Precious Metals IRAs can provide an excellent way to diversify your retirement savings. Augusta Precious Metals offers qualified custodians who meet IRS regulations.
Many experts suggest allocating between 5–15 percent of your retirement portfolio to precious metals investments through an IRA. Doing so makes the purchase simple and convenient.
1. Open an IRA
A precious metals IRA offers investors an innovative solution for investing in physical gold, silver and platinum coins/bars while still benefitting from an IRS-approved retirement account. By choosing this self-directed account type instead of being limited by traditional investments such as stocks and bonds, they gain full control of their investment decisions instead of being bound by traditional investment options such as stocks and bonds.
Step one is opening an IRA with one of the many recommended custodians of this account type. Documents providing proof of identity and financial data will need to be provided before opening one.
Once your IRA has a trustee/custodian in place, Monex provides trusted dealers to invest in precious metals eligible for IRA investment. We provide an assortment of quality bullion products in various sizes as well as two-way buy/sell markets to make the process straightforward for you.
Some IRA investors prefer secure storage facilities while others opt for commingled storage (where their precious metals are kept with other assets of an IRA owner). Whichever you select, be sure that all precious metals you store with an IRA custodian have your name attached to them before placing them into storage with an IRA administrator.
2. Select a Custodian
When creating a precious metals-based retirement account, selecting an appropriate custodian is of utmost importance. These companies will store physical gold and silver on behalf of investors in a secure facility while assuring compliance with IRS regulations.
The best custodians will be open and transparent in their services, tailored specifically to different investors’ needs. In addition, they should boast an extensive network of metals dealers they work with who should be happy to share this list with investors.
Additionally, your precious metals should be offered both segregated and commingled storage options for IRA customers. Segregated storage can offer greater security compared to commingled options but typically comes at an additional cost – for example Goldco offers segregated IRA storage which comes at a premium compared to their peers but comes backed with decades of industry expertise and reliability.
3. Purchase the Metals
Once you’ve identified a custodian, precious metals dealers can assist in purchasing physical gold or silver to be included within your IRA. When choosing your dealer it’s essential that they specialize in working with precious metals IRAs as they will understand IRS rules and ensure your purchase meets government guidelines.
Once purchased, metals will be sent directly to a depository facility for safekeeping. Most reputable dealers partner with reliable depository facilities such as Delaware Depository or Brink’s Global Service that offer secure storage solutions for IRA-eligible bullion.
Alternately, investors can invest in shares of an exchange traded fund (ETF) which tracks a precious metal’s performance. ETFs offer an easier option for investors who don’t wish to deal with purchasing physical gold or silver into their IRAs, though prior consultation with your tax advisor should be made as this strategy may incur additional taxes and penalties if held within your IRA.
4. Store the Metals
Precious metals make an excellent diversifier for IRAs due to their long-term value as money and ability to defend against inflation, while providing liquidities unrelated to stock and bond market fluctuations.
An individual retirement account (IRA) allows you to select both the dealer, depository and storage facility where your precious metals will be kept secure. Before selecting one of these companies, make sure that you research its reputation, accreditations, fees and storage options thoroughly before making a final decision.
Some IRA holders attempt to sidestep dealing with dealers, depositories and Self-Directed IRA administrators by creating an LLC that acts as custodian for their metals. Midas Gold Group does not recommend this strategy but there may be alternatives which work better for you; such as investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that track precious metal indexes rather than physically owning metals; these investments do not require opening a special kind of IRA and tend to be more cost effective than physical ownership of physical metals.
