What should I consider when opening a gold IRA? Are there some rules that I need to know before accepting the terms and conditions of a gold IRA? With the knowledge that a gold IRA is gradually becoming a necessity for investors of all walks, you must get everything right as you set up your account so that you do not end up getting frustrated for having ignored some important factors. In this article, we shall highlight a few items that you must consider as you get started. Read on to discover more.

P.S:

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What is a gold IRA?

We shall start by defining what a gold IRA is just to be sure that we are on the same page. If you own a few pieces of gold or gold items that you have in your home, then you do not have a gold IRA. You may be endangering yourself by storing gold at your home, since you may end up attracting thieves, who never pass on the chance to steal high-value items such as precious metals.

A gold IRA is an individual retirement account that allows account holders to invest in precious metals such as palladium, platinum, gold, and silver, as they head towards their retirement years. Gold IRAs are typically self-directed IRAs, in that despite the transactions of these IRAs being overseen by a custodian, the managerial work is left to the account holder. This means that if you own a gold IRA, then you can make the key investment decisions, such as how you will reallocate your investment funds.

Also, self-directed IRAs allow their owners to invest in other non-traditional assets which include real estate, promissory notes, cryptocurrencies, etc.

Why more people are investing in gold through gold IRAs

Investing in gold, as it has come up from decades’ long trends, is one of the best ways to diversify your retirement investment portfolio.  This is an important investment aspect that you should always consider, more so since paper currency is always in flux.

Inflation influences the buying power of paper money, and it does that negatively. Moreover, the price of gold always increases when the buying power of currencies decreases. Without gold in your portfolio, you’re most likely to lose a big chunk of your investment capital when an economic downturn occurs.

Also, the popularity of gold has been influenced by the occurrence of the 2008 financial crisis, which made people realize the essence of having a safe haven to fall back on when the stock market crashes.

What should you consider when opening a gold IRA?

If you want to give yourself the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you can weather the tough economic storms, then you should consider opening a gold IRA. At the time you are opening your account, you will need to consider a few things, which I think will make such a huge difference between you walking into your retirement years a sad person, or with a broad smile on your face. Here are some main factors to consider when choosing your go-to gold IRA company:

1. The reputation of the company

Some investors like to downplay this factor, more so after they read about what the company in question has to offer. They end up believing the promises given, instead of the numbers that show the reality of the matter. Do not be like such investors.

You should, instead, do your due diligence, and ascertain that other customers are also happy with what the gold IRA service provider (custodian) in question is offering. The reviews given by customers on consumer trust sites such as the Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance, Trustpilot, and Trustlink should be a good starting point to verify a company’s trustworthiness and professionalism.

2. The fees

When opening a gold IRA, you should expect to pay some fees such as account setup fees, maintenance fees, and storage fees. These fees may be higher than those charged by traditional IRA service providers, but this does not mean that you now have to get ready to part with a large amount of money. You will discover that there are companies that offer quality services without overcharging their customers. Also, some of these fees are one-time fees, so the thought of having to get charged a lot of money should not scare you into thinking about giving up on gold investments.

3. Type of investments offered

Despite your main interest, at the moment, being gold, it would not hurt to choose a service provider who also allows investors to invest in other types of alternative/ non-traditional assets. This is because you may need to diversify your portfolio in the future when new opportunities open up.

In the present day world, for instance, new cryptocurrency investment opportunities are coming up, and it would be a great thing for you to have the opportunity to add these digital assets to your portfolio without having to open a new IRA.

Note that a gold IRA is a self-directed IRA, so it presents you with the opportunity to add more assets at will, provided that you’re sticking to the set terms and conditions.

4. Education

Finally, you should consider opening a gold IRA with a company that takes customer education seriously. If, for instance, at the time of opening your account, you do not receive a free IRA guide, or a free consultation process, then that may not be the best company for you.

The gold investment space is quite different from the paper asset investment space, owing to the unique properties of gold as an asset. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into, so that you do not regret your decision in the future, and blame it on the lack of sufficient knowledge. Take the time to request educational resources before spending even a single dollar on gold.

If you’re ready to open your gold IRA today, check out these recommended gold IRA service providers below:

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Thank you for making it to the end of this article in which we have addressed the question, “what should I consider when opening a gold IRA?”. I hope that you found it helpful and that you now know what to consider before you whip out your checkbook to purchase gold bullion. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns concerning today’s topic –drop it in the comments section so that I can get back to you ASAP.

I wish you well,

Eric, Investor and Team Member at Gold Retired!

