Best Gold IRAS
Saving for retirement is inevitable if you want to spend your later years in comfort, and it should be taken seriously.
The process of how and where to invest is a story in itself. Although the IRA offers a unique way to save for your future, those who have decided on this path can still find themselves in a problematic situation.
The goal is clear, though. Your aim is to make a well-calculated decision for a diversified retirement portfolio with an enviable amount of money to live on. Unfortunately, your wishes are affected by larger-scale factors, such as the current economic situation.
There is always the doubt of the economy causing your traditional IRA investments to decrease in value and leave you unsecured for the future.
Bearing in mind the current state, it should be noted that is just one of the obstacles of today’s volatile economy, and future retirees should learn how to deal with such issues in the best way possible.
Gold IRA companies are your promised land, so to say.
These companies’ primary goal is to assist you in saving for your retirement years and enjoying your later years stress-free. These companies will help with the paperwork, connect you with a custodian, and, most importantly, assist you in buying the preferred precious metals for your IRA account.
The thing that you should know before looking up a gold IRA company online and agreeing to its terms and conditions is that not all of them are equal in quality and services. Sadly, some companies aim to mislead their clients by relying on deceptive sales tactics or predatory marketing.
Therefore, a selection has to be made.
OR, you can fast forward and grab the FREE Investing Guide by our #1 pick by visiting their website.
To help you navigate the best solution for your case, we’ve taken the extra time to compile a list of the top gold IRA companies in the industry.
Below are our top 5 choices for gold IRA companies that have excelled in incredible customer reviews, pricing, favorable policies, and service.
Dive into the world of gold individual retirement accounts and storage fees, and decide on the best gold IRA company for you.
If you have a growing interest in investing in precious metals, these are the top gold IRA companies:
#1. Goldco – Best Overall
Product type: Precious metals
Owner: Trevor Gerzst
Rating: 4.9/5
#2. Augusta Precious Metals – Second Best
Product type: Precious metals
Owner: Isaac Nuriani
Rating: 4.8/5
#3. American Hartford Gold – Best Newcomer
Product type: Precious metals
Owner: Sanford Mann
Rating: 4.8/5
#4. Birch Gold Group – Operating For The Longest Time
Product type: Precious metals
Owner: Laith Alsarraf
Rating: 4.4/5
#5. Noble Gold – Focus On Royal Survival Packs
Product type: Precious metals
Owner: Collin Plume
Rating: 4.2/5
Below are the characteristics of each of these IRA companies, what sets them apart, and how they have been ranked by reputable institutions and customers so far.
Goldco IRA – Best Overall
The honor of being the best gold IRA company in the business, and our overall pick is, by far, Goldco.
First and foremost, it’s important to note that this gold IRA company is considered a leading IRA choice in the precious metal industry – for a reason. This reputable gold IRA company has been present for over a decade, helping clients with their gold investments.
Furthermore, if you have an IRA, 403(b), 401(k), TSP, savings, or any similar tax-advantaged retirement account, Goldco’s specialists can actually help you protect your assets with precious metals IRAs.
The thing that makes this one of the leading gold IRA companies, though, is that it offers direct sales of silver and gold, which is also the first tempting point among interested clients.
Goldco’s Services:
To help clients get a more clear insight into what this company is all about, here’s a brief overview of Goldco’s most prominent services.
First and foremost, it’s important to note that his gold IRA company specifically serves as a broker. This means that its aim is to buy and sell silver and gold. But the process of buying and selling is not the only thing that this company offers.
Goldco will also help its customers with the necessary paperwork to ensure the process goes smoothly and according to plan.
Before agreeing to its terms and conditions, interested clients should know one thing, though.
Not all coins are eligible for investment. As a rule of thumb, coins for investment must meet a minimal fineness requirement of .995.
Luckily, Goldco has ties worldwide to ensure high-quality coins that meet those necessary requirements. This actually allows them to buy back your IRA-approved Gold Coins at the maximal price.
