We may earn a small commission from the companies mentioned in this post. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
The Top Gold & Silver IRA Companies in the USA
Goldco
- A+ BBB Rating
- AAA BCA Rating
- Highest Price Buy Back
- Free Shipping on All Orders
- $25k Minimum IRA Investment
- Free Gold IRA Investing Kit
Augusta Precious Metals
- A+ BBB Rating
- 0 BBB Complaints
- No High Pressure Sales
- Lowest Fees
- $50k Minimum IRA Investment
- Free Investors Kit
Can gold IRA company reviews tell you which precious metal broker would best serve your investment needs? I'm not entirely sure they can make the decision for you.
However, they can certainly point out who your best options are and who might not serve your particular needs.
Gold IRA reviews are very useful in helping you get to know the various brokers in the industry. I can assure you that these reviews will help you make an educated and informed decision.
That's important considering how much is at stake.
Not only are you investing thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars into gold and other precious metals, but you're counting on those investments to serve you in terms of saving for retirement. Gold is supposed to diversify your portfolio and give you a hedge against inflation and economic disasters. It should even go up in value over enough time.
Now, you can go through one gold IRA review after another and study each company one by one. You could also read about the best of the industry all in one place, which is kind of like speed-dating, and I'm your host today.
Once you get to know each company a little bit, you'll understand which ones are worth a deeper look.
1. Goldco
GoldCo (read review) is a privately-owned company. They strive to protect the retirement investments of their customers by transferring assets from previous retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs that invest in precious metals.
Precious Metals IRA Experts
The IRA professionals with this company have expertise in walking their clients through the rollover process every step of the way.
Investors and collectors alike have the chance to use GoldCo to buy gold and silver bullion and coins for asset protection. GoldCo also has a great buyback program you can take advantage of when it's time to liquidate your holdings for cash assets.
They make things as simple as possible whether you are just starting out or winding down.
Easy Rollover Options
You can finance a gold IRA in two different ways with GoldCo. First, you can use pre-tax income for a conventional or traditional gold IRA. You can also use your post-tax dollars for a Roth IRA.
It's up to you to pick the specific gold products you want to invest in. GoldCo will make sure that your choices meet the IRS requirements in regard to such acquisitions. They have good relationships with many mints who create the bars and coins you might want to buy.
2. Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta Precious Metals (full review) knows that retirement saving isn't something that happens overnight. For that matter, just making a robust financial plan doesn't happen quickly either. This is why this broker commits itself to providing clients with high-caliber information they can use from their starting point and then well into their retirement years.
Top-Rated Customer Support & Client Education
Augusta treats its clients really well. The staff goes far past what you get from other brokers in terms of education and support throughout your account with them. They build trust and loyalty with every exchange you have with them.
They actually have two teams you might deal with on a regular basis. The customer support team will help you set up your account and fund it. The education team will help you learn about precious metal prices and market trends.
Transparent Pricing
You can get bullion or premium precious metals through Augusta. They don't add commissions to their published prices. Once you are quoted a confirmation price, that's the exact fee that you will pay.
3. Noble Gold
If you want something simple and safe, then Noble Gold (see our review) is the way to go. This broker has straightforward gold IRAs you can use for better financial security. Both silver and gold products are available to support your retirement investing.
Portfolio Diversification Made Easy
The representatives of this company make portfolio diversification easy. They can show you the possible solutions. However, they won't pressure you into anything, as they are there to truly help you.
Friendly and Knowledge Customer Service Team
The combination of friendliness, reliability, and expertise makes this team very useful to clients. They also understand the available investment products really well. The goal is always the preservation of wealth.
You can expect to be treated with kindness all the time with them. However, they'll also always work with you to make sure that everyone is on the same page. The company commits itself to high-caliber service and assistance to all clients at all times.
4. RC Bullion
This company was founded in 2013. It has headquarters in Los Angeles. Their catalog includes gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products.
Strata Trust Company handles the custodial services. Information on the management team isn't readily apparent. You'll have to contact them for product prices, as the website doesn't list them; however, this is an industry practice since prices can change all the time.
Top-Rated Client Education
Clients have an easy time keeping up with spot prices for precious metals. The company website has an education section with lots of articles about precious metal investing. Anyone can get a free guide about gold IRAs.
High Ratings
The annual fees are flat in nature, so they cost less overall with the more that you invest. Business Consumer Alliance rates this company as BB. The Better Business Bureau rates them as A+.
5. Birch Gold Group
This broker has created quite a reputation for itself as an excellent option. It has serious industry expertise in all four precious metals it deals with. This helps them truly diversify the portfolios of their clients.
Excellent Customer Service & Client Education
Birch Gold Group is known for two things. One is client education. The second is customer service.
