Last Updated: November 15, 2023
Gold is one of the highest-performing financial assets worldwide. Opening an account with a reputable gold IRA company allows you to diversify your portfolio and hold this asset.
Would you like to future-proof your retirement savings?
There are many gold IRA brokers and custodians out there. But it would help to work only with the best gold IRA companies that will undoubtedly continue to deliver top-quality service for many years to come.
If you’re looking for the best IRA company to manage your assets, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together this detailed review as your guide to making an educated decision.
Top 7 Gold IRA Companies for 2024
Are you ready to secure your retirement with precious metals? Below are the most reputable gold IRA companies to consider.
1.Goldco
Discover the exceptional service that sets Goldco apart in the industry! Praised for their unparalleled customer service and unwavering integrity, experience the Goldco difference, where excellence is the standard.
- A+ Rating Better Business Bureau
- AAA Rating Business Consumer Alliance
- Claim up to $10,000 in Free Silver with Qualifying Purchase
- Simple 3-Step IRA Process
"I learned early on to put a percentage of earnings in gold and silver. That's why I recommend Goldco" -Sean Hannity
Generally, Goldco provides you with a self-directed gold Individual Retirement Account. It serves as an investment tool and a direct purchase of gold. The company was founded in 2006, ultimately giving it longevity, even when it comes to competitors.
Once you sign up, your assigned Goldco IRA account executive assists you to begin the process and ultimately hit your investment goals. Goldco Precious Metals also allows you to invest in silver IRAs. What’s more, they also allow collectors and investors to buy gold bullion, gold, and silver coins.
According to the Better Business Bureau, Goldco Precious Metals has an A+ rating and Inc. 5000 considers it as one of the rapidly-growing privately-owned companies throughout the U.S.
Pros
- Seniority, with a rich background going back to 2006
- Highest rating from numerous organizations for honesty and reliability
- No additional investment or penalties are needed besides quoted price
Cons
- You must email or call the company to get started
- No direct sales
2. Augusta Precious Metals
Are you looking for an IRA company that ensures the best customer service, best pricing, and attentiveness to its customers?
Augusta Precious Metals does exactly that!
It has a strong reputation for the best account-lifetime support from a professional team that will assist to educate you. Augusta was founded in 2012 and has provided educational opportunities to many people.
The company cites celebrity clientele, e.g., hall-of-fame quarterback Joe Montana. It also has excellent ratings from the likes of Facebook Business, Google Business, the BBB, and the National Ethics Association. Augusta Precious Metals focuses on empowering its customers to protect their savings with friendly, transparent, and streamlined assistance.
Unlike numerous companies, Augusta has ZERO negative reviews on all consumer websites throughout its 10 years of business. This indicates its undoubtedly superior service to Americans.
The company typically offers four departments committed to delivering the best customer experience.
It includes a customer success agent and a skilled economic analytics team that enlightens you about the market and everything to do with physical gold and silver.
It also features a processing team that handles 95% of the paperwork, and the order desk. The order desk lets you pick metals e.g., gold and silver bullion and coins.
Each customer has the added advantage of working side-by-side with Devlyn Steele and a friendly, proficient team of educators.
Pros
- Waives fees for the first year
- Four dedicated departments committed to transparent, honest, attentive, and seamless customer experiences
- Provides phone and video web conference privileges to educate eligible guests
Cons
- High minimum orders, $50,000 for IRA’s and cash purchases
- No online orders
3. Noble Gold
Noble Gold Investments is located in Pasadena, California, and offers an easy and safe way to invest in gold. Typically, Noble Gold volunteers to protect your future by providing a gold IRA account and obtaining and storing bullion in their depository based in Texas.
The International Depository Services physically stores your gold. Nonetheless, Noble Gold still offers a similar gold IRA rollover process, which helps convert your retirement account into a gold IRA.
They can deliver a gold survival pack to you. You could also have it forwarded, or even collect it in person depending on your circumstances. With favorable ratings from the BBB, Business Consumer Alliance, and Consumer Affairs Accredited, Noble Gold Investments’ reputation is strong.
Additionally, the company promotes education on how IRAs and gold investments work. They offer a free kit explaining the entire process to its clients.
Pros
- Getting started with an IRA gold account is easy (only 5 minutes)
- Get a free guide that educates you on how to protect your financial assets
- Provides a buy-back program to its customers if their circumstances change
Cons
- You must call or email them to get started
- A relatively new company, but with experienced CEOs running it
4. Birch Gold Group
The company focuses on empowering its clients to achieve all goals and motivations when it comes to investing in gold. Birch Gold offers educational resources, an ethical and transparent process, as well as empathetic customer service.
