Last Updated on July 19, 2024 by Ben
One of the best ways to bail out for retirement is through a self-directed IRA. Not only can you make tax-deferred contributions, but you also have more control over your investments than in other types of IRAs. The custodian or trustee that holds your account will offer investment options, and you are free to choose from them as long as they meet certain qualifications. One of the most important decisions when choosing a custodian is whether it offers physical silver assets.
At a Glance Rating:
Top 4 Silver IRA Custodian Compared
RANK
COMPANY
TRUSTLINK
MIN. INVESTMENT
PRICING
1
Augusta Precious Metals
4.9 Star Rating
$50,000
Excellent – and up to 10 years fees paid
2
American Hartford Gold Group
4.8 Star Rating
No minimum
Great Price
3
Goldco
4.6 Star Rating
$50,000
Great – 10K Free Silver*
4
Birch Gold Group
4.5 Star Rating
$10,000
Good
AUGUSTA PRECIOUS METALS
Rank #1
4.9 Star Rating
$50,000 Minimum Investment
Excellent – and up to 10 years fees paid
AMERICAN HARTFORD GOLD
Rank #2
4.8 Star Rating
No Minimum Investment
Great Price
GOLDCO
Rank #3
4.6 Star Rating
$25,000 Minimum Investment
Great – 10K Free Silver*
BIRCH GOLD
Rank #4
4.5 Star Rating
$10,000 Minimum Investment
Good
Best Silver IRA Custodian Reviews
Augusta Precious Metals: Editor’s Choice – Great Buyback Program (4.9/5)
www.augustapreciousmetals.com
Star Rating
Augusta is often the top gold and silver IRA provider for customers who are looking for education, transparency, and a company is consistently known for repeat business.
This company is a guardian of the gold IRA market. They tell you what to look out for from other companies in this market. This company has a video about “Bad Reasons to Buy Gold” to help you avoid pitfalls.
Augusta Precious Metals is the top company for people to get peace of mind about retirement. They help people understand the economy. It is also a company that sells physical gold and silver in IRAs, which are called precious metal IRAs.
The company’s customers include Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. He wants to set aside money for his retirement. So he asks his advisors where they should look, and they find Augusta.
The company was happy with him after he took a one-on-one custom web conference. He is now Augusta’s customer and its corporate ambassador.
A precious metal IRA is a special type of account that you can have for when you are old. This is good because you can put real valuable metals in it, like gold and silver.
The advantage of a precious metal IRA is that they are worth something, even if the price goes down. Paper stocks can become worth nothing, and bonds could default.
Augusta Precious Metals can help you put your retirement money in a precious metals IRA. This can help balance your investments and may even mean that you get more money back than if you invested in something else.
Pros
- This company has 5-star reviews. People say their customer service is good.
- 0 Complaints with the BBB at the time of writing this.; Whether your an old customer or new customer they support you each step of the way.
- Since the company started, there have been no complaints.
- You can open a gold IRA account by answering some questions. The process takes a few minutes, it’s easy to do, and it is very clear.
- You can have a free review of your gold and silver portfolio from the Harvard-trained director of education and his department.
Cons
- The process with this company is slow. It is totally clear, but it takes longer than other companies.
- Don’t offer platinum or palladium. Only gold and silver.
Related Articles:
American Hartford Gold: Runner up – Best Price for Bullion (4.8/5)
www.americanhartfordgold.com
Star Rating
American Hartford Gold Group is a family-owned business that gets rid of valuable metals. They have been doing this for many years and are experts in this area. Gold and silver are available in three different types. One is a bar, which you can use for money. Coins also work as money. The last type is called bouillon, which you can eat when you are not feeling well. Gold and silver IRAs are an option to a traditional IRA (which focuses on bonds, stocks, etc.
American Hartford Gold Group doesn’t charge for setting up a precious metals IRA or for rolling over a retirement account. It also doesn’t charge fees for shipping your precious metals to the depository, including insurance and tracking.
Pros
- Buy-back guarantee
- Great customer service according to the BBB and trust pilot
- Professional IRA experts ready to help you with your retirement
- Has many choices to purchase different types of gold and silver
- There is no shipping fee.