The choices of gold coins include:
- Gold American Eagle gold coins
- Gold Maple Leaf coins
- Gold Freedom and Hope coins
- Gold bars
If you’re aiming toward silver coins, though, here are your options:
- Silver American Eagle coins
- Silver Maple Leaf coins
- Silver Lucky Dragon coins
- Silver bars
Goldco’s NON-IRA Purchases:
As we’ve already hinted in the previous section, clients should know that a number of Goldco’s products aren’t eligible for an IRA. As that, they must be purchased with non-retirement funds.
The availability of those coins shifts based on the company’s inventory. So, before you decide to invest in gold, you should ask a representative whether certain coins are available for purchase.
Goldco Reviews:
Services are one thing, but reviews of a company, as important as this one, are what can either raise a business to the stars or bury it in the ground.
Although many clients choose to bypass the reviews and focus solely on the site representation, it’s inevitable to double-check the experience that previous customers had and how the company’s been rated by some verified choices online.
And since it is in the first place, it’s only logical that Goldco has passed this testing category with flying colors.
First of all, this company is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. This company can freely boast about having high-quality customer service, dependability, and ethical business practices.
As of recently, Goldco received national recognition in 2021 by winning the Stevie Award.
After seeing all the positive reviews online, it’s easy to conclude that this company really does go the extra mile for its business and customers.
To conclude the review section, we’d like to convey the end-goal of this company.
Goldco claims that their business model is built entirely on trust between their gold and silver experts, as well as their clients – as simple as that.
Fees And Promotions:
Moving on to the fees and promotions segment of this company.
As far as Goldco is concerned, clients must put in a minimum of $25,000 to get started on investing in gold. This includes the additional $50 for setup.
This doesn’t include the other account fees, though.
Other Goldco fees that customers should be notified about, include storage and custodian fees, which are pretty common for this business.
Custodian fees typically cost $80, while storage fees will cost clients between $100 and $150. Of course, this is not one-size-fit. It depends on the depository and the type of vault that the client chooses.
One thing is certain, though; both costs are paid on an annual basis.
Goldco is also known for having promotions that they like to advertise to their potential clients. So, if you’re about to open a gold IRA account with Goldco, you should make sure that these promotions are still active at the moment.
This means, staying inquisitive and asking questions.
For instance, one promotion implies that if you invest at least $50,000, Goldco won’t charge the setup fee and will cover the first year of basic account fees. By doing so, clients will save up to hundreds of dollars immediately.
The other popular promotion includes that if you invest at least $50,000, you will have 5% of your purchase sent back to you in free silver. The silver is shipped directly to you and isn’t part of your retirement account, so you can do whatever you want with it.
Pros & Cons of Goldco
Summing up what we’ve mentioned regarding Goldco, here are the advantages and disadvantages of this gold IRA company.
Pros
- There is a low setup fee.
- Customers are met with great pricing options with no additional hidden costs.
- Goldco offers top-notch streamlining in the industry.
- They have helpful customer service and educational tools for their clients.
Cons
- Clients invest a minimum of $50,000 to get the best new customer promotions.
Augusta Precious Metals – Second Best
Second on the list for best gold IRA companies, we have Augusta Precious Metals. This company is mainly known for being an established distributor of gold and silver IRAs in the USA.
Augusta Precious Metals is located in Casper, Wyoming. It was founded over a decade ago, back in 2012.
If your interests lie in owning precious metals and diversifying your portfolio, then you should study Augusta Precious Metal more deeply.
It is a well-known company among those of retirement age, especially. It assists interested clients in investing metals at a reasonable price, of course, without paying hidden commissions.
This is a major reason why Augusta Precious Metals is considered a superb option if you want to diversify your retirement portfolio.
The company is a verified producer of coins, rounds, and various sizes of bars which can range from 1/10oz to 100oz (equal to 1 kilo). Its silver rounds of 1 gram, 5 grams, and 10 grams are its standard product line. It also contains silver bars ranging from 1 -10 ounces.
Augusta Precious Metals Services
With Augusta Precious Metals, clients can purchase actual gold and silver to fight back inflation. Like most of its contemporaries and IRA providers, Augusta Precious Metals provides a self-directed IRA to its customers.
