Working with the Right Gold Company can make or break your Investment
It is a dirty industry secret that most Gold Companies fail due to unethical business practices. Don't let a less than reputable company siphon your wealth from you with hidden fees and extravagant price markups.
You probably know that putting some of your investment portfolio into gold and precious metals is a good step towards proper diversification. However, you also know that you should take advantage of tax shelters whenever you can. That can lead to a lot of different questions you might have.
Is it possible to invest in gold without paying taxes? How do I do that? Are there companies that can help me with that?
I’m here to tell you that yes, you can invest in gold in a tax-sheltered retirement account. I can also tell you that there’s a whole industry of companies standing by to help you do that. Five of the best options are reviewed down below, and I tell you who I think the number one option is for your consideration.
Top 5 IRA Gold Companies Compared
If you look up gold investment companies, you’ll find dozens of options. That can either lead to information overload and analysis paralysis, or they might just start all looking the same. I’ve done a lot of the legwork for you and narrowed down the top 5 IRA gold companies you should look at first before the rest.
Table of Contents
1. Goldco - Best Customer Service
This company started in 2006. That means they’re one of the most experienced gold investment companies. They have a lot of experience and a long history of great customer feedback.
Goldco will not just do gold. You can also put silver assets in your gold IRA with Goldco. Before you even establish that account, one of their account executives will talk you through the whole process so they make sure your investment goals are met.
I’m impressed with how Goldco has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. You just can’t do any better than that, and they’re doing it after having been in business for 15+ years. Do enough transactions in any business, and one or two people are sure to complain, but Goldco knows how to take care of their own.
- Minimum Investment: $25,000
- 1st Year IRA Fees: $260 first year
- Annual IRA Fees: $180 recurring annually
- Promotions: First year fees waived with investments of $50,000+
Goldco specializes in gold IRA accounts. They’re very closely related to traditional Individual Retirement Accounts where you can put investment resources with tax benefits for retirement purposes. In this case, your account would hold gold precious metals rather than paper assets, such as stocks and bonds.
You can also get a silver IRA through Goldco which emphasizes silver assets rather than gold. While silver might not seem as valuable as gold, it historically makes bigger percentage gains in its price. If you’re an investor looking for growth in your wealth, then I suggest you do the math about the growth potential in silver over gold.
If you have a 401(k) you want to roll over into an IRA account, Goldco can help you do that. Even if you put most of your 401(k) into a Roth or traditional IRA, you can still put some into a precious metals IRA. Goldco can even help you with SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and you can even get a cryptocurrency IRA through a sister company.
I encourage you to start your search for a gold-backed IRA account with Goldco. If they meet your needs, you might be able to stop there, too. Goldco does customer service better than anyone in the business, and they make it last from before you start to the last time you ever deal with them.
2. Augusta Precious Metals - Best Rated Gold IRA
Do you want to not just invest money in gold and silver but also make sure it goes well? If so, then I urge you to consider Augusta Precious Metals. For as much as Goldco is known for customer service, Augusta is renowned for educational resources for its investors.
I can tell you that the customer service at Augusta is still among the best in the industry. As a matter of fact, at the time of writing, they didn’t have a single BBB or BCA complaint in their decade of operations. In an age where it’s impossible to make everyone happy, they seem to have avoided making anyone unhappy.
- Minimum Investment: $50,000
- 1st Year IRA Fees: $250 first year
- Annual IRA Fees: $200 recurring annually
- Promotions: Up to 10 years of custodian and storage fees waived
One huge reason so many love them is that they educate their customers about investing in general, investing in precious metals, and the marketplace and economy. They treat your savings just like they would your own, but they also show you the ropes about how to take care of yourself. They’ve won some fans in the process.
If you’re a football fan, then you know who Joe Montana is. He was looking for somewhere to put some of his wealth, and he signed up anonymously for a web conference with Augusta. They wound up impressing him enough to convince him to first sign up as a customer and then as a company spokesperson.
Part of the educational process is a virtual consultation with their education department. That team includes Harvard-educated professionals that you might get to speak with personally. You’ll be kept up to date with market developments as long as you have an account there.
Other departments provide additional support past your lifetime account rep. One department will handle over 94% of the paperwork involved with a rollover. Another will keep you up to speed with what investment options are available.
Joe Montana’s financial advisors wanted to find the best gold IRA companies in the country. Augusta earned his consideration for competitive pricing, transparency, and reputation. They’re not my #1 pick for the nation’s best gold IRA business, but they are certainly close enough that no one would argue with me if I’d picked them.