How do I open a precious Metals IRA? Should I even open one, to begin with? What can I expect after opening a precious metal IRA? These are some of the questions that you could be asking if you are about to get started with precious metal IRAs, or you simply want to know if they are worth opening. This article will give you the answers to these questions so that you can find your way around precious metal investments easily. Read on to discover what is expected of you.

P.S.

See my top-5 recommended gold and silver IRA service providers

Whenever stock markets experience difficulties and are not simply doing great, some investors to safe-haven assets such as precious metals. Whereas these precious metals also have their own forms of volatility, it is believed that they are some of the very best investments to hold for a long-term horizon.

One can, however, not hold precious metals in a regular Individual Retirement Account, since this goes against the rules set by the IRS. As an investor who wants to invest in precious metals for your retirement years, you can only use a special IRA known as a gold IRA, in which you can hold gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

What is a precious metal IRA?

A precious metal IRA is a special type of self-directed IRA. A self-directed IRA, or SDIRA as popularly abbreviated, gives you the freedom to invest in a wide range of unconventional assets, which include real estate, precious metal, promissory notes, etc. Such investments are otherwise prohibited in conventional IRAs.

With your precious IRA, an investor can use part of their funds to generate some investment income from precious metals. All precious metals can be exploited differently, though you will need to define what your investment goals are before making your choice (on the assets to hold in your account).

The thing about adding precious metals to your retirement account is that they offer protection to your wealth in a couple of ways, such as through the reduction of the volatility and risk of your portfolio, offering a suitable tax-shelter for the profits made during the investment period, as well as serving as a hedge during economic downturns.

How much of your retirement savings should you use to invest in precious metals?

When you get started with precious metal investments, you should do it conservatively. Depending on your current financial situation, you may have to invest about 5% to 10% in precious metals. Financial experts recommend this low figure for a couple of reasons, including:

1. It is necessary for one to have a well-diversified portfolio

Investors who have well-structured and diversified portfolios do not have to take on unnecessary risk by deciding to invest in one type of asset, or one asset class. If you come across a financial advisor telling you to channel all of your retirement investment savings into gold or other precious metals, you should run and never look back.

2. Precious metals lag the growth/performance of other asset classes

One main benefit about gold is that it has managed to historically hold its value over the long term. It, unfortunately, lags the performance of other assets, including stocks. Experts have actually established that when the stock market is performing poorly, gold prices are usually on the rise. In the same manner, whenever gold prices are not looking good, paper assets are usually flourishing. If you’re looking to keep growing your retirement investment portfolio, then you may end up shortchanging yourself if you own too many precious metals.

3. Gold prices are unpredictable in the short term horizon

We know very well that gold has managed to hold its value over time. It is, however, quite difficult to predict the direction that its prices will take in the short-term horizon. Precious metals also have their unique price struggles, but they offer peace of mind during economic downturns.

How can you open a precious metal IRA?

With the increase in the rate of the occurrence of economic crises, fueled by political crises all over the world, there is a need for investors to open precious metal IRAs, to shield their portfolios from negative forces of the market. Here are some steps that you can follow to open your precious metal IRA.

1. Choose a self-directed IRA custodian

Self-directed IRAs are usually overseen by custodians. A custodian is an institution that has been approved by the IRS to offer custodial services. Self-directed IRA custodians help investors to invest in alternative assets such as precious metals. If you get the right service provider at this level, then the rest of the precious metal IRA opening process will be smooth, so here’s your cue to do sufficient research.

2. Choose a reliable precious metal dealer

Next, you will need to choose a precious metal dealer, to whom you will direct the IRA custodian to send funds for the purchase of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium.

Again, you will need to do your research as to whether the precious metal dealer you are dealing with has an impressive performance track record.

3. Decide on which precious metals you will purchase

The precious metal, if honest and reliable, will help you choose the right precious metals, that will help you achieve your retirement investment objectives.

4. Select the right depository

Precious metals that are purchased through a precious metal IRA cannot be stored at home, or any random depository, you have to choose an IRA-approved precious metal depository. Your custodian may be more than happy to give you a list of depositories to choose from.

5. Complete your transaction

Once you have your custodian, precious metal dealer, and a depository in place, you can start making your moves. You may need to read more about gold to also know what you are getting yourself into.

Read also >>> Is it worth investing in gold?

If you are ready to get started with precious metal IRAs?

Then you might check out the recommended service providers below:

See Gold Retired’s Top-5 Recommended Gold and Silver IRA Solutions

OR

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Thank you for making it to the end of this post in which we have answered the question, “How do I open a precious metals IRA?” Hopefully, you found it helpful, and that you know what to do when getting started with precious metal investments.

