If you have made the decision to invest in a Precious Metals IRA, or you want to roll over a current investment account such as 401k, your next decision is to choose a Gold IRA company to work with. Below is a comparison table to help you decide which precious metals IRA company is the best fit for you. All of the companies listed on our website have great reputations and are well established in the industry; however, they vary in the different services and metals they offer. We have included their ratings on Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance and Trustlink, to give you an idea of the consistency of their service.
Best Gold IRA Companies
Top Gold IRA Companies 2022
Best Gold IRA
Goldco
- Frequent offers and deals for new clients
- Low annual fees
- Outstanding customer reviews
- Offers other precious metal and cryptocurrency services
- BBB Rating: A+
- BCA Rating: AAA
- Trustlink Rating: 253 reviews – 4.8-stars.
Goldco provides a wide range of precious metal and cryptocurrency services at affordable prices. Their reviews reflect their commitment to ethical business practices and always putting the customer first. Read Full Review »
Close Runner Up
Augusta Precious Metals
- Best of Trustlink 5 years in a row
- Educational materials to help clients to understand the markets
- Excellent customer service department
- A personally assigned account manager to help guide you with your investment.
- BBB Rating: A+
- BCA Rating: AAA
- Trustlink Rating: 273 reviews – 5 stars.
Augusta Precious Metals was identified by IRA Gold Advisor as the “Most Trusted in the U.S.” TrustLink named the company “Best of” five years in a row. Not only that, my research shows Augusta is the only company with zero complaints since 2012.. Read Full Review »
Great For Beginners
Noble Gold
- First and only gold depository in Texas
- No quibble buy-back program on your precious metals
- Competitive prices
- Free investment kit to help you to understand your investment
- BBB Rating: A+
- BCA Rating: BB
- Trustlink Rating: 123 reviews – 5 stars.
Noble Gold’s low minimum deposit and buyback program makes investing in precious metals accessible to anyone, making them the perfect choice if you’re new to investing in precious metals. Read Full Review »
How To Choose A Gold IRA Company
Read Their Customer Reviews
Sites such as Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance and Trustlink are so valuable when it comes to getting an insight into what an IRA company are actually like. They might do a wonderful sales job, but what you really want to know is what they are like when you have chosen to invest with them. Are they going to keep you up to date with how your investment is doing? Or are they going to lose interest now that they have got your funds?
The best IRA companies, of course, have consistently good reviews across all of the review sites. Be sure to watch out for customers repeatedly mentioning the same issues in their reviews, as this suggests there is a problem that needs to be ironed out in the company. Pay particular attention to recent reviews, as these will give you an idea of how the company is functioning today.
Look At Costs
Different IRA companies will charge different amounts for their services, for gold storage and other fees. Some have a tendency to try and hide exact figures on their website, so the best way to compare costs of different companies is to give them a call and compare quotes. You will find that different companies have varying minimum investments too, so this might sway your decision.
Quite often, companies might have a deal on for the first year, such as free storage for the first 12 months. These are great, but make sure that how much you will be paying in the long-term does not undo any benefit of this initial deal. Remember, a Gold IRA tends to be a long-term investment, therefore a deal for the first year should not be the make or break of your investment.
Generally, it is best to go with a company that offers a flat annual management fee. This means that no matter how much your investment grows, you are still paying the same rate as agreed at the start.
Consider Timing
A reputable gold IRA company typically sets up and funds your IRA account in just a few days, if not less. Any longer than this and it might be that they should not be trusted – you don’t want your money in limbo for too long.
The company should have you fill a form and open your account immediately or at least within a few hours. They should initiate the rollover as soon as the account is opened.
Before the account is even funded, check how long it takes to buy and deliver your assets. The fastest companies have a three-day waiting period, while others will have you wait for a week. We don’t recommend signing up with a company if a Gold IRA takes longer than a week to deliver your assets.
With the uncertainty in the economy, you need a company that delivers fast and effectively. You don’t want to take any chances when it comes to your investment.