Founded way back in 2003, Birch Gold still maintains a stellar reputation. It even boasts of a celebrity clientele list, such as Ben Shapiro. The company is located in Burbank, California, and shows its high rankings with the Google Business, Consumer Affairs, and BBB.
You can also chat with a professional who will explain the stock market’s latest news and how it may influence gold prices and your IRA. The critical process encourages you to make informed choices about retirement goals, as you fully understand the risks and growth potential.
Pros
- Wide selection of gold IRAs
- Regular updates of the financial market and concise explanation of all fees
- A great one-on-one process, where professionals explain gold investment
Cons
- Averagely high setup costs and annual fees, which aren’t explained onsite
- Birch Gold only operates in the U.S., which some investors might not appreciate
5. Advantage Gold
The company claims to be the industry leader when it comes to precious metal IRA rollovers. Since Advantage Gold won the Best of TrustLink Prize for three years consecutively, you can’t deny their success.
Located in Los Angeles, Advantage Gold can transform 401k accounts or IRA into gold and educate clients throughout the process.
Advantage Gold also offers exceptional customer service. Apart from generous buyback policies, the company is also known for thousands of positive reviews, promptness, and full-service customer assistance.
Besides having a favorable rating from the BBB, the company also verifies gold IRA positive reviews by way of TrustPilot and TrustLink.
Pros
- Superior customer service
- Comprehensive educational resources
- The buyback program allows you to sell at the present market rate
Cons
- Founded quite recently, in 2014
- Doesn’t allow direct online purchase
6. Gold Allied Trust
Gold Alliance was founded in 2002 and has become one of the most reputable precious metals IRA companies. As a client, you can select from three primary IRA custodians for custodial services.
They include GoldStar Trust Company, Preferred Trust Company, and Equity Trust Company.
Gold Alliance has also partnered with the world-distinguished Delaware Depository to allow secure vault storage. Gold Allied Trust’s catalog of products consists of a wide variety of bars and coins in different available weights.
However, instead of displaying their pricing on the website, Gold Alliance offers a toll-free number to speak to a representative.
The company prides itself on its incredible customer service and always yearns to keep the public informed about investing in precious metals.
Gold Allied Trust is the best choice if you’re a novice investor in the Gold IRA space.
Pros
- Excellent ratings on BBB, Trustpilot, and TrustLink
- Partners with 3 IRA custodians: Preferred Trust, GoldStar Trust Companies, and Equity Trust
- Segregated or non-segregated storage options
- The world-renowned Delaware Depository is the preferred vault facility
Cons
- No offerings in palladium or platinum
- Newer in the industry
- Higher premium on exclusive coins
Should You Consider a Gold IRA?
A gold IRA is generally a self-directed retirement account that entails investment in precious metals, e.g., gold and silver. A gold IRA company allows you to open and maintain a self-directed individual retirement account by holding physical gold and/or other precious metals.
There are three major sets of fees that most precious metal IRA companies request. For starters, they charge a one-time fee for creating an account, which ranges from $50 – $150. Some account providers avoid charging this fee for large initial deposits. Additionally, IRA companies charge an annual fee known as a custodial fee.
So, how do gold IRAs work?
They generally work the same way as traditional IRAs. But rather than holding paper assets such as bonds, stocks, ETFs, funds, and cash equivalents, gold IRAs consist of physical gold assets.
The primary role of the IRA company is to store your gold coins or bullion in a secure vault until you’re qualified to take possession of the assets.
In most cases, gold IRA companies let you pick between a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA structure.
Your taxes are deferred in traditional IRAs until you withdraw your money after retiring. On the other hand, Roth IRAs are usually taxed whenever you make your contributions, though future withdrawals are tax-free.
But why should you consider a gold IRA?
There are numerous benefits of gold IRAs. First, Gold is generally regarded as one of the safest, and most stable financial assets.
And this is why it’s mostly utilized as a hedge against fiat currency inflation. Since it’s also a scarce and valuable resource, its value tends to appreciate over time.
Unlike stocks, gold’s value is unlikely to drop dramatically. Gold has always demonstrated reliable and profitable returns.
That said, there are certain benefits to a gold IRA that are generally less visible. Here are some examples:
- Tax Advantage
Much like traditional IRAs, similar tax advantages are available to gold IRAs. Your contributions to a self-directed IRA are usually tax-deductible at the actual time of donation. The funds are not subject to taxation once you withdraw from your Ira account.
- Great Long-Term Investment
IRAs are considered a long-term, buy-and-hold investment vehicle. For this reason, gold is a great investment for many IRAs. Although physical gold isn’t highly liquid, it has a high tendency to preserve its value over the long haul. Undoubtedly, a gold IRA might be the ideal option if you’d like to buy something and hold it for years until you’re retired.
- Improved Control
Since gold IRAs are mostly self-directed IRAs, it means that you’re in full control of your financial assets and are accountable for all investing choices. Rather than letting a third party manage your retirement savings, you got ultimate discretion over the actual items you buy.
