Gold IRAs have higher maintenance fees than other types of IRAs because of the additional costs associated with investing in gold. In addition to brokerage fees and account setup fees, the investor must pay additional costs to store and insure the precious metal. Given today’s stock market valuations and historically low interest rates for fixed-income investments, some IRA owners may be interested in switching some funds from low-risk stocks and securities (such as government bonds and money market funds) to precious metals. However, before you invest in gold, silver, or platinum, you should consider some aspects of federal income tax.
Precious metal assets stored in your IRA. According to the latest PLR, the rules that prohibit direct IRA investments in gold do not apply if the gold is held by an independent trustee. If you’ve decided that a Gold IRA is right for you, you can contact your retirement plan administrator or have the Gold IRA firm do it for you. Another interesting point to consider when it comes to the costs associated with investing in precious metals or a precious metal IRA is comparing these costs with paper metal products such as shares in the GLD gold ETF.
The
Oxford Gold Group has extensive resources for new precious metals investors, including an encyclopedia that explains terms about gold prices such as “spot price,” and an A+ rating from the BBB. A gold IRA is characterized by the fact that you own the actual precious metals, as opposed to stocks or fund shares in mining companies. Most gold IRA companies buy back precious metals that you bought from them, but repurchases are generally made at the wholesale price, which is often around 30% below prevailing retail gold prices. Money’s guide to buying gold includes information on buying physical gold and getting started with gold through gold ETFs, gold mutual funds, and futures contracts or stocks in gold mining companies.
We’ve reviewed more than a dozen Gold IRA companies and identified the best options for various investment needs, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced investor. You can choose a mix of gold and silver, and some gold IRA companies also allow you to add platinum and palladium to your IRA. Most gold IRA companies buy back gold or other precious metals that they’ve sold you, but these repurchase programs are typically run at a wholesale price, which is around a third cheaper than the retail price. To set up a Gold IRA, open an account and buy precious metals from a company like the ones mentioned here.
Gold IRAs allow you to hold these precious metals in an individual retirement account and offer the same tax benefits as IRAs invested in mutual funds. Customer service representatives from this company take time to clearly explain the steps and requirements for setting up a Gold IRA account. While many people who own physical gold do so because they believe it is safer, you must carefully research the company you want to buy from to avoid fraud. And remember that if you sell your gold back to the Gold IRA, you could earn up to 30% less than the price of gold, as the IRAs calculate the “spread gold.”
