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Best Gold IRA Investment Companies for 2023
Only top-rated IRA Companies
Only verified gold investment companies in the USA
Protect your retirement savings with a gold IRA
Investing in gold is one way to diversify your retirement portfolio
We’ll help you choose the best companies so you can get started investing in Gold today
Protect your retirement savings with Goldco precious metals IRA. Goldco is one of the only client-focused gold investment companies. It puts the clients’ interests first and provides education on all matters before one invests.
Diversify with confidence. This gold IRA company has the best reputation—1000s of top ratings & reviews. The unique one-on-one web conference designed by their Harvard-trained economist is a “must-watch.” It’s easy to see why we rated Augusta #1. They’re endorsed by customer and corporate ambassador, quarterback Joe Montana, and his financial team. They even serve as “protectors” of the gold IRA industry, helping consumers watch out for questionable practices.
Protect your retirement savings with American Hartford Gold IRA. What really separates American Hartford Gold Group from all the other gold IRA companies is their Price Match Guarantee.
Are you looking to invest but don’t know where? A Gold IRA has massive benefits in today’s volatile markets and is excellent for uncertain times.
Precious metals have been part of our society as a conductor and for manufacturing in the latest technology. However, investors realize gold and other metals can safeguard against market crashes and volatility as the value continues to rise.
Read on to find out about Gold based IRA, the best Gold IRA companies featuring Gold IRA reviews, advantages, and much more.
Top Government Insiders Warn: The Largest Financial Meltdown In History
Our Top Rated Gold IRA Companies:
Goldco is the best company overall and a precious metals IRA expert with excellent customer service and alot of top rated customer reviews. Read summary
Augusta Precious Metals is a precious metals IRA company with a stellar reputation that shows in thousands of top ratings and hundreds of 5-star reviews, extraordinary education resources and fantastic customer support. Read summary. Read summary
Regal Assets has a 99% customer satisfaction rate with a wide range of products. Does also offer Crypto IRA. Read summary
Noble Gold Noble Gold protect their clients’ financial futures by giving them a safe and easy way to invest in a Precious Metals IRA and other precious metals. Read summary
Birch Gold Group has excellent customer service education initiatives that sets them apart from the competition Read summary
What is a Gold IRA?
Individual retirement accounts (IRA) come in various forms to increase a person’s wealth over time. Most IRAs involve stocks and bonds, but precious metals are a separate market where others can invest for more diversification.
Now, people have a chance to invest in metals in their physical forms, such as bullion coins with a self-directed IRA. Gold IRAs are the most popular, focusing on the yellow metal. Since 1997, you can invest in gold, silver, and other metals.
Gold IRAs did not become mainstream until recently. Gold itself has seen stagnant prices since the 70s. However, with economic uncertainty such as the Great Recession and COVID-19, gold has become a “safe haven” asset.
Overall, people’s investment choices have expanded, providing more opportunities for retiring. However, Gold IRAs present a unique opportunity not seen with stocks and other instruments.
Gold IRAs for Economic Downturns
Since the Great Recession in 2008, with people seeing their retirement accounts wiped out as stocks dived, investors have become wary. Investing anxiety is at an all-time high, with people wary of putting their cash into anything other than a savings account.
People are looking for more stable investments but do not look into the precious metals market, as it’s not as popular as stocks.
However, gold is gaining traction because of its inverse relationship with paper assets. For instance, as the dollar decreases, the price of gold increases. As a result, with increasing inflation, people invest in gold to hedge, called an inflation hedge.
An individual retirement account has been the go-to for retirees, with a Gold IRA emerging as the front-runner for investing in economic crises.
Investing in precious metals is gaining traction, as it’s also essential as materials for construction and everyday products, such as the iPhone.
With economic uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, gold saw an all-time high price per ounce. People stored their money in gold, while paper assets, such as the dollar, saw yearly lows. Other metals followed gold’s trend, making them attractive to investors to diversify their portfolios besides bonds and mutual funds.
A gold IRA can be a great solution for long-term investment in gold since it comes with several tax benefits. However, investors looking to make money based on gold’s value during economic hardships also have other options, such as directly purchasing gold bullion.
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Let’s look at the benefits of a Gold IRA compared to other IRAs and retirement accounts.
Price of Gold Continues Rising
Gold’s price per ounce has increased by a tremendous rate that stocks have yet to achieve. For instance, gold rose by 700% within 12 years, from 1999 to 2011. The price kept rising even through the Great Recession.
Gold has become a safe haven asset during uncertainty to protect retirement accounts.