Going about a gold IRA is a very simple process here. You will be empathized with, educated, and then empowered. This broker is very efficient, so you won't lose a lot in terms of time wasted or even heavy fees.
Many existing clients trust this firm. Quite a few former clients still speak very well about them. If you invest enough, you might even qualify for promotions that make more of your investment.
6. Advantage Gold
Advantage Gold is one of the best in the business. This is particularly true for anyone doing a rollover to fund their precious metal account. The company has an entire section dedicated to converting other IRAs into precious metal IRAs.
Client Education Specialists
This broker thinks that a well-educated person is the most valuable client they could have. They don't just sit around and wait for them to come to the company, though. They provide clients with educational resources all around to make that happen.
Excellent Account Executives
The account executives know what they are doing. Service happens very quickly. Most of their prices are rather fair by industry standards.
They have a special program for people investing in gold for the first time. You can learn why precious metals are usually great investments. You'll also see the entire process before you go through it yourself.
Why Invest in a Gold IRA?
Knowing great options among gold IRA brokers is useful information. I hope you find it useful. What I think you'll also find useful is either your introduction or a refresher into why you should invest in a gold IRA to start with.
- Tax Benefits
Most gold IRA brokers will let you do either a conventional IRA or a Roth IRA, and both come with serious tax benefits. Taxes are important to pay for anything from the military to the highway system. However, if the government is willing to let you skip paying taxes on certain things, then you should, by all means, take advantage of that because you keep more of your money.
In a conventional or traditional IRA, the money you save or spend would be pre-tax dollars from your income for the first tax break. The second tax break is letting that investment grows in value in the account without being taxed inside. The third tax break is if you wait until you're old enough to make your required distributions that either happen with reduced or no taxes.
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A Roth IRA uses post-tax dollars, so there's not as much benefit going in but you get more flexibility. Gains inside the account are still sheltered from taxes. The upside is that you can make tax-advantaged withdrawals after just five years, regardless of your age.
You also get tax benefits if you do a rollover. You can do this from other IRA accounts, 401(k) plans, and 403(b) plans. When executed properly, the money you transfer won't be taxed when moving from an older account before being spent on precious metals, so the full value of your investment is preserved.
- Diversify Your Portfolio
Whether you choose a Legacy Gold IRA or work with one of the brokers I put on my list up above, any investment in gold or precious metals will diversify your portfolio.
A lot of investing happens in stocks and bonds, and it honestly should when you consider how much growth and income potential there is. However, you shouldn't put everything in those asset classes.
Real estate, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and precious metals are all alternative asset classes. They don't always move in the same directions and speeds as paper-based assets, and that's a good thing.
You always want part of your portfolio to do well so you hold your ground or at least minimize your risk.
Gold has a rather negative correlation to stocks, and that's what makes it a great diversification move. Gold did great in the 1970s, but the stock market certainly didn't. That happened again in the Great Recession.
On the other hand, the 1980s through 1990s were boom times for stocks overall, but gold didn't fare as well. How do you know what lies ahead? Probably more mixes of both, so your portfolio should be ready for anything.
- The Weakening Dollar
The American dollar is still the single most important currency around the globe. However, its value does fall at times. This happened from 1998 to 2008. In that same stretch of time, the value of gold almost tripled.
As you can see, there's another correlation between gold and another asset class, this time being just cold hard cash. Many things can drive the value of the dollar down, including trade deficits, huge budgets, and an increasing money supply.
When this happens, your gold investments can rise in value as a counterweight.
Hopefully, the gold backed IRA reviews I wrote earlier will help you choose a broker that emphasizes client education and information. Once you have an account with one of them, they'll let you know when gold prices go up and dollar values go down.
They'll also explain why to you.
- Supplies Are Limited
If you look around online long enough for information about investing in precious metals, you might come across an IRA gold obituary or two. Any industry is going to have its pessimists. However, some analysts also like to satirize the fact that gold supplies aren't what they used to be.
A lot of the available gold on the global market after 1990 happened because central global banks went into their vaults and sold off a lot of their gold bullion.
New gold is still being mined, but not nearly as much as it used to be.
Mine production fell most years from the turn of the century throughout the first decade. Things leveled off or even grew for a few years, but then production started declining again.
There's still plenty of gold out there, but it might be the case that humanity has already picked off all the easy stuff over thousands of years.
New mines are in the works, but they can take up to a decade before they result in new gold hitting the market.
Basic economics applies here, as a reduced supply makes prices go up, and that's great for your portfolio if you own any.
- Hedging Against Inflation
If you decide to go through many gold IRA companies reviews from clients on your own, you'll likely read a lot about how customers were treated, the fairness of fees, and various details about the custodial and depository arrangements.
