults, one in Singapore and one in Dubai.
  • Scotia Mocatta is technically international but close to home in Toronto.

Co-Mingled Storage

You can store precious metals in a depository vault in two different ways. Co-mingling is the most frequently used method. This is where one individual vault room stores all the gold of you and other investors. This grouping together lowers the costs for any depository company doing it. Such a mass of gold is tracked with a singular inventory using designations for keeping up with what each client owns.

Segregated Storage

The other method of depository vault storage is where your gold gets both stored and inventoried by itself. It might be in a safe deposit box, but it might even get its own room. Either keeps your metals separate from the cache of group metals. Investors looking to upgrade from the lower security of a collective storage group might find this alluring. However, storage vaults using this particular method will also include higher premiums for the perk.

Storage at Home

This is the final option, and it’s seriously discouraged. The IRS does not look kindly upon it, even if they still allow it in limited circumstances.

What you basically have to do as the investor is create an LLC so you can house your precious metals in a storage safe at home. In short, you wind up being your very own trustee, as compared to the designated third-party trustees that the IRS prefers for precious metal IRAs.

The complications arise from withdrawals done where the IRS has no oversight.

Even though this method is seriously discouraged, you need to know that this particular loophole exists. Certain gold IRA companies might promote this as a legitimate option. If you encounter one that does, then consider looking elsewhere in the industry for someone more reputable to do business with.

Fees

While a gold IRA can be an effective means of retirement nest egg diversification, it does have costs associated with it that conventional IRAs won’t. Consider these various fees when looking into precious metal IRA providers and what you might have to pay for:

Account Creation: This is a frequently encountered cost with most kinds of IRAs. However, given the special nature of gold IRAs, establishments might charge fees higher than what come with traditional IRAs.

Broker and Custodian Fees: This is another common IRA fee, although gold IRA annual expenses may again be higher than conventional IRA costs of the same nature.

Close-Out Expenses: One serious downside to gold IRAs is when you decide it’s time to close out your account and then sell off the gold. Some establishments buy your gold back at market rates, whereas some dealers look to buy your gold below market value. In each case, the difference between your original purchase and the market value at time of close out could result in you losing value by cashing out.

Seller’s Fee: No matter where you buy your gold, be ready to get it with a bit of markup above the current market rates. Local dealers are more prone to this, since they have to cover overhead. Additional charges such as these are one-time fees that can also reflect different kinds of transaction types, such as buying bullion, bars, proofs, coins, etc.

Storage Fees: While there was already a section about storing gold IRA metals, you need to remember that securing the gold you invest in will have costs. Some of the factors included here include annual versus monthly vaulting costs, domestic or international storage, or segregated versus co-mingled storage.

10 Gold IRA Scams and How You Can Avoid Them

Don’t have any illusions about the current investing sector, as there are still plenty of scammers around. Millions of aspiring investors come into the field hoping to make the most of their money and create a safe and sound nest egg or preserve the one that they’ve already got only to fall victim to people with no morals or remorse.

Gold IRAs, given their relative youth as a market and peculiar position, require a bit more work from investors to even make such investments possible. That, unfortunately, opens the door to many different scams. You want to make only the best gold investments, and sometimes that means knowing when to avoid the bad ones. Before you contract yourself with any outfit, you need to research numerous dealers and establishments in depth.

Always keep your eyes open for scams. Here are 10 in particular that plague the precious metals sector quite frequently:

1) Broker’s Commission: Investors who are new to gold need to keep in mind that this is a truly long-term investment. They also need to remember that there are simply no assurances of huge returns coming back their way. Gold has absolutely risen high over the last three decades, although the growth in just the last 10 years has been admittedly more modest. Some dealers hone in on market misunderstandings and then somehow get investors to borrow money directly from them in order to buy gold. Investors are conned into believing that gold returns will surpass loan interest, and it’s actually the opposite that comes true. This is a very risky transaction, one that bets huge on odds rarely in favor of the investor.

2) Limited Gold Access: In the worst cases, there won’t even be any gold or access. This is a scam that usually preys on novice investors, especially those that don’t really know how they can verify gold purchased for them. Similar schemes can show up with custodians who go about hard-selling self-storage possibilities, which as discussed earlier are almost always unwise. Trustworthy administrators can offer you legitimate certification about gold purchases made for you and can demonstrate how your gold is appropriately stored in a proper vault.

3) False Representation: There are many ways how misleading business practices might show up. In regards to precious metal IRAs, however, one of them in convincing a client that they are making a gold investment but they instead only get a gold certificate. This is similar to the limited gold access scam, except that investors do receive verification. The problem is, the verification has no actual gold, or very little, to support it.

