Best Gold & Silver IRA Companies – June 2024

Our Editor’s Choice: Anthem Gold Group

How To Select A Gold IRA Company

As with searching for any new financial product, determining which gold IRA is the best depends on your situation. When considering different accounts, here are a few things to consider:

– Initial transfer and setup fees
– Annual management fees
– Storage fees
– Availability of customer support
– Knowledge and investment resources
– Past customer reviews

Gold IRA Benefits

Here are some common reasons that people invest in precious metals, such as gold and silver:

– To diversify your portfolio: Investing all of your money into a single investment or asset is risky. If you have a portfolio without precious metals, a gold IRA can be an option for additional diversification.

– Protection from inflation: When the U.S. dollar drops in value, so does your purchasing power. Gold investments can protect against this loss as it has historically outpaced the value of the dollar.

– Economic security: If the economy (or stock market) takes a turn, having your money in gold can potentially reduce your losses. This protection is more likely considered by those nearing retirement in an effort to reduce the risk of loss in their portfolio.

– As an investment looking for growth: The price of gold has risen steadily over the last few years, including reaching its highest price ever in 2020.

Gold is generally considered a safe investment that can withstand severe market fluctuations and downturns.

How Has Gold Performed Over The Years?

Since 2000, gold and silver have seen greater returns than the Dow Jones and S&P 500.

Past performance is not an indicator of future performance, so do not base your decision solely on historical data. Learn more about Gold IRAs below.

How A Gold IRA Works

To invest in physical gold with a retirement account, you’ll need a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA). These are the only IRA accounts that allow you to purchase hard assets, including precious metals. Legally, these IRA accounts are what’s called a “custodian” — a bank or other institution to keep records of the account, handle disbursements, and report to the IRS regarding it.

To fund a gold IRA, you have two options. You can roll over or transfer funds from an IRA, 401k, 403b, and 457b accounts, or you can contribute directly to the account — up to $7,000 per year, depending on your age.

Once your IRA is funded, you’ll choose the precious metals you’d like to buy and direct your custodian to make the purchase using your account. They’ll recommend a storage facility where your purchases are stored.

Open A Gold IRA In 4 Steps:

1. Choose a gold IRA company: These companies will help you start the account, transfer funds, purchase your metals, and ship your gold and silver to an approved depository for storage. You’ll need the following to open an account:
– Driver’s license or another state-issued ID
– Details of your retirement accounts if you plan to transfer money from a 401(k) or other IRA

2. Fund your account: Before you can begin purchasing and investing in metals, you’ll need to fund your account. There are 3 options for funding your gold IRA:
– Cash contribution: You can use cash, a check, or a wire transfer to fund your account.
– Rollover: You’ll use a rollover if you plan to take a distribution from your retirement account and roll it into your gold IRA. You can also choose to take a cash distribution from your account and deposit it in your gold IRA. Just make sure you do it within 60 days, or you could face a 10% penalty unless you’re over 59 and a half years of age.
– Transfer: You can also do a direct account-to-account transfer. To do this, you’ll fill out a form with the administrator of your current account, or your gold IRA custodian may reach out on your behalf. These types of transfers are tax- and penalty-free.

Most investors choose direct transfer to minimize hassle and the potential for penalties.

3. Select your metals: Now you can start purchasing your gold, silver, and other precious metal investments. The IRS only allows metals of a specific type and purity to be held in self-directed IRAs, so be mindful of what you buy.

The exact process for purchasing your metals will depend on which company you open an account with. In some cases, your gold IRA firm will sell IRS-approved metals so you can purchase your coins and bullion from it. With other companies, you will need to purchase your investments from a separate precious metals dealer and direct your custodian to buy the items on your behalf using your IRA funds.

4. Monitor the performance of your metals: Your ability to monitor the performance of your gold IRA depends on the account custodian. Some companies offer online dashboards for monitoring your investment’s performance, but others don’t.

Ready To Open A Gold IRA? Here are our top choices for gold IRA companies:

FAQ

Do you get physical gold in a Gold IRA?

Yes, when you invest in a gold IRA, you are buying physical gold and other precious metals in the form of coins or bars that are stored in a secure depository that has been approved by the IRS.

While you own these physical metals, it is required that they be stored in these approved facilities, rather than your home, until your funds are withdrawn post-retirement under IRS regulations. When the time to take distributions comes, you can choose to have the physical gold shipped to you or you can sell it back at market value depending on the terms set by your custodian.

Is there a minimum investment to open a gold IRA?

The minimum investment depends on the institution offering the gold IRA. The IRS doesn’t have minimum investments, but it does have annual maximums. These depend on your age and typically go up to $7,000 per year.

How to rollover your 401(k) into a Gold IRA

To initiate the rollover, contact your 401(k) plan administrator and tell it you want to roll over funds into your new IRA account. The administrator will have required forms and paperwork for you to complete.

Make sure they know if you’d prefer a rollover—not a transfer. With a rollover, the money will go directly to you, and then you’ll deposit the funds into your new account. Transfers are when the money goes straight from one custodian to the next.

Are you ready to open a Gold IRA? We recommend starting with our top pick, Anthem Gold Group. Anthem Gold Group offers:

– A free 2024 investor guide
– Free gold and silver up to $25,000 on a qualified purchase
– 100% Free IRA Rollover