3. Birch Gold Group - Low Minimum Investment
I put Birch Gold Group on my top five list for several reasons. They have low minimums for starting investors, an effective customer service practice, and lots of educational resources. Customers love them for their accessibility.
You’ll always know what’s going on with your gold with them at all times. This has led to celebrity customers such as Ben Shapiro and high ratings through Google, Consumer Affairs, and the Better Business Bureau.
If you want someone who has been around a while, then it’s hard to do better than Birch. Gold IRAs weren’t even a thing until congressional legislation in the late 1990s. Birch Gold Group has been around since 2003, longer than almost anyone else in the industry.
- Minimum Investment: $10,000
- 1st Year IRA Fees: $250 first year
- Annual IRA Fees: $200 recurring annually
- Promotions: first year fees waived with investments over $50,000
A minimum investment of $10,000 makes precious metal IRAs accessible to more investors. Once with Birch, you can chat with their specialists about market knowledge, changes that are happening, and how they will impact your IRA. They want you to be empowered with a good base of knowledge so you can make effective decisions you are confident about.
Birch Gold Group has a library of broad and deep content through its website. They’re also active on most social media channels. They also show up on many podcasts to discuss anything from growth cycles to factors leading to market instability.
One-time custodian fees can fall under $100 total, and annual custodian fees can be under $200. Birch Gold Group partners with depositories in Delaware, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and New York. If you’re able to start with more than $50,000 for your initial investment, then Birch might waive many of the first-year fees and provide other bonuses.
Birch can work with you in doing a rollover from both 401(k) plans and many other kinds of IRAs. The customer service might not be as notable as Goldco, but it’s still among the best in the business, as evidenced by this company’s many years of successful service to its clients. They have the experience to help you move many kinds of retirement funds into a precious metal IRA.
4. American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold makes the top five for their customer service. The Better Business Bureau has given them a 5-star rating. They’ve also done this for three consecutive years, so you know you’re in good hands.
They care about their customers being successful. That’s why they have educational resources you can use while investing through them. You get regular updates and market news, but you also get free consultations with senior portfolio managers.
- Minimum Investment: $10,000
- 1st Year IRA Fees: $330 first year
- Annual IRA Fees: $280 recurring annually
- Promotions: up to 3 years of fees waived
If you’re new to investing or just new to precious metals, they’ll share their knowledge with you in trying to expand your own. They’re a great place to be if you want to work with someone that leaves you feeling like you’re well cared for. I can vouch for the fact that it’s not just a feeling, however.
You can buy multiple precious metals through them, including gold and silver. They’re based in Los Angeles. If you like giving your business to family-owned companies, then American Hartford Gold is an option for you.
As with any gold IRA company, I encourage you to check their website for current specials before you decide for or against one business over another. In the case of American Hartford Gold, you might find $1,500 in free silver available, three years with fees, or accounts that don’t have maintenance costs. Even a small thing can add up over time depending on the size of your account and how long you stay with someone.
When it comes time to liquidate your holdings, they’re not guaranteed to buy them back. However, they welcome you to ask them first before you sell to anyone else. They don’t have additional costs for liquidation, and their procedure involves only three quick and easy steps.
What I love about American Hartford Group is how easy it is often to start with them. Unlike many others in the industry, they frequently don’t have account minimums or even startup fees. You might not pay anything for the first three years.
You do need to check with them about this, however. Details change on an occasional basis, and their website isn’t as complete with information as you would hope.
What are IRA Gold Companies
The idea of gold IRA companies usually refers to brokers in this industry. They are companies qualified by the IRS to do two things. They set your gold-backed IRA up according to IRS rules, and they also facilitate your purchases of precious metals to fill that account.
You actually need two companies to accomplish all this. On top of your gold IRA company or broker, you’ll also need your own physical gold IRA custodian. They arrange for the secure depository where your gold gets stored.
The IRS has a specific list of approved depositories where your gold is kept. Fortunately, the best brokers already have working relationships with specific custodians and can help you make these arrangements or even do it for you.
My Gold IRA Investment Company Review Process
As someone who has reviewed countless gold companies during my career, I know there are many factors to consider in evaluating them. While I hope you find my reviews helpful, I’m not going to leave you in the dark about those factors. You need to know what they are when making your own decisions based on research.
- Bonuses: Signup bonuses aren’t industry standards, but there are enough around to look out for them. They can be anything from waived fees to extra metals for free. They add up.
- Compliance Assistance: IRA accounts can be powerful tax havens for retirement investments, but I think you know the IRS doesn’t play if you step outside the boundaries. The right company should keep your account in line at all times.