Customer Support
It is imperative that the Gold IRA company you choose must have high-level customer support. Many companies in the financial and investment sector have good salespeople. Once you buy their product, you might hear a lot less from them and not really know what is going on with your account. Sound familiar?
One quick way to find out if a company offers good customer support is through reviews. Customers will leave negative reviews for Gold IRA companies with poor customer support. Again, it’s worth looking on their website to find their customer service page; make sure that they have an email, phone line, and even an instant chat box feature so you know any questions you have can reach them.
Alternative Investment Options
Though you might only be thinking about a Gold IRA for the moment, in the future, it might be of benefit to you to have invested with a company which also deals with other investments. For example, many Gold IRA companies also deal with cryptocurrency, collectible physical precious metals which aren’t allowed in your Gold IRA, and paper precious metals.
Although precious metals are a safe investment, you may wish to invest in other avenues that you feel have higher returns through your IRA account.
Benefits of Investing in Precious Metals
Store of Value
Unlike stocks or bonds, the value of gold and other precious metals will never be zero. Gold has many uses in manufacturing and is a rare resource, therefore its value continues to rise over time. Investing in gold, therefore, is a great way to maintain the value of your savings, since if they were not invested, they would decrease as the cost of living rises.
Investors choose precious metals as a long-term investment for this reason. You’re not going to make millions overnight, but you are going to safely grow your retirement fund in a low-maintenance way and protect your earnings. Gold has been in demand globally for millennium and will continue to be in the future, so once you have set up your Gold IRA, you can leave it alone to grow until you reach retirement age and wish to access your investment.
Portfolio Diversification and Protection
When all you have in your IRA is paper assets, an economic downturn or unfavorable political conditions could easily wipe out the value of your retirement fund. You need to properly diversify your retirement investment to guard against this.
The best way to diversify from paper assets and other related assets is to allocate 5-50% of your funds to precious metals. You can do this by opening a self-regulated Gold IRA and investing in gold and other precious metals. How much you choose to invest in gold depends on how much of a risk you want to take with your retirement money: cautious investors put more of their money in gold, whereas those up for a risk choose to only put a little money in gold.
If an economic crisis happens and your assets lose their value before you exit, gold will not be affected. Physical gold has intrinsic value that is not affected as currencies and paper assets lose their value.
Hedge Against Inflation
As a store of value, gold is not affected by inflation. In periods of inflation, the value of gold rises. Thus, you can hold onto the value of your investment rather than losing it. As the value of money decreases due to inflation, gold is left unaffected. In this manner, it can be seen as a hedge against the decline of currency.
Over time, due to economic activity, the value of currencies, especially the dollar, may decline or increase. In times of decline, the worth of paper assets also reduces. Contrarily, the value of gold rises. By investing in gold and other precious metals, you are protecting your hard-earned money from erosion when the dollar’s value declines.
Supply and Demand
As well as being a store of wealth, gold and other precious metals are used in the manufacturing sector. Due to the limited supply, the demand for these precious metals is high. This causes their value to rise, making them a great investment. Unlike paper investments, more gold cannot be created, therefore holding onto a physical precious metals investment over time will help you to grow your retirement fund.
Frequently Asked Questions
Owning tangible, physical, inflation-hedging gold and silver can help diversify your savings because the value of your metals is often uncorrelated with other investments. Buying your metals inside of a self-directed IRA allows their value to grow on a tax-deferred or even tax-free (Roth IRA) basis. A gold IRA also makes it possible for you to make your own purchases and bypass portfolio management fees.
If you are looking to invest in gold long-term in order to diversify your portfolio and avoid the instability of other markets, then investing in physical gold rather than gold stocks is recommended. Gold stocks behave much like other stocks and shares, meaning that you can make gains quickly, but also risk huge losses. The demand for physical gold, due to its rarity and practical uses, makes it a more secure investment than gold stocks.