While the price of gold leveled off since 2011, it rose to an all-time high after COVID-19 in 2020. These events show that gold rises to the occasion when the economy is in peril.
The price of gold will continue to increase steadily, with more people investing as pandemics and economic crises continue.
Safeguard Against Inflation and Crises
Inflation is an inevitable part of our economy that affects our daily lives and our investments in the future.
Gold is not affected by inflation like the dollar. Paper assets have an inverse relationship with precious metals and other safe-haven assets.
As a result, gold provides long-term protection against inflation. Also, recessions occur about every decade, where stocks, bonds, and mutual funds suffer corrections.
While stocks are in an uptrend, short-term volatility leads to uncertainty. However, the price of gold will strengthen during economic crises, making it an attractive investment.
Lastly, physical gold in bullion or gold coins will not be affected by market crashes.
Expand Your Portfolio
Opening a precious metals IRA allows your portfolio to be diversified.
For example, if the stocks, bonds, and mutual funds lose value because of a recession, you can offset losses with gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. A precious metals IRA will more than likely go the opposite direction of currency and stocks because of their inverse relationship.
A traditional IRA is filled with assets prone to market crashes. Securities such as bonds are not enough to protect retirement savers and investment owners, and people are looking towards gold to expand their portfolios.
Tax Benefits
Like most IRAs, you will receive tax benefits as long as the gold stays in your retirement account. Withdrawing your profits early from the account or taking possession of bullion will subject you to tax penalties.
The amount you owe on your gains if you withdraw depends on the tax code and your income.
Most IRAs use a marginal tax rate to determine how much you owe on gains, which is the same for a gold IRA. High-income brackets will have to pay more than 28% in taxes according to the tax code.
Fortunately, gold is projected to reach all-time highs as uncertainty in the market continues.
Ultimately, an investment in gold will be more rewarding long-term with its massive gains and tax benefits compared to other financial instruments.
What to Consider Before Opening a Gold IRA
While gold IRAs have their advantages, we do acknowledge there are challenges investors will face. Let’s look at some issues an investor may encounter when opening a gold IRA.
Fees and Expenses
A gold IRA is unique, requiring complex procedures that come with additional expenses and fees. Compared to traditional IRAs, precious metal IRAs have higher expenses to maintain the account. Especially physical gold and silver coins require more costs than traditionally holding stocks.
The main reason for increased fees is gold IRA services involving additional financial caretakers and custodians. Also, it costs more to store physical metals as companies may charge an annual fee for added protection.
There is no way around this requirement, as you cannot privately possess gold you bought through an IRA.
Luckily, fees are decreasing as gold IRAs become more mainstream, notably during economic downturns. In the past decade, the return rate on gold has balanced out the additional costs, making it a worthy investment.
No Additional Profits
With stocks, you can earn dividends for holding as it’s a long-term incentive that can increase profits.
Gold does not provide dividends or interest. However, the risk exposure is lower as stocks are susceptible to market crashes.
The main profits from gold and other metals are due to its safe-haven status as the price continues to rise.
Economies suffer corrections, ultimately affecting any investment. Despite no additional incentives, gold is still an attractive option for an IRA as more people funnel their money for asset protection.
Fraud and Theft
Opening a precious metals IRA means hiring someone on your behalf to oversee your transactions, called a custodian.
Because a custodian is responsible for storing your physical gold and accounts, choosing the wrong one may increase fraudulent behavior, violating your privacy rights. Thankfully, you can avoid fraud by choosing a top gold IRA company with a good reputation who can recommend a reputable custodian.
Before you choose a firm for your investment in metal, ensure the company is licensed and regulated. Search for reviews online through the Better Business Bureau or reputable review sites.
Steps to Open a Gold IRA
Now that you’ve learned about Gold IRAs, consider opening an account. We will cover the steps to begin investing in gold and other precious metal using a self-directed retirement account.
1. Sign Up for a Self-Directed IRA
To begin investing in gold and other precious metals, open a self-directed IRA with a reliable gold IRA company that can help you navigate the steps of setting up an account, choosing a custodian, selecting gold and silver for your account, then getting it sent to a secure depository.
A self-directed IRA expands your investing capabilities for further diversification beyond precious metals, such as bonds, assets, real estate, and more. You can also invest in bullion coins and private companies.
After you’ve chosen the company you want to invest with, open a 401(k) type account, such as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. Research both options to determine which is the best for you and your financial goals. Usually, a custodian will guide you in the right direction.
If a self-directed IRA is not offered by the company you want to invest with, consider looking around. It’s best to seek a self-directed IRA because it will expose you to more options that can boost profits long-term and safeguard your investments with diversification.