4) Home Storage: Yes, this has been mentioned and discouraged numerous times already. However, in regards to gold IRAs and other precious metals, this concept is so inherently risky and dangerous that it’s worth strongly recommending against yet again. Any precious metal IRA firm that attempts to convince you home storage is worth it is an establishment you need to move away from quickly. Odds are they know home storage isn’t great for investors. They’re probably looking to take advantage of you and in more ways than one.

5) Leverage Accounts: This particular tactic is when an investor buys gold through a broker while paying the broker’s commission through a substantial markup on the purchased gold. This typically happens if the broker recommends a particular dealer that they already have a working relationship with. Avoid this scam simply by cutting out your broker entirely and just directly working with specific dealers. You’re still legally mandated to have a custodian, of course, but this pathway to owning gold is not just more direct but also more economical in the long run.

6) Meaningless Certification or Grading: Stay away from dealers who offer add-on services like gold certification or grading. These services might be available as a substantial markup, when in fact, investors can do for nearly nothing on their own through diligent research. Your own research and investigation into things is your best layer of protection from scams of all kinds, especially markup shenanigans.

7) Numismatic Coins: Some scammers will try to lure you in with the promise and potential of numismatic coins. These possibilities are usually false. You need to learn how to distinguish numismatic coins from bullion coins. Numismatic coins are typically rare collection pieces whose value is far higher than just the value of the metals making up the coin. These enhanced values could be due to factors such as collectibility, historical significance, or just scarcity. Dealers might advocate numismatics instead of bullion coins with IRS approval. They would do this because they could make a lot more money and unaware clients would wind up with little to show for their gold IRA. Numismatic coins can be legitimate pieces, and they’re fine for collectibles. However, the IRS does not permit them to be a component of a gold IRA.

8) Pushing You Towards Less Diversification: If you want your nest egg to be healthy, then it needs to be balanced. The exact asset mix is up to you, based on your goals and financial advice, but it does mean having a variety of assets and investments. Ruthless sales professionals are sometimes known to espouse the myth that ‘everything that glitters is gold’ while trying to get investors to put most of their investments into precious metals. No matter how great their arguments sound, the fact remains that gold IRAs are nothing more than a niche investment option. Put no more than 10 to 15 percent of your total portfolio into gold simply as a long-running hedge to counterbalance economic turbulence.

9) Undocumented Fees: Always watch out for unreported or hidden fees popping up from anyone you deal with while creating or managing your gold IRA. There are certainly going to be plenty of fees, whether it be dealers, storage, custodians, or brokers. Given how many fees there are, it’s easy for someone greedy to slip in a few extras here and there.

10) Unsolicited Offers: If it seems too good to actually be true, then it probably is. Still, some sales professionals will twist your arm the other way. Always be critical of emails and phone calls that involve unsolicited offers, even if they come from a company that seems reputable. Be very wary of in-person sales visits that were previously completely unannounced. Such conversations and visits often target senior citizens or those nearing retirement who are really worried about their nest egg.

How You Can Get Started

Establishing a gold IRA involves multiple moving parts. However, the process is pretty straightforward:

PHASE ONE: The first thing you have to decide is whether or not you will do a rollover of existing IRA funds or just transfer them. In rollovers, you receive your originating account funds and then have 60 days to deposit them into a precious metal IRA via your custodian. If you fail to do this, the IRS will deem it a withdrawal. You might face a 10-percent early withdrawal charge if you’re under the age limits for receiving distributions. You’ll also get taxed. You only get one rollover per year. In transfer situations, money or funds move directly from an older account into your precious metals IRA. You don’t have limits on how many transfers you get to make. In both cases, you can transfer or rollover 401(k) and 403(b) retirement funds or money from a conventional IRA or even a Roth IRA.

PHASE TWO: This part of the process revolves around choosing your designated gold IRA custodian. You need to really dig deep into the details of many providers so you can choose one you not only trust but can use as a resource in meeting your specific investment objectives. Given that, you also need to ascertain the gold IRA investment approach you want to use. As a general rule of thumb, no more than 10 to 15 percent of your broader portfolio should be in gold IRAs. If you’re only looking for diversification, then 10 percent is fine. You can even go lower and still accomplish that. However, a range of 10 to 15 percent is better if you want a hedge against paper currency loss. If you really want to lean on gold for substantial profits, then allocations in excess of 15 percent could be in order. Just now that this carries big risks, especially if there are market moves in different directions.

PHASE THREE: This is the part where you actually make a gold purchase. Online dealers can often prove more useful than local dealers, in particular for those new to investing in gold IRAs or anyone just looking to stay away from higher markups. Several reputable options are listed in the next section, or you could just skip to the best of the best and use GoldCo.