I wish you well,

Eric, Investor and Team Member at Gold Retired!

Which is the safest gold investment? What are your options anyway? Should you actually consider taking up gold investments today, or should you stay away from them regardless of the purported safety or security that they offer? Join me in today’s article, in which I shall be presenting you with the answers to the above questions. Read on to discover what lies in store for you.

P.S.

See my top recommended gold & silver IRA service, providers

Gold as an investment option

Since time immemorial, gold has been perceived as a valuable currency. In the present day world, it is used by investors for various purposes. Decades-long studies have revealed that gold is one of the few assets that hold their value over time and that one should consider taking it up to shield themselves from the adverse effects of economic downturns. Generally, gold has become the asset that investors are encouraged to take up to minimize the overall portfolio risk.

What then are your options when it comes to investing in gold in a manner that provides the most assurance as far as the safety of your portfolio is concerned?

Gold investment options

In the present-day world, if you want to get started with gold investing, you have the options listed below (all with different degrees of safety):

1. Gold bullion

This is the best-known approach to the ownership of gold. Whereas many people perceive gold bullion as massive gold bars in national depositories, gold bullion is simply any pure form of gold whose weight and purity have been certified as investment grade. This includes gold coins, bars, etc. of different sizes. There’s usually a serial number on gold bullion, for security and verification purposes.

Whereas the large gold bars are a sight to behold, their large size (they are heavy and can weigh up to 400 troy ounces), makes them illiquid, and areas such quite costly to purchase and sell. After all, you do not want to end up with a massive gold bar worth $100,000 that you cannot break into smaller pieces when you decide to sell 15% of your gold holdings.

Smaller-sized bars and coins, however, provide much more liquidity and are the most common holdings amongst gold owners. In as far as I can tell, owning physical gold is your safest bet as a beginner or expert in this industry. Note that I am not talking about earning potential, although physical gold still has great growth potential, but safety.

Safety in this case refers to the peace of mind that an investment presents in terms of having low to zero volatility during economically challenging times. Whenever the global economy is being shaken up, most investments fall into the cracks, and most investors are often left counting their losses. Well, all of them, besides those who invest in physical gold, which has in the past several decades proven to be the safe haven to run to whenever the global financial situation is a mess.

>> Top-5 Recommended gold & silver IRA service providers <<

2. Gold ETFs and mutual funds

If you cannot afford to purchase physical gold, which is the safest gold investment, then you can turn to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Every share of any type of ETF represents a fixed amount of gold. This makes it possible for these funds to be traded like stocks, through a brokerage or an IRA account.

Gold ETF ownership is more cost-effective than the ownership of gold bullion (coins and bars), especially for the small investors, since the minimum investment is in most cases usually the price of a single share of that ETF.

Those who invest in gold through the ETF options should be ready to meet the annual expense ratios, which are usually about 0.65% of one’s holdings. For mutual funds, one has to meet the fees and charges required to manage the investment in the best possible manner.

Funds may not offer you the same level of safety as that presented by physical gold, but they can offer the following benefits:

• Low cost and low minimum investment is needed
• Diversification across different firms
• The ease of ownership through a brokerage account or n IRA.
• Fewer demands for the research on individual companies.

3. Gold futures and options

Gold futures are unique contracts to purchase or sell a certain amount of gold on a specific date in the future. Futures are usually traded in contracts, not shares, and they usually represent a given amount of gold. Since the amount of gold involved in this case is quite large, futures are best left to experienced investors. Commissions charged on gold futures are quite low, and the margin requirements are equally low (lower than those of traditional equity investments).

Options on gold futures are usually the alternative to purchasing futures contracts outright. These usually present their owners the right to purchase futures contracts within a given time frame, at a predetermined price. A major benefit of options is that they leverage one’s original investment and limit the losses to the price that the investor pays.

Futures contracts that are purchased on margin may require the pumping of more capital than was originally invested if the losses pile up quickly. Also, owing to the very volatile nature of futures and options, they may not be very suitable for most investors (they do not offer the safety that we are interested in, in this case). Even so, futures are the most affordable options in terms of the commissions and interest expenses, when purchasing or selling gold, involving large sums of money.

Ready to start investing in gold, check out the recommended gold & Silver IRA custodians below:

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OR

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That will be all for this article, in which we have answered the question, “Which is the safest gold investment?”. I hope you now have the information to help you make the right decision as you get started with gold investments today. Let me know if you have any questions regarding today’s topic, as well as whether would need some help as you seek ways to add gold to your retirement investment portfolio.

I wish you well,

Eric, Investor and Team Member at Gold Retired!