For those who choose Augusta Precious Metals, it’s fairly simple to fund your gold IRA account and buy gold.
Opening gold IRA accounts with Augusta Precious Metals is a straightforward process and can be completed in just 3 steps.
- Opening a gold IRA account (fill out the required form)
- Funding your account by rolling over money (401(k), IRA, or other retirement accounts)
- Buying gold or silver
What makes this company stick out from the rest is that it devotes time to educating their newly-joined clients on the basics of gold and silver IRA purchases.
Their 1-1 web conference is also dedicated to similar topics.
- Various gold and silver coins that you can buy
- How to diversify your portfolio
- How to buy precious metals which can help you hedge against inflation
Augusta Precious Metals also gives its clients the option to choose where they want to store their precious metals. Based on their location, they can choose wherever is convenient for them.
However, it’s highly likely that they will recommend the Delaware Depository.
Augusta Precious Metals Reviews
It’s time to see what kind of reviews surround this precious metals company and whether they are mostly positive or negative.
Augusta Precious Metals is actually an award-winning company that has been praised for providing transparent services for almost a decade, which is especially important to anyone who values longevity of a company to which they will devote a lot of their attention, and more importantly, hard-earned finances and savings.
A.P.M puts emphasis on ensuring high-quality customer experience, and so the company urges all its customer success and sales agents to put in satisfactory time with potential investors.
The primary goal is to educate clients, i.e. investors, on owning gold and silver products, as well as opening precious metal IRAs.
A complaint has never been made with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is a major plus for a gold IRA company nowadays.
This company is the choice of many important figures as well. One such example includes a hall of fame quarterback Joe Montana. According to his words, this is the best gold company in the United States.
Investopedia named the company “Most Transparent.” It has also been named the most trusted in the U.S. by IRAGoldAdvisor and received an A+ rating from the BBB and AAA from the Business Consumer Alliance.
Fees and Promotions
As for fees and promotions regarding Augusta, it’s important to let customers in on the following fact: Augusta Precious Metals won’t technically be in charge of managing your account – meaning that they won’t charge any management fees either.
Instead, they will just charge the account setup fee. You will also need to pay maintenance and storage costs to your respective custodian and chosen depository.
Augusta Precious Metals will also take responsibility for covering the shipping costs of all your IRA purchases. The package will then be sent to your depository, and most importantly, processed completely free of charge.
Like the previous choice, Goldco, Augusta has a flat setup fee of $50. Potential clients of Augusta Precious Metals should also know that they have a full insurance policy on their holdings.
When they’re selling standard bullion, the price is 5% higher than the spot price. The catch here is that this is significantly lower than the dealers would otherwise charge.
Let that sink in.
However, if you’re looking to buy Premium products with cash instead of your retirement savings, the markups tend to be higher. The highest they company will go as far as premiums is 33%.
That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to make sure that you conduct in-depth research on any cash purchases that you make prior to getting started.
Augusta runs some promotions as well, but there’s not a lot of information on the website. Know that you’ll need to ask about the requirements for promotions.
One example would be that they offer to cover your annual fees for anywhere from 1 to 3 years, depending on the amount that you invest when you get started.
Pros and Cons of Augusta Precious Metals
As for the advantages and disadvantages of Augusta Precious Metals, here are the stats:
Pros
- Within A.P.M, there are segmented teams of experts with special focus on one niche.
- A.P.M promotes different and valuable educational resources including webinars run by a Harvard analyst.
- Customers are ensured a lifetime support and ongoing customer care with constant insights and analysis.
Cons
- The highest investment minimum on the list at $50,000 to get started.
American Hartford Gold – Best Newcomer
American Hartford Gold Group is third in line for best gold IRAs. This is a precious metals IRAs retailer situated in LA. The company offers its clients a range of IRA investment plans and purchases such as physical gold, silver platinum and palladium coins.
This precious metal IRA company has experience with families whose primary aim is to protect their assets.