TOP Rated Gold IRA Companies You Should Consider

Who are the best gold IRA companies? Defining the ‘best’ can be subjective, based on what you’re looking for. It’s really just a matter of finding recommendations through research. Start by using the information provided on the following businesses:

Advantage Gold

Overview: Advantage Gold is one of the newest members of the sector for precious metals. However, it’s earning a strong reputation for Gold IRAs.

This business has already helped thousands of its customers both safeguard and diversify their wealth through the use of precious metals. Advantage Gold also emphasizes education, making it a valuable option for newer investors.

In fact, every single facet of the business model Advantage Gold operates with revolves around customer education. This is evident across the website and even through the customer support team.

Advantage Gold started in 2014 with its current headquarters in Los Angeles. It’s staffed by 35 employees, the majority of whom work as IRA specialists.

This company says that all investors need to diversify using precious metals as part of their asset mix. However, two groups of investors in particular especially need to do so.

The first one is first-time investors, and Advantage Gold has a whole program just for them. The educational resources here are tremendously powerful.

The second group is long-term investors. Advantage Gold suggests that precious metals should be held for a minimum of three to five years, although five to 10 years is more likely to maximize the possible gains.

Pros

  • Trustworthy: Listed dealer for US Mint, reputable network of custodians and depositories
  • Ease of Use: Buyback program for convenience; able to liquidate accounts into cash or precious metals
  • Good Reviews: Strong track record of customer satisfaction

Cons

  • Not Everything Online: Website doesn’t disclose fees, account setup happens over phone
  • New Company: Not as established as others on this list

Augusta Precious Metals

Overview: Augusta Precious Metals provides clients a variety of services for anyone looking to safeguard the value of their retirement nest egg by using alternative classes of assets. Prospective investors get access to experts that will guide them through each step along the way.

If you’re looking for a long-term investment partner, then Augusta Precious metals might be a good choice for you. This company is rather distinct in how it does business with investors. Other options might only offer you physical gold and silver. However, Augusta keeps up with its clients all throughout the existence of their portfolios involving precious metals.

A multi-team model is set up in a very efficient manner. This streamlines and even simplifies things for customers looking for a painless experience that saves them stress, time, and money. United States customers needing industry advice whenever they make crucial portfolio choices can easily access the analytics team at Augusta.

Pros

  • Simplicity: Great customer service makes opening gold IRAs easy to do
  • Analysis: Enjoy free portfolio reviews to learn more
  • Price Matching: Guarantees available for gold and silver in both bullion and coins

Cons

  • Slow Service: Funding, executing, and delivering orders within an IRA can take half a month
  • Limited Precious Metals: Gold and silver are available, but palladium and platinum bullion are not

Read the full Augusta review here

Birch Gold Group

Overview: Birch Gold Group provides clients precious metal sales and IRAs, but it also focuses on all-in-one service and emphasizes customer education. This firm markets not just gold and silver but also palladium and platinum.

Buy these precious metals for IRA placement or physical positioning. Located in California, this firm has been around since 2003 and is currently based online as a full-service option.

Birch focuses on safeguarding portfolios against the damage or potential of inflation. This company provides exemplary customer service, always with an eye on client education.

The firm provides a variety of customized individual options to best serve your distinct needs. What’s more, the team explains your options to you in simple language you can easily understand.

Consider Birch Gold Group if you want to make the most of precious metals in your IRA but would like the helping hand of expert advice and educational resources. This company is a great fit for a broad base of many clients.

Read detailed Birch Gold Group review here

Pros

  • Dedication: The customer education emphasis is very helpful
  • Recommendations: Clients get suggestions for both custodial and depository matters
  • Reputation: Professional organizations and clients alike rate this company highly

Cons

  • International Obstacles: None of the depository options are overseas
  • Lack of Transparency: A handful of the initial setup fees don’t get displayed

Gold Alliance

Overview: At first glance, Gold Alliance offers serious financial security for your precious metal IRA. Lifetime support, tremendous customer service, buyback guarantees, and low yearly fees all add up to a tremendous investment experience.

For a minimum investment of $20,000 and only $180 in annual fees, you can join up with Gold Alliance, a firm that specializes in gold and other precious metals. The firm has only been around since 2016, but the team of precious metal advisors and industry veterans has nearly a century of combined experience to bring to the table.

These professionals serve their clients as advisors. They take clients through an easy process to make a gold IRA where you’re in charge but can always get advice on the specific precious metals that you should buy. This self-directed option lets you receive actual gold bullion bars.