2. Select a Custodian
Custodians are available that specialize in gold individual retirement accounts, and they must report to the IRS.
Custodians ensure the firm meets governmental requirements or purchases on the customer’s behalf. A custodian holds a passive role overseeing a customer’s transactions.
Lastly, a custodian has specific licenses and training. It is essential to find experienced custodians and a brokerage to avoid fraud.
Some tips for finding a custodian include:
Proper licensing: The IRS expects Gold IRAs to have an authorized custodian to record transactions. If the custodian does not have a license, you may face legal action.
Competitive prices: Search for firms with transparency regarding their fees and competitive prices. If the costs are too high, it may cut into your profits.
Reputation: Find a firm with a solid track record to prevent fraudulent custodians.
Customer service: The market changes, including your account. Find a company that allows flexibility and has responsive customer service.
Knowledgeable: The best companies provide many educational materials to help their customers and their investments.
3. Purchasing Bullion
After your IRA is ready, it’s time to start investing. Deposit money into the account where a custodian will oversee the transactions.
You will work with your gold IRA company to purchase bullion bars or coins on your behalf with your custodian. Besides physical gold, you can choose silver, platinum, or palladium as well.
Silver coins are the second most popular metal investors choose because it follows the same uptrend as gold. Platinum and palladium bullion is intriguing to many investors as they are backed by sovereign nations.
You must not purchase directly from a precious metals dealer for your IRA, as it is not allowed by the government.
Lastly, investors will pay a certain amount over the spot price, or current base price, of these metals, which can change over time.
4. Storing Bullion in Gold IRA
After purchasing bullion bars or coins, the custodian places them in a licensed storage facility.
The IRS does not allow personal storage of these entities, meaning no lockboxes or safes.
The custodian will likely store your items in an storage unit that meets IRS requirements. They are the only ones allowed to purchase, store, and supervise these transactions.
IRS Standards
The IRS has strict standards on what they deem IRA-eligible, including gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals.
There are “IRS Fineness Standards,” which gauge the purity of bullion or coins. Only approved trustees, such as a bank or non-bank, can hold possession of these items within an IRA.
Specific purity standards include:
5% Gold purity
9% Silver purity
Platinum and palladium 99.95% purity and more
Only accredited refiners and manufacturers can distribute rounds, coins, or bars
A certificate of authenticity must come with proof coins and be unopened; proof coins must be in perfect condition with no damage
IRS Approved Precious Metals in Gold IRA
While certain forms of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium are eligible to be used in an IRA, they must be approved by the IRS. Let’s look at the IRS-approved items you can choose to put in your IRA.
For a more up-to-date list, your chosen brokerage will provide you with the latest options. The IRS has specific codes and statutes that describe these metals, such as 31 U.S. Code 5112 and 408 (m).
Gold and Silver
The most popular gold coins and silver coins to purchase for an IRA are American Eagles. Other approved metals include:
American Silver Eagle
Canadian Silver/Gold Maple Leaf
British Silver/Gold Beasts
NYMEX approved bars
Chinese Gold/Silver Panda
For a full list, contact your gold IRA company, as different firms offer various coins and bars.
Platinum and Palladium
There are fewer options for platinum and palladium, with only seven approved coins:
American Platinum Eagle proof coin
British The Queen Beasts Platinum
NYMEX or COMEX bars and rounds
Canadian Palladium and Platinum
Isle of Man Noble Platinum coin
American Platinum and Palladium Eagle coins
Australian Platinum Koala coins
Rollover from Traditional IRA to Gold IRA
If you want to roll over another IRA account, such as an IRA that holds a money market account, to a gold IRA, most companies will allow you to do so.
You can directly or indirectly roll over the accounts as the custodian oversees the transfer of funds.
With a direct option, the custodian will be connected to the other account and complete the transaction to your Gold IRA. Indirectly, you will cash out and mail a check to your custodian, funding your Gold IRA.
You have 60 days to complete this procedure. If you fail to meet the guidelines, you may be subject to tax penalties, as a withdrawal will catch the attention of the IRS. The IRS will not count it as a rollover and issue your taxes and fees.
Top Gold IRA Companies to Invest in for 2023
The best gold IRA companies featured on the list have been chosen after rigorous research and deliberation.
They meet the following requirements:
Reasonable fees and costs
Have a BBB rating of at least “A”
Have a robust customer support system (telephone, live chat, online form, etc.)
Willingness to share starter kits with potential users upon request
P.S. The descriptions of the various IRA companies given below are just brief introductions to the firms. To learn more about them and their fees, charges, etc., visit their official websites.