- Customer Suppport: Goldco sets the standard here, but I included several other good options in the top five list. You want someone you can communicate with and trust, considering they are the ones buying and storing your gold for you.
- Expertise: How much knowledge a company has will show the more you consult with them. However, you should only work with a business that is willing to share its knowledge with you through multiple channels of resources. Work with a place that specializes in precious metal IRAs rather than someone who just adds it as a bundling option to other accounts you might have.
- Fees: Every custodian should have a price list, but not all of them are as transparent as the rest. Look for storage fees, cash-out fees, and storage fees that might impact how your investment comes out just as much as initial setup fees.
- Flexibility: Investment companies sometimes try a cookie-cutter approach with all customers. While that can lead to faster processing and efficiency in terms of their operational costs, I also think it’s a sign of overall weakness in a business. You should find a custodian and broker willing to step outside their normal box to accommodate any special needs you have because someone who can customize their offerings to you will serve you better if you are an individual investor.
- License: There are IRS requirements for special licenses for companies handling precious metal IRAs. Those that don’t maintain the proper credentials face legal consequences.
- Proactivity: There is always new information about precious metals, how they’re doing, and the economy at large. You should work with someone who answers all your questions when you ask them, but I think you deserve to work with a company that briefs you regularly on things without being asked first.
- Track Record: Not every company in this industry has been doing it as long as the rest. Longer track records are better, but newer players might also have better overall reviews through the Business Consumer Alliance or Better Business Bureau.
Final Verdict - The Best Gold IRA for Retirement
So, who is my top recommendation for gold IRA company? It’s Goldco. If you’ve been reading all of this, then this probably doesn’t surprise you.
I put them at the number one position on a list of the top five gold IRA companies, and then I used them as the measuring stick to compare some of the others. Going with anyone on that list should put you in a good investment position, but the customer service experience at Goldco is simply unparalleled. They’ve been doing this for over a decade, and they do it well.
Why they are the Best
The customer service seeps into everything they do from before you create an account to the final details of liquidating your holdings at the end. They are very transparent about their fees and costs, but those fees are also very competitive. They’ll happily buy back a lot of your precious metals to simplify finding buyers when you close out.
To be fair, Goldco might not work for everyone. You can’t buy palladium or platinum through them, and their minimum investment levels are a tad high. However, if you’re looking for a premium experience where you can trust a small portion of your investment portfolio to the industry’s best and then turn your attention to other matters, Goldco is the way to go.
At a Glance
- Gold IRA Minimum Investment: $25,000
- Preferred Custodians: Self Directed IRA Services & Equity Trust
- Custodial Setup Fee: $50 + $30 Wire fee
- Annual Custodial Fee: $100
- Preferred Depository: Delaware Depository
- Annual Storage Fee: $150 segregated/$100 non-segregated
- Promotions: receive up to $10,000 in free silver
Standout Features: This is one of the best gold IRA service providers in the industry. They’ve earned and maintained a reputation for stellar customer service for over a decade. If you scroll through the thousands of rave reviews from previous customers over the years, you might not actually believe they’re real.
I assure you that they are quite real. This company is top of the list at serving their customers, and you can see for yourself. Learn more here.
Pros
Goldco has quite a few things going for it, as you can see by these many highlights.
- Great reputation
- Plenty of industry experience
- Pricing is very competitive
- High-caliber buyback program
- White-glove level service as long as you invest with them
- Multiple storage choices available
- No hidden penalties or extra fees
Cons
Goldco is great, but they’re not perfect.
- They only deal with gold and silver but not palladium and platinum
- You need a minimum investment of $25,000 to start here
It’s okay if you skipped to this part and read it first just to see if this whole piece was worth reading. I know that many busy people do that to save time. It is worth reading if you want to know several things, though.
- What a gold IRA company is
- My top five
- How to choose one for yourself
Goldco is my top choice, as explained several times. However, you can also read about the multiple factors you should judge a gold investment company by so you can find who is right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Various other IRA accounts and 401(k) plans can have their funds transferred into a gold IRA to let you buy precious metals with pre-tax dollars and eventually withdraw them without capital gains taxes.
Your broker and custodian will purchase precious metals for you, but you can make the specific decisions about what they get.
Many traditional or Roth IRA accounts are things you can do a rollover with.
The IRS requires that gold IRA precious metals be stored in an approved depository.
You can invest in gold without a gold IRA if you look into gold stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds through other retirement accounts. That still gives you gold exposure and some diversification without a specific gold IRA account if you wish.