Best Gold IRA Companies For 2018 + Precious Metals IRA Review Links

Our company reviews and ratings chart includes BBB, Trustlink & Business Consumer Alliance scores for many of the most popular and well-known precious metals dealers.

Bookmark this page of consumer protection ratings and phone numbers for your reference.

Where you’re ready to begin your comparison research, this reference chart can help you quickly contact your favorite companies. Interested in how we rank our list?

How should I assess the best gold investment companies?

We look at 4 main factors when evaluating a precious metals firm:

1. Track Record and Reputation of the Gold Company

Choosing a IRA custodian with an excellent track record and reputation is paramount.

We have three impartial sources we use to gauge  how well various precious metals companies stack up against each other: the Better Business Bureau, TrustLink, and the Business Consumer Alliance.

The highest ratings possible are A+ for the Better Business Bureau, 5-star ratings TrustLink and AAA for the BCA.

Individual customer reviews are also available on each site. Using these impartial sources to guide your judgement is probably a great way to choose among reputable gold ira companies or ira custodians. Any good vendor should place a premium on customer service.

2. Upfront and Reasonable IRA Fees

Don’t let hidden fees lower your returns; make sure any gold company states all its fees upfront. Standard annual charges in the precious metals industry are $250 for storage and administration. It’s also best to avoid percentage based fees, as these could be disastrously high for those with larger investment amounts.

3. Precious Metal Storage Safety

A good custodian stores their customers’ physical gold in a licensed and secured depository such as the Delaware Depository, the largest depository in the United States outside of New York. The Delaware Depository is also a licensed depository of the CME Group as well as the ICE Futures US, and backed by a billion dollar all-in insurance coverage policy. (See also the new Texas Gold Depository, currently exclusively available to Noble Gold.)

4. Generous Buyback Policies on metals

Easy to buy, hard to sell; don’t let it happen to you.

Paper returns are worthless unless they are able to be realized. Investors should be assured that they would be able to quickly and easily liquidate their gold holdings at prevailing market prices.

What is a good buyback policy?

A company that commits to buying back their clients’ gold and silver at the highest spot price of a particular trading day, with no additional fees.

5. Sincere ‘Trust Signals’

We have noticed that a number of gold companies either “hide” behind a big corporate wall, or even worse, attempt to obfuscate who the people are behind the company.

As in any “relationship” in life, you’ll want to look for someone giving you the right trust signals:

• Do they use and publish the names of their CEO/President on their company website?
• Do they post articles from their executives demonstrating expertise?
• Have their executives or representative published articles on other financial websites (e.g. Bloomberg Radio, thestreet.com, etc.) or made appearances at reputable financial institutions?
• Does their company information match the information on the consumer protection site(s)?

For this reason we tend to prefer some of the small gold ira companies that have a more personal relationship with their clients.

Can I fund my IRA using a 401k rollover?

Absolutely. In fact, as gold is best as a long-term investment, it is common for people to fund their IRAs with their various retirement plans such as 401(k)s, Thrift Savings Plans, and other IRAs and retirement funds. The 401k to Gold IRA rollover process is very simple and funds can be transferred directly from your 401(k) or any other retirement plan.

1: Select a Gold IRA Custodian

It’s very important to select an outstanding custodian or gold investment company to minimize counterparty risk.

2: Fund the precious metal IRA

This can be done via rollovers from other retirement plans or opening an account directly with various gold ira companies.

3: Ship and Store the Gold

Because the Gold IRA owner cannot have physical possession of the gold (if tax benefits are the objective), the custodian should store the gold in a licensed depository.

Gold IRA Companies Backgrounder: Use Due Diligence To Safeguard & Grow Your Wealth For Your Retirement

It is not surprising then, that in such uncertain times, that more and more people are looking at various methods of both safeguarding and growing their wealth, particularly those who are at or nearing retirement age. Gold is one such investment avenue that has become increasingly popular, and the goal of this site is to provide our readers with the best possible information on the various questions that people have concerning investing in gold. We will be looking at:

1. What is a gold investment company?
2. What should I be looking for when evaluating gold investment companies?

What is a gold investment company?

In order for us to explain what exactly a gold investment company is, we first have to be clear about what exact method of gold investment we are looking for. Gold investment and gold ira companies can be a generic catch-all term so we have to break it down to specifics prior to answering that question. Before even considering evaluating gold investment companies, investors have to be sure which method of gold investment they are interested in first. Basically, there are four primary methods that an investor has at his or her disposal to answer the question: why invest in gold? They are:

1. Gold Coins and Bullion

A simple and the most direct method where an investor directly purchases physical gold, mostly in the form of gold coins and bullion. An investor can either buy the gold directly and store it on their own (a simple safe deposit box will usually suffice), or they can purchase the gold via a self-directed IRA, known as a ‘precious metals IRA’ or ‘Gold IRA’. In the second case, the funds in said IRA (which can be funded via rollovers from other accounts such as TSPs, 401(k)s, or other IRAs) are used to purchase gold from a Gold IRA custodian and dealer, and although the investor owns the gold directly, under IRS regulations, the investor cannot physically possess the gold and it would be stored with said custodian. When investing in physical gold coins and bullions, investors should ensure that the gold they purchase is of high quality, at least 99.5% (24 karats) pure. If investing via a gold IRA, the gold is ensured to be of high quality as that is mandated under IRS regulations. Hence, in this case a gold investment company would refer to a Gold IRA custodian.