The company offers the best in silver and gold IRA investments, with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. As their main source of attraction is competitive pricing, this can be a good option for clients seeking to invest in physical precious metals.
American Hartford Gold is one of America’s fastest-growing private companies, praised for its swift processing and excellent customer support. They will ensure that you and your investments are always well taken care of.
They are fully equipped and guarantee privacy, safety, and convenience with no regard to what happens to the economy.
American Hartford Gold Services
American Hartford Gold takes pride in helping individuals and families protect their hard-earned wealth. Their services include the Precious Metals IRA, Silver IRA Rollover, Gold IRA Rollover & Physical Delivery of silver and gold bars and coins.
American Hartford Gold offers the following services and products:
- Australian Wildlife Gold
- Australian Wildlife Silver
- Europa and the Bull, Malta
- Canadian Buffalo 2018
- South African Krugerrand
- American Eagle
- Canadian Buffalo 2021
- Canadian Gyrfalcon
- 2014 Canadian Arctic Fox
- Canadian Maple Leaf Royal
- Canadian Polar Bear & Cub
- 1 Ounce Rounds – varies
- American Eagle Proof
- Pre-64 Circulated Coins
- 5 Oz America The Beautiful
- 100 Oz Gold Bar
- Silver 10 Oz Bar
- Mercury Dimes
- Valcambi Combibar
- Morgan Dollar
- Circulated Half Dollars
This company also offers a clear and transparent pricing model based on the value they create through their services, products, and support. There are no hidden fees!
They also have a buyback commitment, which ensures selling your precious metals at the buyback price.
American Hartford Gold Reviews
As for the reviews surrounding this gold IRA company, the Business Consumer Alliance has given American Hartford Gold an “AA” rating with 4.9/5 stars, which makes it a distinguished leader in the precious metals and Gold IRA industries.
Additionally, it has also received a 4.9/5 rating from customers on several review sites, which include Google and Trustpilot, and an A+ rating from the B.B.B.
The most important review, perhaps, is that this company was named the #1 gold company in the prestigious Inc.
What’s more, this is the only precious metals company recommended by Lou Dobbs and Bill O’Reilly.
They are dedicated to meet your needs, whether you are a valued client or a partner, by offering multiple avenues of communication with all of the tools needed in order to make well-calculated financial decisions.
Fees and Promotions
Unlike the previous choices of gold IRA companies, with A.H.G, there isn’t a setup fee or minimum investment. However, clients are expected to pay other fees.
For instance, the storage and custodian costs are mandatory with American Hartford Gold.
While other companies have done so, American Hartford Gold hasn’t gone down the same road, and so it hasn’t published full pricing for its partners. Instead, they say that clients’ fees vary depending on which depository and custodian you choose.
However, they do have an investment guide that has some more information on this.
It says that if you choose their partnered depository with Delaware Depository or Brinks Global Services, you’ll be charged $75 annually as long as your account has less than $100,000 in it. Once the value of the account is higher than $100,000, it will cost $125 to maintain your holdings.
They say that the depository itself will usually bill a flat fee of $100. But there may be special cases in which the customer is expected to pay a different rate.
American Hartford Gold is also often running advertisements and promotions.
Their promotional campaigns entice people into investing in a precious metals IRA. The promotions fluctuate month to month, so you should double-check the dates.
As of writing, there are two main promotions on the site. One is to have your account costs covered for up to 3 years with a qualifying purchase. That means no maintenance, storage, or product transfer fees.
The other promotion is to receive a maximum of $5,000 worth of silver for free.
A free gold and silver guide is also available for download from the website. You’re just asked to provide basic contact information.
Pros and Cons of American Hartford Gold
As for the benefits and drawbacks of this gold IRA company, here’s our overview:
Pros
- With A.H.G, there are no setup fees or minimum investments.
- They offer transparent info regarding their pricing.
- Client reviews claim that their services are similar to their expensive alternatives.
Cons
- Many of the company’s IRA-eligible inventory pieces are several years old, which might not be appealing to investors who value novelties above else.
