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When it comes to investing in precious metals, it’s not always easy to compare dealers and custodians. There are different companies that offer precious metal investments and gold IRA services, but it’s hard to choose the right one, and you need to consider the scams and negative policies that some offer.
If you’re looking for a way to get started with precious metals investments or open a gold IRA, Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets are popular choices to get started with. But, there are major differences between both companies that you should consider before making your decision.
In this guide, we will look at the differences between both companies. We recommend going with Augusta Precious Metals as Regal Assets is shady, with only negative reviews online, and the website is no longer on the internet. Let’s take a closer look.
Warning: Due to a concerning number of recent complaints about Regal Assets we strongly advise against using their services and putting your hardly earned and saved money with them! Instead, use one of our top recommended companies.
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Augusta Precious Metals is a leading provider of physical precious metals and gold IRAs and has been helping people make retirement investments since it was founded in 2012. The company creates a strong partnership with its clients by assigning you a specialist. They constantly update you on your account details.
Augusta Precious Metals is also known for its top-notch customer service teams. Their representatives are highly knowledgeable, and they come with a robust learning center that prospective clients can use to learn about investments. You can join their webinars and learn about precious metals easily.
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About Regal Assets
Regal Assets is a popular choice for investing in precious metals, gold IRAs, and cryptocurrency. The main focus of the company is on cryptocurrency, as it offers up to 20 different coins that you can purchase with very low and affordable crypto transaction fees.
With Regal Assets, you can open an IRA with gold, silver, and other precious metals and cryptocurrency. The company also has a very low minimum investment amount that allows you to purchase precious metals for as low as $5,000. But Regal Assets has a lot of poor reviews online, and its website is nowhere to be found.
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What is the Difference Between Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets?
If you’re confused when choosing between Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets, you need to consider their different factors. It’s important to compare both companies based on their gold services, fees, buyback program, storage services, customer service, and online ratings and reputation. Let’s take a closer look at how both companies differ.
Gold Services
Both companies provide physical precious metals and gold IRAs that you can open easily. With Augusta Precious Metals, you get an IRA rollover service. The company will work with your custodian to roll over your traditional IRA to a precious metal IRA or open one from scratch. You will work one-on-one with an investment expert that will open the IRA and fund it monthly.
Augusta Precious Metals also offers different kinds of precious metals, especially gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You can purchase metals like Gold American Eagle, Credit Suisse Gold Bar, Silver Canadian Maple Leaf, and Johnson Matthey Silver Bar.
Regal Assets offers similar services to Augusta, so you can roll over your traditional IRA to open a gold IRA or open one from the beginning. You can get this done in a few days. After purchasing precious metals, they provide you with insurance and storage.
If you purchase precious metals from Regal Assets and want to store them yourself, they ship them directly to your location in the United States within 7 days. But keep in mind that the IRS does not allow you to store precious metals for IRAs privately. Also, Regal Assets promises a free Silver American Eagle coin if they miss your shipping deadline.
Fees
In terms of fees, Augusta offers flat fees but a pretty expensive minimum investment account. The minimum cost to open an IRA with Augusta Precious Metals is $50,000, and this is quite expensive for the everyday investor. Also, the fee to open an IRA is $50, which will cover working with your custodian and handling your paperwork.
Aside from the setup fee, the custodian fees go for $80, while the storage fees cost $100. These are the fees for the first year of investing in precious metals. With the annual flat fees at $180, it would be easy to manage your account every year.
Regal Assets also require storage and custodian fees. The flat fee for custodian maintenance is $100, while the fee for storage is $150, which means $250 annually. But keep in mind that the storage service is segregated and not non-segregated, which is why it’s more expensive.
The minimum investment amount for Regal Assets is $5,000, which is much cheaper than what you get with Augusta. It is ideal for those that have less money to invest. But if you’re open a cryptocurrency IRA, it goes for 1% per transaction.
Storage Services
You also need to consider the storage options offered by both companies. Augusta Precious Metals offers a wide range of depositories as they work with major companies like International Depository Services and Brinks, and a hundred more. But you can only store your precious metals in the United States and Canada.
The depositories that Augusta works with are available in different regions in the US, including Delaware, Idaho, California, Ohio, Massachusetts, Utah, Nevada, North Dakota, and New York. When opening your IRA, the company also works with different custodians, so you can choose the one that works for you. Keep in mind that the custodian fees can vary based on the company.