1. Goldco
Goldco is best known for IRAs and retirement rollovers. Created in 2006, its staff has more than 100 years of experience in the industry, notably precious metals.
Goldco is transparent with its operations, providing effortless 401(k) and IRA rollovers.
For more diversification, they offer SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. If you want to learn more, the company provides massive educational materials. If you choose this company for investing, they offer advice with a personalized, dedicated manager.
GoldCo has impressive BBB reviews with an A+ rating.
Segregated: $150 (recommended) Non Segregated: $100
Gold IRA Fees The required minimum purchase at Goldco to start a gold IRA is $25,000. Goldco’s preferred Custodian charges a flat annual account service fee which includes a one-time IRA account set-up fee of $50, as well as a $30 wire fee. Annual maintenance is $100, and storage is $150 for segregated storage or $100 for non-segregated storage.
Fees for gold storage and custodianship can vary depending on the company you select to handle these services (required by the IRS, as all IRA assets must be managed by a custodian). Depending on the Custodian, storage fees can range from $10 to $60 per month, or as a percentage of assets, from 0.35% to 1% annually. Goldco does not charge any storage fees for cash transactions over $25,000.
Goldco.com
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With an A+ rating from the BBB, a AAA rating from the BCA, thousands of five-star customer ratings, and hundreds of top reviews across the web, Augusta’s excellent reputation makes them an excellent choice for handling your precious metals IRA. Best of all, they offer information that’s not easy to find about the economy and precious metals. We hear the one-on-one web conference designed by their on-staff, Harvard-trained economist is excellent and very helpful. One of the things we really liked is the fact that the company shares warnings with customers and potential customers about things to watch out for in the questionable practices of some gold IRA companies – they serve as “protectors” of the industry.
And it’s hard to beat the endorsement of the respectable multimillionaire and hall of fame quarterback Joe Montana and his personal financial team. He asked them to find him the best gold IRA company. They found Augusta, and he became a customer after attending one of their web conferences. He loved their mission so much that he became Augusta’s corporate ambassador.
The company is different from others, as each individual receives a dedicated customer success agent who walks you through the steps. The company does 95% of the paperwork with you to make it easy and serves as your liaison with the custodian and storage facility. The order desk helps you select from the most popular forms of gold and silver. From there, you will build a long-term relationship with the company, receiving assistance with your account and support for your account lifetime.
Augusta Precious Metals makes it easy for customers to create an IRA account and roll over previous retirement accounts. We are pleased to recommend Augusta as our top choice of gold IRA companies to help you hedge against inflation and economic downturns.
Regal Assets offers competitive rates for gold or silver IRAs. They’ve expanded their services past precious metals, as they provide cryptocurrencies as well.
Investors choose Regal Assets for their Gold IRA because of their long-standing reputation and expertise.
This company has hundreds of satisfied customers on TrustLink, with a 4.6 rating out of 5 ratings.
You can choose to invest in either gold, silver, platinum IRAs, or silver, platinum, and palladium for more diversification.
Their services are based on customer satisfaction and provide more transparency than other Gold IRAs. There are also low IRA fees and an easy buyback policy if you want to sell our IRA at a solid rate.
Besides funding a Gold IRA, you can roll over your retirement accounts into the same asset, earning more in the long run.
Birch Gold Group is relatively new compared to others, as it began in 2003. Since then, thousands of customers use this company for their Gold IRA needs.
They offer gold and silver IRAs for retirement with a personalized specialist to set up the account and offer guidance. You will receive helpful tips along the way, including access to educational content, allowing you to learn more about precious metals and IRAs.
Birch Gold Group mission is to remove the uncertainty and hesitation from precious metals investment, allowing prospective clients to make wise decisions about expanding their portfolios.
Birch Gold Group - Diversify your savings with precious metals
Discover how gold and silver act as excellent hedges against inflation
Conclusion: Gold IRAs
We hope we answered the questions you may have about a Gold IRA investment. Having a retirement nest egg for the future is more than mutual funds, stocks, and cash assets. You can further diversify your portfolio with precious metals.
An IRA with gold alone can safeguard your content profile in the event of a market crash due to the inverse relationship with paper assets.
In all, economic uncertainty is making metals more attractive to invest in more than ever, with the price inevitable to rise in the future. If you are undecided and need more information, check out our Gold IRA investors guide.
Top-rated Gold IRA Companies Comparison:
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Protect your retirement savings with Goldco precious metals IRA. Goldco is one of the only client-focused gold investment companies. It puts the clients’ interests first and provides education on all matters before one invests.