Birch Gold Group – Operating For The Longest Time
The Birch Gold Group promptly became a trusted name in the gold investment industry. With their headquarters in Burbank, California, this is one of the nation’s best precious metals dealers at the moment.
Birch Gold Group offers a knowledgeable and experienced team that is ready to work with each client purposefully and devotedly. All your questions should be directed at team members.
Birch Gold Group’s website outlines the standards they have developed for the company. These include: customer empowerment, education, empathy, ethics, transparency, and efficiency.
Birch Gold Group’s team members are regular guests on the Ben Shapiro Show, a political podcast. The show and listeners value the insights the members of the team are able to provide about investing in precious metals and making sound financial decisions.
Birch Gold Group Services
When you work with Birch Gold, you will be able to invest in platinum, silver, gold, and palladium across different weight categories. Even though gold is the precious metal that’s discussed most frequently, you will be surprised to find that scarcer metals like palladium provide stronger returns.
With Birch, you’ll have a wide range of choices available to you. With the guidance of experts, you’ll be able to decide on the best investments for your portfolio.
Best of all, when working with Birch, you will have an entry to excellent investment opportunities. As an example, in 2019, investors could earn an American Eagle silver coin each time they put $5,000 into precious metals.
Birch Gold Group has served thousands of clients over the United States in almost two decades of business.
Birch Gold Group reviews reveal mostly positive reviews across the board, which gives Birch Gold Group an A+ Rating. The BBB shows 74 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.84 out of 5 stars. The company has had nine complaints filed in the last three years, and the BBB shows that Birch is active in responding and working to resolve any issues that may arise.
The Gold IRA firm has an AAA Rating with the Business Consumer Alliance (BCA). The BCA shows seven 5-star customer reviews. Birch Gold has had two complaints filed against them in the last three years, and both have been resolved by the company.
Fees and Promotions:
Birch Gold most closely works with the Equity Trust Company, which is their first-hand custodian.
Many companies on this list actually follow in their footsteps since Equity Trust Company is known for being one of the best-established IRA custodians of all time.
ETC has been in business for decades now, and it has managed to help billions upon billions in client assets.
If you do use Equity Trust, you’ll pay a fee of $80 annually for the maintenance of your account.
There is also a basic setup fee paid to Birch Gold of $50. On top of that, the wire transfer fee for your first purchase is $30. This is only charged once in order to establish the connection between your bank account and Birch’s.
If you invest a minimum of $50,000, then you will have your fees completely waived for your first year. But the minimum investment to use the services at all is just $10,000. While that’s significantly less than Goldco or Augusta, it might still be out of some people’s budgets.
Storage Options
It’s important to note that this company works closely with several different storage companies. Mainly, their work is associated with International Depository Services, Brinks Global Services, and the Delaware Depository.
This helps them connect clients to a range of vault options in multiple different regions.
You can talk about the locations and various tax advantages that each different depository might give you.
It’s worth noting that all of these depositories are privately owned and operated. To the clients’ luck, all of them are also fully insured. This automatically means that they have a high level of confidentiality and are operated fully outside of the banking sector.
This is especially helpful for preventing your property from being seized by government officials. Over the past couple of years, countless valuables have been seized from safety deposit boxes by the FBI and other government organizations.
It’s ultimately up to you whether you choose to have segregated or unsegregated storage. But we do think that non-segregated security measures are good enough.
Pros and Cons:
As for the pros and cons surrounding Birch Gold Group, here is what we can single out:
Pros
- This company can boast about having hundreds of good past reviews.
- B.G.G offers its clients a range of IRA products and non-IRA collectibles.
- The company ensures transparency regarding their custodian and storage options.
- Their pricing is affordable and can adjust to many peoples’ budgets.
Cons
- There is not much information available regarding the spread or pricing formula.
Noble Gold – Focus on Royal Survival Packs
With Noble Gold, customers can get an IRA rollover process which can be easily combined with expert advice on how to invest in precious metals. By consulting with financial experts in the industry, they’re able to give a range of services to their clients.
Noble Gold also has a buyback program, which provides customers with an option to sell their shares, if they so choose, back to the company.