On the other hand, Regal Assets states that it has its own storage services, which gives you access to a segregated vault. This comes with a flat fee per year. But, since the company does not work with reputable depositories, it makes it harder to trust it.
Since the company offers segregated vaults, the only people that have access to your precious metals are you and your custodian.
Buyback Program
Both Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets offer a buyback program that allows you to sell your precious metals back to the company if you change your mind. With Regal Assets, you will sell the precious metal back at a competitive price, and you don’t have to pay any fees.
The company buys precious metals back at the current price in the trading market and not the original price you bought them at. Also, the payment is made immediately after you deposit the metal into their vault, but they can adjust the price if you don’t do so within 24 hours.
On the other hand, Augusta Precious Metals allows you to liquidate your IRA or withdraw the required minimum distribution amount, so the buyback program is not like with Regal Assets. If you want to sell your precious metals at a good rate, you need to pay a fee.
Online Reputation
In terms of its online reputation, Augusta Precious Metals is a much better option. Regal Assets has generated a lot of complaints over the past few years, so there seems to be a problem with their supply chain and management. Also, there was legal action taken against Regal Assets by the state of Minnesota because they did not obtain a license before selling bullion.
Most users online warn against investing with Regal Assets, and there is even a victims group. Online users state that they steal money and go dark without any communication. Also, the website is not online anymore, which is a huge red flag. It is not BBB accredited.
As for Augusta Precious Metals, it has mostly positive reviews online with no official complaints by the BBB. It is also an accredited business by the Better Business Bureau with an AAA rating. Most users online praise the company for being informative without pushing them to purchase and their personal approach to working with clients. This is why it is one of the best gold IRA firms that you can work with.
Another plus to consider with Augusta Precious Metals is that they usually deal with issues before it becomes public. Their proactive team will help you solve any issues you might have. Aside from that, the company has 5-star ratings on different websites like Customer Affairs and Trustpilot. It also has a 4.9 rating on Google My Business.
Customer Service
Augusta Precious Metals also offers better customer service than Regal Assets, especially since the latter blocks all communications when you need help, according to online users. Augusta Precious Metals offers a customer success agent to discuss the process, whether buying precious metals or opening an IRA.
You can contact their customer service by phone as they are available to assist you 24/7. Through their Contact Us page, you can fill out a contact form and use that to send a message to the company. Their main office is also available for you to visit.
On the other hand, Regal Assets is meant to have customer service through phone and a contact page. But, it is unclear whether this is still working because their website is not online.
Who Wins Between Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets?
Between Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets, if you’re wondering which one to work with, the former is a better choice. We recommend Augusta Precious Metals as it has many advantages over Regal Assets. These include the lack of complaints and government actions, its transparent fees and custodian information, lifetime customer support, one-on-one webinars, and positive reviews from online users and third-party organizations.
Regal Assets might have been a good company before, but it seems like there are different problems with the company now, especially in terms of its customer service, supply chain, and gold service. With this in mind, it is not recommended to go for this company over Augusta Precious Metals.
Alternative Precious Metal Companies
If you’re unsure about working with Augusta Precious Metals or Regal Assets, you can consider some alternatives to these companies. Here are two other recommended companies on our list aside from Augusta Precious Metals.
#1. Goldco
Goldco is one of the leading precious metals companies in the business, with a minimum investment amount of $25,000 for gold and silver IRAs. The company offers excellent customer service and a strong buyback program.
It’s pretty affordable to work with Goldco as the company charges a flat annual account service fee, although there are other fees for storage and maintenance. You can choose between segregated and non-segregated storage. But keep in mind that they only offer gold and silver options.
American Hartford Gold is known for its positive reviews, with high ratings on Trustpilot and Google and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It is a reliable and financially solid company that online users have praised for its quick delivery of precious metals and quality service.
The minimum investment amount of American Hartford Gold is one of the lowest, as you can purchase gold and other metals with cash for $1,500. The minimum amount for opening an IRA is $10,000. It is ideal for investors on a budget.
Final Thoughts
With this complete guide, you now know the difference between Augusta Precious Metals and Regal Assets. After extensive research, we recommend that you go with Augusta Precious Metals, as Regal Assets is no longer a trustworthy company that you can invest. Through Augusta, you have access to a wide range of perks, and you don’t have to worry about getting scammed. Before making any investments in precious metals, you should contact the company to learn more.