2. Gold Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”)

An indirect method as the gold is owned by the ETF and not the investor. The investor instead purchases shares in the fund, and the value of the shares would trade in accordance with the market price of gold. Each share usually corresponds to 1/10 of an ounce of gold. Investors can purchase shares directly from the ETF or via a regular IRA. In this scenario, the gold investment company would refer to a specific gold ETF; popular gold ETFs include names such as SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.

3. Gold Exchange Traded Notes (“ETNs”)

An even more indirect method for investing in gold, and also a somewhat more complex investment type. ETNs are a type of debt security traded on exchanges which returns are linked to a market index or some other benchmark, in the case of gold ETNs, the benchmark would be the price of gold. It is worth highlighting that unlike gold ETFs, the issuer of the ETNs does not actually own any physical gold and such issuances are reflected as unsecured debt obligations on the issuer’s books. Unlike traditional debt instruments such as bonds, however, ETNs do not pay out regular interest payments and trade more like stocks. The gold investment company in this case would then be the issuer of the gold ETN; investors should note that as there is no physical gold involved, investors are directly exposed to the counterparty risk of the issuer. For more information on ETNs in general, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FINRA, has issued a relevant investor alert.

4. Gold Miner Stocks

This is the simple method of investing in equity issuances of gold miners. If choosing to utilize this indirect method, investors should ensure they perform the necessary due diligence on each specific gold miner company, as each would have different profiles such as operating costs, production levels, and future mining projects. Generally speaking, gold miner stocks are more volatile compared to gold itself as they represent a leveraged investment in gold. In this method, the gold investment company would refer to the individual gold mining company.

Now that we’ve broken down what exactly a ‘gold investment company’ can refer to, you may be wondering which method is most appropriate for you. In our view, investing in gold via a Gold IRA is the most beneficial as it allows for direct ownership of physical gold as well as favorable tax treatments. For more, kindly refer to our guide on ‘Gold IRA Investing’. Hence, in the next section of this guide we will be focusing on the criteria for choosing the best gold IRA custodian.

What should I be looking for when evaluating IRA company options?

From here on out, we will be referring to Gold IRA custodians when talking about gold ira companies, as we believe that Gold IRAs are the ideal choice for investing in gold. When evaluating such companies, there are 4 main criteria that we look at, namely:

1. Strong Ratings From Impartial Sources

In any industry, reputation is key. In the information age of today, peer reviews are one of the best ways to obtain first-hand information on the reliability and trustworthiness of a company. In the case of Gold IRA custodians, we like to check the custodians we are evaluating with three impartial sources: the Better Business Bureau, the Business Consumer Alliance, and TrustLink. When selecting a Gold IRA custodian, we encourage all potential investors to cross-reference their potential gold IRA companies with the three databases above. The highest rating possible on the Better Business Bureau would be A+ or a 5-star rating for the latter two. If a gold investment company has managed to achieve the highest rating on all three, that would be a highly positive indicator as to its reputation and track record. Potential customers can also further scrutinize individual customer reviews on each site for a deeper picture.

2. Look For Favorable Fee Policies on Your Account

Hidden fees have the potential to really diminish your net returns on your investment. Hence, it is important to select a company that is upfront on the fees they charge. Looking for companies that charge in the neighborhood of $250 per year, for both administrative and storage fees, is a good starting point. Especially, be on the watch for companies charging a percentage, rather than flat fee, which can quickly accumulate beyond an acceptable limit.

3. Make Sure Your Preferred Gold Broker Has Ample Storage Safety Options

Whenever there is physical gold, there is always danger of theft. Therefore it is paramount that a good gold IRA custodian stores their customer’s gold in a licensed and secured depository. A good example of one such depository is the Delaware Depository, the largest depository in the United States outside of New York, which is also a licensed depository of the CME Group as well as the ICE Futures US, backed by a billion dollar all-in insurance coverage policy. Potential customers should always ensure that their Gold IRA custodian only stores its gold in depositories with a similar reputation.

4. Ask Your Preferred Broker About Ease of Liquidation

Many commodities are easy to buy, but hard to sell. To take an example, diamonds are easily bought, but their resale value is often extremely low compared to their retail value. Of course, in the case of diamonds, this is because of collusion within the industry to keep supply artificially low, and further, diamonds are not a publicly traded commodity such as gold. Nevertheless, the fact remains; the ease of liquidating your investment is a major factor to consider before investing in the first place. In the case of physical gold, investors should be confident that they will be able to liquidate their investment at prevailing market prices if they so choose. Hence, investors should choose a Gold IRA custodian with a generous buyback policy; an ideal custodian should be committed to buying back any client’s gold at the highest spot price of a particular trading day, with no fees attached.

Conclusion

Gold is a great investment choice in uncertain times, however there are various methods of adding gold to a portfolio, and investors should closely scrutinize the pros and cons of each one. Even after selecting an appropriate method, investors should then perform further due diligence in choosing their gold investment company to minimize counterparty risk. We hope that this article has helped educate you so that you are better equipped to make the right investment decision for your own financial needs and goals.

More and more investors are investing in gold to protect and safeguard their wealth and lower their overall risk – are you doing the same?

If you are serious about adding a precious metals IRA (gold, silver, platinum) to your portfolio, we invite you to take a look around this site; we have many detailed articles, guides, and resources to help you make an informed choice for your own financial goals and needs.