In addition, there is a “No-Quibble” element to it. That means that customers won’t have any trouble selling their shares. Clients are able to see their retirement savings start growing and each interaction and transaction with the company.
Noble Gold Services:
With Noble Gold, the process of carrying over an IRA for gold, silver as well as other precious metals is straightforward. The IRA setup takes minimum time to complete, and experienced professionals are at your disposal to help you walk through every step of the way.
A gold IRA carryover involves moving a retirement account over to a self-directed IRA, which is specifically designed to hold physical precious metals.
In essence, Noble Gold offers IRAs that can help you in creating a plan for retirement through the investment of gold. Such a plan is essential for anyone who wants to make sure that they’ll be able to have the means to back up themselves through retirement, as well as their loved ones.
This process usually starts with a simple form which is available online. The form doesn’t have to be filled out completely or perfectly – customers can fill out part of the form before sending it.
If there are any issues or possible questions, a representative will be in touch to help complete the process.
Gold IRAs can be provided with cash or carried over from an IRA or retirement account.
Access to an online account that is provided by Equity Institutional that’s private and secure gives investors access to their holdings regardless of time.
Survival Packs:
If you want to buy bullion with cash, you should know that this is fairly easy to do on your own. You just go online, pick a product, find a seller who has a reasonable offer, and make the purchase.
With the IRA services, there’s no setup fee, and the minimum investment is $2,000 if you pay cash. If you need to roll over funds, the minimum goes up to $5,000.
That’s where the Royal Survival Packs come in.
You choose an investment tier and send Noble Gold the money. Then they assemble a package for you with hand-selected bullion that’s easy to liquidate. You’ll have it on hand in case of natural disasters, political unrest, extreme economic events, or anything else that you might be concerned about.
At the lowest tiers, the packages have enough bullion to sustain an individual or a small family for a few weeks. At the highest tier, you’ll get a custom pack that’s made specifically regarding your input.
These purchases are made using cash savings, so they aren’t subject to the same regulations as an IRA. In fact, you can store these in your home if you want.
The one exception is the customized Noble Ambassador tier. This is a special service that’s only available for international clients who specifically want to store a large amount of bullion untraceable in the US. Noble Gold will protect your privacy and make sure that everything is set for you if you need to cross the border. This tier can be paid for either in American currency or in Bitcoin.
Noble Gold Reviews
Reviews for Noble Gold are consistently favorable.
Noble Group received a 5/5 rating from 158 reviews on Consumer Affairs. TrustLink has given them 5/5 stars from 123 reviews, and Business Consumer Alliance has given them a double A rating from 4,723 inquiries.
Noble Gold was given a moderate of 4.8 stars (out of 5) from their customers on the Better Business Bureau website. Reviews across the board demonstrate that customers are overall happy with the company.
Pros and Cons:
Wrapping up the picture on Noble Gold, here’s an overview of its pros and cons.
Pros
- Noble Gold offers a cash minimum investment of $2,000.
- They advertise Royal Survival Packs for emergency planning with your savings.
- Noble’s Ambassador encourages international clients to store bullion untraceable in the US.
Cons
- This is not the most streamlined IRA service on the list.
Final Remarks
We have successfully gone through the five best gold IRA companies. Among the best choices, we have the following: Goldco, Augusta Precious Metals, American Hartford Gold, Birch Gold Group, and Noble Gold.
Goldco is considered a first-runner in the precious metal industry. The aim of this company is the buying and selling of silver and gold. In the second place, we have American Precious Metals, which has a history of over a decade and it’s notorious for helping clients diversify their portfolios.
The American Hartford Gold offers its clients a competitive investment plan at tempting prices. This choice is best suited for those looking to invest in physical precious metals.
Running for fourth place, the Birch Gold Group established itself as one of the best-known metal dealers in the industry. This company offers compelling investment opportunities to its customers. This company has been meeting the needs of its clients for more than 2 decades.
Lastly, the Noble Group offers clients first-hand expert advice. The IRA setup is straightforward, and clients will be able to see their progress as soon as possible.