Cons
- No prices on online catalog
Goldco: Best and Most Trusted Gold IRA Company Overall (4.6/5)
www.goldco.com
Star Rating
Goldco helps people protect their retirement savings by rolling over their existing IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other certified retirement accounts to a Gold IRA. A privately held firm that specializes in luxury and asset protection, They have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a Triple-A rating from the Business Consumer Alliance based on the customer.
To learn how to use precious metals to build and protect your wealth, and even for your retirement.
Goldco provides services for people who want to have an IRA that is funded with precious metals. They help when you want to move your old retirement account over to one that has metal in it. Goldco helps if you want to buy back the metal or sell it on the market if you start taking money out of your IRA.
Pros
- This company offers gold and silver IRAs.
- Free retirement resources
- Goldco specializes in Precious Metals-backed IRAs, which are for people who want to save money.
- The company has over ten years of experience in Precious Metals IRAs.
- This company has a great rating from the Better Business Bureau.
- Easy account set up through represenatives
Cons
- no online setup
Birch Gold Corporation: Great Staff Overall (4.5/5)
www.birchgold.com
Star Rating
The company is an established dealer of precious metals in America. Based in Burbank, California, and serving clients since 2003, this group has a dedicated team that informs customers about the best ways to invest their money wisely.
If you’re looking for trustworthy and knowledgeable advice to help protect the future of your retirement, this will be a great option. The company is committed to putting customer empowerment first; they’ll allow you to decide what happens with your money.
Birch Gold Group knows that the process of getting a gold IRA set up can seem complicated and difficult. That is why they make it their mission to simplify your decisions about what type of service you need while working with you every step along the way so that no matter which route you choose, everything will go as smoothly as possible.
Pros
- They have been around for almost two decades.
- Range of informative, educational resources on precious metals and IRAsCompetitive Prices
- Precious metals and precious metal IRAs are available in a wide variety of types.
Cons
- The company offers no overseas deposit options.
- Some initial setup fees aren’t clearly displayed.
What is an IRA Custodian?
Custodians are people who keep your money safe. If you have an IRA, then you need a custodian to do that. A custodian is different depending on the type of account (tax-deferred or tax-free). Different types of investments require different people. You don’t need to bother about this if you are choosing a mutual fund or stock, but IRAs that hold other investments will require a self-directed IRA custodian.
An IRA custodian is a company that locks up your money. They help keep it safe, and they make sure that you follow all the rules.
If you want to find a Custodian, they are not hard to find. But when you start looking for one that is the best for your account, it can be difficult.
Once you have set up an account with the custodian, they will give you a statement. This will tell you how much metal your account has and what it is worth. You can take the metal out of your account whenever you want to.
SDIRAs, IRS, and Custodians
Why do you need a custodian?
Custodians are people that hold things separately and keep them safe. They do this by making sure they can not mix with other stuff and keeping them in a safe place. Custodians do many jobs, like legal ownership of your scheme’s assets, recording transactions to specific accounts, settling bank accounts, executing documents for you, and reporting.
SDIRAs and the IRS
An SDIRA can use any type of traditional IRA custodian. But it is too easy to make a mistake and break the IRS rules if you are not careful, so be careful. Account holders need to be careful about these things:
- Investing in an S corporation is prohibited.
- Avoid disqualified parties
- Avoid self-dealing.
4 Things to Look For When Choosing an IRA Custodian
Searching for a reputable custodian of your investments may be challenging, but don’t give up hope. Below are 4 tips to ease the process:
Examine Setup Charges and Annual Fees
The first thing to consider when choosing an IRA custodian for your private investments in gold is whether or not they charge a flat-rate fee or a sliding scale fee. You should also know if they charge setup and admin fees, which will increase the cost of spacing and owning a precious metals IRA. We’ve highlighted the annual fee schedules and policies for each of the top ten custodians within these reviews.
Before you use your IRA to buy something, make sure it is approved. Some things that are not approved for IRAs are good investments, but they are not best for an IRA because they do not qualify.