That's all useful information, but you might not read much about how client portfolios did in the face of inflation. I'm willing to be that they did well.
Gold might go up when stocks and the dollar go down. However, when the cost of living goes up, gold also goes up. This was proven big time in the 1970s and again in the Great Recession in places where inflation hit.
One of gold's strengths is its ability to retain value. That reputation encourages people to grab gold when they think local currency might be losing its buying power.
Whether it's perception or reality, it drives the value up.
- Protection From Deflation
When the cost of living goes down, that's deflation. This, like inflation, is something you might not see listed in gold IRA rollover companies BBB rating reports and reviews.
People tend to hoard money and cash when this happens, and precious metals are a great way to do that.
Some deflation happened during the Great Recession, and gold did rather well at the time. Deflation happened a lot more during the Great Depression.
The value of gold skyrocketed during that period of history.
- Global Growth in Demand
Several things are driving the demand for gold around the world. Two emerging markets are fueling a lot of the demand. So, too, are new customer bases with an appetite for gold.
China and India are both gold-hungry societies. Gold bars are a cultural tradition for saving money in Chinese culture, and many Indian families need gold for wedding jewelry.
Gold prices tend to peak in October each year, which is also the peak wedding season for the subcontinent.
Gold is also becoming more attractive to investors who previously stayed away from it. Those who want to invest in gold without actually owning it often turn to various mining stocks to tap into the sector.
Also, ETFs let large pools of many buyers collectively own stockpiles of gold bullion.
- Geopolitical Turmoil
If you want a place to park funds from other retirement accounts in a safe space that will preserve the value of your wealth, then you'll likely look hard at gold IRA rollover reviews.
You want a broker that gives you the opportunity for a smooth transition.
However, the world outside isn't always a smooth place, but gold can be your portfolio's stabilizing act.
Gold is known to some as a crisis commodity since it usually proves pretty safe during economic turbulence, civil unrest, or political tensions.
When confidence in society or government is low, gold tends to not only rise but go up in value more than many other investment classes.
This can keep your portfolio rather grounded even when other assets are doing a roller coaster impression.
- Gold Typically Keeps Its Value
You'll hear it from the representatives taking care of your Gold Alliance IRA or any other broker. In fact, I know I've already written it many times in this content. Gold holds its value.
Yes, gold values can go up and down. You'll see that in any chart measuring or tracking the prices. However, if you step back far enough, you'll see that the value of gold has gone up pretty consistently and has been in demand for thousands of years.
Just going back 50 years, you'll see that gold has actually outperformed many stock indices.
Most years, it actually doesn't do this. However, in those years when paper assets plummet, gold moves the other way.
Key Takeaways
A gold IRA should be a valuable boost to your investment portfolio. The biggest tax benefits happen with a conventional gold IRA with an emphasis on retirement.
However, even a Roth IRA can help you just a few years down the road.
At any point in your investing years, I'd suggest having 5% of your overall portfolio in precious metals just for the exposure to the benefits. As you get close to retirement and want to have a more conservative and diversified portfolio,
I'd suggest moving closer to 15%. This gets easy to do once you have enough for a rollover and qualify to do it.
Which gold broker is right for you? I've listed the brokers I think are the best. However, the best actual fit depends on what you're looking for.
If you want client education, that might be a different fit than someone with low fees. Alternatively, customer service might mean the most to you. The minimum investment levels can certainly narrow down who you invest with.
Hopefully, the information I've presented here helps you accomplish two things. First, you get to know your options.
Second, you apply the process of elimination until you find the one that helps you make the most money for retirement.
If you're looking for a solid company to start with, we suggest checking out Goldco and then going from - get their free investing kit below:
Goldco has earned some of the highest marks across the industry for customer service and integrity, including an A+ Rating from the Better Business Bureau.
- A+ Better Business Bureau Rating
- AAA Rating via Business Consumer Alliance
- Up to $10,000 in Free Silver with Qualifying Purchase
- Easy 3-Step Process to Get Started
"The crew at GoldCo are professional and accommodating, extremely helpful and very easy to work with. My service rep, Tony Pino, was always available and willing to answer/explian any questions. Highly recommend them." -Mark G.
Faqs About gold iras
A gold IRA is also known precious metal IRA. You can use it for tax-advantaged investment in gold bars, bullion, and coins instead of stocks or bonds.
Certain gold IRAs can cost a lot, to the point of being cost-prohibitive. Others might be more reasonably priced. Generally expect to pay $200 per year for administrative and custodial costs, which matters less when your investment is of more value.
This is one of the biggest benefits of a gold IRA if you do it with pre-tax dollars through a conventional or traditional IRA. You don't get this benefit with a Roth. If your tax deductions are enough, then your taxable income might even drop to a lower bracket with a lower tax rate for more savings.