In the United States, there is no limit to how much gold you are allowed to own. Most investors choose to allocate 5-50% of their portfolio to precious metals, and a Gold IRA company might have its own rules about how much you can invest in physical precious metals each year, but ultimately how much you invest in gold comes down to how much you can afford and your allocation strategy.
You are buying physical, non-paper gold or silver coins or bars. Augusta does not sell precious metals certificates.
You own the precious metals in your IRA and can have them any time you want. For all IRA accounts, the storage is segregated, and the metals allocated. Segregation is the best storage for gold, silver, palladium, and platinum as they belong to you, not anyone else.
The IRS views precious metals as cash, and if you were to receive the metals in hand, you would have to pay taxes on your account. If you cash out before you reach 59 and a half, you have to pay additional taxes. To avoid your precious metals are stored in your preferred government depository until the time comes for them to be delivered to your doorstep.
No, IRA gold must be held in an IRS approved depository. Storing your IRA gold at home is perceived as a withdrawal, and hence you will be taxed and suffer penalties for doing this prematurely. Only when you reach retirement age can you organise to have your precious metals sent to you.
Your precious metals are delivered, with free shipping and insurance, to the depository storage facility you select. You can make arrangements to visit your purchased metals by contacting the custodian directly.
You can rest assured that the fortified depository facility where your precious metals are stored is one of the safest in the industry. Among the many physical security features of each depository are rigid access-control protocols and state-of-the-art security systems.
You will be taxed on your IRA gold when you reach retirement age, and your physical precious metals are sent to you or cashed in. You will receive a penalty, usually of about 10%, for withdrawing early.
The gold you store in an IRA must be of a minimum purity of 0.995 and must be an IRA approved bar or coin. A precious metals dealer will help you to invest in eligible gold, as precious metals that are less pure will not hold value in the same manner and could lead to penalties. You can invest in other forms of gold, such as collectibles, however these cannot be held in your IRA.
During a recession, the price of gold tends to increase, as investors desire a more stable investment that functions independently from other markets. This is not always the case, but historically, there is some correlation between how the economy is functioning and the price of gold.
Yes, you can rollover funds from your 401k to a Gold IRA if your 401k is from a company for whom you no longer work. If the 401k is with a current employer, you can ask them to take an in-service withdrawal, which would mean that you can obtain your funds prior to retirement. If you are re-investing in a self-directed Gold IRA, your money will remain tax-deferred up until you withdraw your investment upon retirement.
This fee will vary depending on the IRA company you choose to invest with, but generally, setting up a Gold IRA will cost you $50-$150 for the initial set up, an admin fee of around the same size, and then the cost of storing your precious metals. Some companies will ask for you to invest a minimum amount in physical precious metals, so be sure you are aware of this before signing any contract.
Due to the volatility of other investments in 2020, many investors turned to gold to provide a more stable investment. Thus, over the past few years, the price of gold has been increasing. Though it is impossible to completely predict how gold will perform in the future, we know that gold performs well in times where the economy is suffering and that typically, gold will maintain its value over time.
Like any other investment, the value of precious metals is subject to market changes based on different influences. Therefore, the value is expected to rise and fall over time.
When the IRA account owner attains 59.5 years, they become eligible for penalty-free distributions of their investment. The IRS sets distribution rules, and thus the rules may change in the future. Once you open your Goldco precious metals IRA account, you are notified of the earliest date you will be able to take advantage of penalty-free distributions.
Conclusion
When choosing a Gold IRA company, play it safe and choose a well-established, reputable company that has helped countless people like you set up their accounts. Do not rush into choosing a company and be sure to check out their website and reviews to make sure their services are what you’re after.
Make sure that you are aware of any costs involved in the process before signing anything, and thoroughly read through the terms and conditions you are presented with. There will be a Gold IRA company out there willing to help you quickly set up an IRA and help guide you through the process, but others will leave you in the dark without any idea of how your account is doing.