Compare Overall Reputation and Industry Presence
You will see in our comparison of the top Gold IRA companies that we mention other ratings. We do not mention these when we discuss the reputation of the company’s custodian. Information on each of the best custodian’s fee schedules and policies can be found in the chart.
There is a good reason for this. IRA custodians do not work with consumers directly, so they do not have listings or ratings on directories like Yelp, BBB, Yellow Pages, etc. Instead of that, they partner with brokers, dealers, and Gold IRA firms.
Suppose an investor has an account with Equity Institutional, and they opened that account through Regal Assets. In that case, people who buy the assets will be leaving a review for Regal Assets. They will not leave a review for Equity Institutional because their IRA is not held by Equity Institutional. More than 500 reviews have been left on Trustlink.
A good way to find out about the reputation of a custodian is by looking at how long they’ve been in business, how many accounts and clients they have, which Gold IRA companies they’re partnered with, and other more traditional ways of verifying the credibility of a business.
Consider Presentation, Support, and Site Design
An IRA custodian is an organization that helps you save money for your retirement. You will want to find an IRA custodian who has a good website and design. The website should be easy to locate and have clear information about fees, offerings, and the management staff. Equity Institutional is a good company. They have a website that is easy to use and looks nice. You can find out how they started, who is in charge, and their fee policies on their website.
Find the Most Cost-Effective Route
Custodians usually work with these other companies. These companies are called bullion dealers, brokers, financial planners/advisors, and investment firms. There are some brokers who will take care of the custodian fees for you if you set up an account through them. Some banks will charge you to set up your account and keep it for a long time. But there are others that do not.
What are the Types of IRA Custodians?
If you wish to set up an IRA account, many different financial institutions can be your custodian. You will need to go through all of them and find the one that is best for you.
Banks
A bank can be a good thing. They offer FDIC-insured security and CDs or money market funds within an IRA account. But most banks do not offer investment choices outside of these things, like stocks or bonds. And some banks charge higher fees than brokerages.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are a way to invest money. You can get them through a company called a mutual fund company. They offer different types of investments, like ETFs from big companies.
Brokerage Firms and Insurance Companies
If you like to buy stocks or bonds, as well as mutual funds or ETFs, a brokerage might be the right choice for your IRA.
Robo-Advisors
Robo-advisors are new. They are online platforms that provide advice about how to invest your money. This is different because humans will not be involved. The cost of investing with a robo-advisor is lower, which helps the rate of return on your investment to stay high.
Custodians
You can go the self-directed route to invest in an IRA. There are three types of contributors for self-directed IRAs: custodians, administrators, and facilitators. Custodians are approved by the IRS and allowed to hold assets.
When you are choosing someone to be the custodian for your self-directed IRA, it is important that you think about what type of investments you want to do and then choose a custodian who can do those. It’s very easy to break some of the rules that the IRS has and get in trouble. It can be hard to fix it.
Be careful about what you invest in for your self-directed IRA. It is important to know that the IRS prohibits certain investments, such as collectibles and alcoholic beverages. You can find more details about these types of prohibited investments along with other triggers for penalties or additional taxes in this section of Publication 590.6 from the IRS.
Administrators and Facilitators
Administrators and facilitators work for you. They are in the middle between you and your partner, who holds the assets. So if you want to open a self-directed IRA, choose a true custodian.
If you go down the scale of authority and responsibility, you find people who help people with IRAs. If you have seen an ad for a self-directed IRA LLC, then that is someone who helps people with IRAs.
A facilitator is someone who can provide advice and consulting services. They will often tell you to set up an LLC inside your self-directed IRA account.
It is important to know that a facilitator on its own does not have the same authority as a custodian. A facilitator might work with an IRA custodian who has more authority.
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- Favorite Silver IRA Companies
- Silver Value
- Investing Rules for Silver Ira
- Storage Options for Silver Ira
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Conclusion
A good way to start investing is by opening an IRA. It’s important that you know what type of company you want your custodian to be before choosing one.
The right IRA company can have a significant impact on your retirement. Whether you’re new to investing or an experienced pro, it pays off in the long run to choose the best possible investment for yourself and what’s most important: trustworthiness of storage policies/fees, customer service track record.