Anyone looking to invest in the future can benefit from Gold Alliance, whether you’re already in retirement or still in your earning years looking ahead.

Pros

  • Ratings: BBB A+, 5 stars on Google
  • Guaranteed Buyback: Offers simplicity and peace of mind
  • Support: Clients get lifetime support with their accounts

Cons

  • Young Company: Not a lot of history or experience as a cohesive unit
  • Website Lacking Information: It doesn’t list prices of precious metals

Goldco

Overview: GoldCo has an average 4.9 out of 5.0 rating on TrustPilot, and that’s not a fluke. Many consider this outfit to be the very best in precious metal companies.

The firm prides itself on customer service, and it shows every time someone turns to the company for retirement account diversification.

Fees are a reasonable $175 to $225 per year. GoldCo dates back to 2006 and has a track record of helping investors not only diversify but also grow and safeguard the value of their wealth. It does this through physical metals, such as gold, but also silver, palladium, and platinum.

Trevor Gerszt founded the company. Its current headquarters are in the California city of Woodland Hills. Modern clients enjoy some of the industry’s best service and educational resources for investors.

GoldCo is a wonderful option for anyone who is either in retirement or getting close to it and dreads the possibility of another financial crisis. Physical assets, when managed right in your retirement IRA, can bring stability to your portfolio at a time it’s badly needed. Use GoldCo to maintain a comfortable retirement even during a fiscal storm.

Pros

  • New Customers: New clients enjoy special offers when they first join
  • A+: The best possible Better Business Bureau rating
  • Customer Service: Rivals anyone in the industry
  • Low Fees: Saves you money over time, letting your investment grow unencumbered

Cons

  • High IRA Minimum: It takes at least $25,000 to start one here
  • No Online Account Setup: Inconvenient start to an otherwise awesome investment experience

Read detailed Goldco Review

Noble Gold

Overview: Two industry veterans founded Noble Gold Investments in 2017 so that customers could have something different among precious metal companies. This outfit strives for 100-percent customer satisfaction when it comes to investment decisions.

One thing that separates this firm from the pack is the minimum investment level. At just $2,000, it’s notably lower than many other players in the industry.

Clients using Noble Gold love how there aren’t hard sells about things they don’t really need. They get accounts that serve their needs, and that’s all. Transparency and honesty are guiding principles for this firm.

The lower minimum investment requirements give many prospective clients a seat at the table when it’s often too expensive to sit at most places. Noble Gold also provides Royal Survival Packs with popular and common precious metals for safeguarding your wealth against future volatility.

Noble Good is a great place to start if you don’t have much in the first place but want to protect and grow it with the help of industry experts.

Pros

  • Easy Access: Process to register is fast and easy
  • Segregated Storage: Offers clients safety with their assets
  • Minimal Expenses Involved: Fees are low, investment minimum requirements are low

Cons

  • New Business: The outfit staffs industry experts but hasn’t been around that long itself
  • No Overseas Options: All the storage options are domestically based

Regal Assets

Overview: Regal Assets is a prominent solution for anyone needing a gold IRA rollover. Its current BBB rating of A+ is something the business has maintained for more than five years.

Tyler Gallagher founded this company as a place to help investors diversify their previous investments into various alternative assets, including precious metals and even cryptocurrency. Gold IRA offerings trace back to 2009, while cryptocurrency was added in 2017.

Regal Assets works with reputable trading firms and accredited custodians to offer you only the greatest alternative assets to work into your retirement account. It offers numerous IRA accounts to serve your needs, be it digital assets or physical assets, including gold and silver.

Use Regal Assets for just physical assets alone, as the company has specialized in this longer. Alternatively, you can also start out with physical assets and then begin dabbling in cryptocurrency a bit if you feel like checking out this new industry from the safety of gold.

Pros

  • Exceptional Reputation: Considered among the best in the gold IRA industry
  • Free Investment Kits: Helps get you started
  • Fees: Annual fees are waived in first year, low segregated storage fees; flat percentage fees on investments

Cons

  • High Minimum Investments: $5,000/$25,000 respectively for metals and retirement accounts
  • Not For Everyone: Not ideal for investors new to the scene or with low funds

Editor’s Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are in retirement or closing in on it, then you need to make sure that your nest egg is truly ready to carry through the years. A Gold IRA is a crucial component to this picture because of how it provides both diversification of your assets and a strong hedge against economic turbulence.

You can use quite a few companies to handle this for you, and several good choices were listed in this content. However, as you’ve seen, GoldCo is hands down the best of all options for your gold IRA.

The company’s overall ratings, exceptional customer service, low fees, and simple setup all rocket them to the top of the list. GoldCo wins alone on trustworthiness.