Best Gold IRA Company for 2024
After making the conscientious decision to diversify your retirement savings within your 401(k) or IRA portfolio with physical gold, the next step is to find the best gold IRA company in 2024, while avoiding exorbitant fees and any unnecessary hassle.
What Makes a Gold IRA Company the Best?
The company you select to open your gold IRA account with needs to first and foremost have your best interest at heart. Recommending products tailored only to your specific needs, not pressure selling you into buying coins that aren’t investment grade.
They’ll be managing and working with your current financial institution through the transfer process to fund your IRA, making sure everything is correct and on time. The gold IRA company that you choose to go with should also be facilitating shipping with the custodian (if applicable), shipping, and fully insured storage.
This is not merely a “one-time” provider of precious metals but instead a company that is a lifetime partner that will provide updates and will help you with your investments as they grow.
Tip #1: Gold IRA storage fees should be fixed (flat fee) NOT scaled. Read on and you’ll be ahead of the game.
Click to See Who We Think is the BEST Gold IRA Company
(Request their free Gold IRA Investor Kit)
Tip #2: Watch out for companies trying to steer you towards collector’s coins, otherwise known as numismatic coins. You do not want these. Usually their purity and mineral content do not satisfy the requirements set forth by the IRS.
The company we currently recommend (see link above) maintains highly trained and experienced professionals on staff to help make sure the metals you select for your account meet the IRS approved standards, whether you choose bullion or allowed premium coins.
The Most Important Deciding Factors for Opening a Gold IRA
Subconsciously you may be hoping to find the company with the quickest and most convenient service. This is only natural, yet all gold IRA companies are not created equal, and most do not really have your best interest at heart. The truth is, it’s a real jungle out there.
When diving into unfamiliar territory it’s pretty easy to be taken advantage of, especially if you don’t have much knowledge and are unfamiliar with this type of investing. Falling prey to one of the many “predatory” precious metals companies out there is an unfortunate possibility and deters many prudent investors from moving forward. Luckily for you, you’re reading this today. When you’re finished, you’ll be well-versed when speaking with any gold IRA customer service rep.
Today at the very least we’ll get you pointed in the right direction and help you avoid any delays in reaching your end goal of having a sound retirement account backed by gold. By knowing what to watch out for, you’ll be better able to stay clear of all the unethical companies you may come across in your search for the right precious metals company.
As a review site, you’ll see the companies that we’ve reviewed (in the header under ‘Reviews’), and most of them we don’t actually recommend. There is rarely a company that does everything right. We have done the painstaking leg work to locate the companies that rank as the “best of the best” in terms of both product (selection of investment-grade bullion), delivery & storage services, and most important customer support.
For example, the company currently being recommended personally assigns a customer success agent who serves you from application to funding transfer, so that you have just one point of contact. Your assigned customer success agent is basically on call and serves as your dedicated precious metals expert at all times.
And that’s just the beginning. So with all that being said, let’s get into it…
Gold IRA Fees to Watch Out For – Storage & Custodian Fees
Flat Fee vs. Scaled Fees
First of all, it is good to know that most companies charge additional fees for the first year and others don’t. In this industry, it is typical to have a scaling fee schedule which can end up costing customers more. This is NOT good because as your account grows in value, these fees will also increase accordingly.
Having a fixed storage fee is important and immensely advantageous. Many other companies have relationships with depositories that use a tiered or scaling fee system. This means as the investment amount and value increase with time, so do the fees. Avoid these companies.
Questions You MUST Ask Any Gold IRA Company
Make sure you ask what the company’s exact fee structure is specifically. It is best to go with a flat-fee company because if you have a scaling fee account, as you add funds or if the gold value increases substantially (which it is expected to) your fees will skyrocket as well. It could cost you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your account storage.
Storage fees should not be over $100 to $150 per year.
You can avoid this first pitfall from the very start by going with only companies that have relationships with flat storage fee depositories, eliminating the rest. We are currently recommending one such company ⬅️
In fact, right now the company we recommend as our #1 pick (link above) is renowned for its transparency and competitive pricing. Unlike so many other companies in the precious metals industry, this one is happy to be an “open book” with customers when it comes to markup over cost and market prices.
* The above recommended company is also happy to provide customers with free shipping and free transit insurance.
- The two applicable annual fees that customers pay – custodial and storage – awhich are extremely competitive, perhaps the absolute lowest in the industry.
- In addition, this company offers 10 years of waived fees for new customers.
- There’s even a way for customers to have these fees paid for the lifetime of their account!
IRS Approved Precious Metals for Gold IRAs
The top-rated companies not only offer you the ability to purchase the gold bullion & coins directly but also assist in setting up the self-directed IRA while arranging for storage. But most importantly, these companies make sure that you’re purchasing the right kinds of physical precious metals.
The metals for your account must be approved investment-grade bullion/coins. They must satisfy a certain level of purity (such as a minimum fineness of .995 for gold and .999 for silver). Most government-minted coins and bullion are allowed.
Some examples of bullion coins approved for IRAs include American Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, American Silver Eagles, and South African Krugerrands.
Another Major Deciding Factor: Do they have a Buyback Program?
If the company does not offer a buyback policy then this is regarded as being a self-serving company that perhaps is not looking out for your best interest. Think about it, there may come a time when you want to liquidate your physical precious metals for a handsome profit. The company that you purchased them from should be willing to offer you a fair market price when buying them back.
When you are ready to liquidate your assets if the company turns its back and doesn’t buy back your metals or does so for pennies on the dollar, then you’ll know they only wanted to profit off of you. In order to never be in this position, you must ensure that the custodian/broker that you end up with has a solid gold buyback program.
The law says no one can guarantee a buyback, but you should get assurances that the company you work with has a history of never denying a buyback – it’s that important – and our top company has never denied one. So you’re covered. Getting current market prices when purchasing and being able to sell for a fair market price is paramount.
Final Thoughts On Our Top Pick
We didn’t think it would be easy to choose a company to help you with this important investment option. But we were pleased to find out there are a few companies that are not so bad – and one clear choice of a company we believe will really treat you right.
We are happy to be providing these details because we’d hate for some unscrupulous company to take advantage of you and ruin this opportunity to protect your retirement.
You couldn’t have made a better choice by deciding to start investing in a gold IRA and wanting to find the best gold IRA company. And here it is…
You may continue on and read our in-depth company review of our top choice Goldco by clicking above. See all the additional reasons why we chose them as the safest and most reliable company for gold IRA retirement investing.
If you have a 401(k) or an IRA, arrange an appointment here. Their extremely helpful customer success agents will get you set up with an account and roll over funds within a week. Go ahead and click the link above to go with a company that embraces a mission of educating you about each ounce you purchase for a lifetime while providing strong support anytime a need should arise.
Hopefully, we’ve helped you find the best gold IRA company to help protect your retirement with gold and you’ll agree with our selection process. In any event, we trust that you’re now more informed and equipped to take action today!