How We Rank the Top Companies
Generally speaking, all gold IRA companies claim to offer the most competitive costs and excellent management services. However, not every gold IRA company lives up to its promises.
We applied the following parameters to establish the finest gold IRA firms.
- Products Currently Available
Primarily, we evaluated companies depending on the gold and silver items they provided. How many different options did the firm offer? Does the company have a decent assortment of gold and silver coins, bars, and bullion? Can you easily get your hands on the actual things you need?
Some examples of alternative investments are platinum and palladium goods. Several gold IRA companies offer these.
Other firms offer IRAs based on various cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Although we reviewed firms primarily based on their silver and gold IRA products, we also considered alternative or complementary investment products when coming up with our rankings.
- The Company’s Customer Service & Reviews
One of the crucial things we considered during our evaluation is the company’s customer service and what the reviews say about them.
Do customers have a positive experience when dealing with the company? Perhaps the firm has hundreds of negative ratings online?
We took a closer look at customer service feedback when compiling our rankings to determine how much a company cared about controlling its customers’ experience.
We believed that past customers would help distinguish whether a firm is reliable, trustworthy, and consistent.
- Transparency
There’s no denying that transparency is a vital factor when it comes to ranking the best gold IRA firms.
Several gold IRA account providers tend to suffocate their clients with hidden charges and expenses that aren’t readily apparent.
On the other hand, others are open and honest.
Our preference was to only work with gold IRA companies that maintained the best openness and truthfulness through the entire process.
We also avoided institutions that levied hidden fees.
We appreciated businesses that were transparent about their office address, custodian data, team members, and other pertinent information.
- Charges
As aforementioned, some providers charge different commissions when buying precious metals through a gold IRA. You should often anticipate paying about 5%.
As you might already know, we favored gold IRA businesses that were upfront and transparent regarding their commissions.
- Setup Fees
In most cases, gold IRA companies request a one-time setup fee when opening a gold IRA account. You incur this cost when you first open an account.
And the fees associated with a custodian are paid to the custodian by your gold IRA firm, but you are held responsible.
The caretaker is primarily in charge of ensuring the precious metals’ safety on their premises (for example, in a bank vault).
- Maintenance Costs & Other Fees
Apart from custody fees, gold IRA businesses may also request a monthly maintenance fee. While your financial asset is being stored, you’re also paying that company to keep your account updated and manage it for you as well.
- Reputation & Industry Standing
Some gold IRA companies have been in business for 20+ years and have acquired a solid reputation in the industry.
Other firms are start-ups with minimal or no experience. We avoided discriminating against gold IRA organizations based on their age.
One of the most important things to us during the evaluation was company reputation.
As such, we looked for businesses with positive media coverage, favorable BBB ratings, and other indicators of a great reputation.
- Ease of Use
Most gold IRA businesses have made substantial investments when it comes to their customers’ experience and offered a well-designed website.
Other firms have not changed their site or buying procedure for a long time, which is noteworthy.
While some companies require you to buy things over the phone with a sales associate, others enable you to purchase products promptly and conveniently online.
When compiling our rankings, we factored in the simplicity of use and convenience.
Is Gold a Good Investment When Inflation is High?
Traditionally, gold is the hedge against inflation. There’s no denying that prices of this yellow metal rally during high inflation times.
There’s a wide range of ways for investors to protect their funds against inflation via a gold investment. If you directly invest in physical gold, it represents the ultimate security in case of the collapse of the financial systems. However, it’s also the most expensive method of gold investment.
The gold market has a daily trading volume of approximately US$170 billion worldwide and has guaranteed narrow trading margins.
The main beneficiaries are wholesale and institutional investors. For private investors, however, the acquisition of gold coins or bars from a bank or jeweler entails relatively high trading margins.
What’s more, the safe storage of this precious metal generates costs.
It’s also worth mentioning that the buying highly liquid securities that tend to track the gold price’s performance is much more affordable.
Specifically, gold exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) provide a high degree of investment security, as long they’re 100% backed by physical gold.
Summary
Are you prepared for an excellent retirement plan? A gold IRA account can offer substantial value that will make your golden years shine.
Don’t forget that your current investment situation, your future goals, and your retirement plan are all unique. All of these gold investment firms have the knowledge and expertise to help you get the retirement of your dreams.
If you’re ready to get started with the gold IRA process, pick one of these recommendations for the most reliable gold IRA companies.
Of course, the final choice is yours. And much of that depends on your gut feeling of which company feels like the best match.
Mine the websites for additional information, and get in touch with their representatives.
Get a gold IRA backed by high professionalism and exceptional service at your best gold IRA firm, and enjoy planning for your golden years.