Disclaimer: We are reader supported. We may be compensated from the links in this post, if you use products or services based on our expert recommendations.
Is Goldco the right company for your IRA account? That's the main question most people ask when they start checking out their options for adding gold or silver to a retirement account or starting a brand-new account with precious metals. Getting to the bottom of the whole background, pros, cons, and other pertinent facts about Goldco is the reason we compiled this in-depth review.
Goldco Is Currently Running A Special Promotion!
You have the chance to get back 10% of your order in FREE silver! That would mean $5,000 in free silver on a $50,000 order. Or $10,000 in free silver on a $100,000 order!
>> Get A Free Investment Kit & Learn About This Special Offer Here <<
Details about this same company:
- 1,000+ 5 star ratings
- Protects over $1 BILLION dollars in retirement savings
- AAA customer rated
- A+ BBB Rating
- 5x Inc 500 winner
- 2021 company of the year
Get your free investment kit and learn about the special promotion above, or continue with more information below…
What You Will Learn By Reading This Review
Even though Goldco is one of the top three companies in the gold and silver IRA niche, there's only one way for consumers to make an informed decision about where to park some or all of their hard-earned retirement capital, and that's to dig deep into the details.
What should you want to find out about Goldco before choosing them as your precious metals broker? It's only natural to want to know all the essential details like the following:
If you want to get the full scoop on Goldco, it's important to read the whole review. After all, it's your life savings at stake, so it makes sense to be careful about where you put it and to who you entrust it. Fortunately, Goldco has carved out a reputation for itself, has millions of investors and followers, and, as you'll see below, receives plenty of super-positive feedback from actual customers.
As the old saying goes, "The best place to start is at the beginning," so let's first check out Goldco's ownership and basic company setup.
Goldco: Operational Overview, Ownership, and History
For 27 years, all of them under the direction of founder Trevor Gerszt, Goldco has been helping people of all ages create retirement accounts that include precious metals. The main mission of the company is to assist investors in either setting up new IRAs or rolling over existing ones into self-directed IRAs that contain precious metals like gold and silver.
Additionally, the company sells both gold and silver directly to the public for non-IRA purposes. Products include bars, bullion, and coins. The two most prominent rating entities, the Better Business Bureau and the Business Consumer Alliance (BBB and BCA), have given Goldco their top ratings of A+ and Triple-A, respectively.
Likewise, on verified review websites, the company has universally positive feedback from actual clients, users, investors, and consumers. The company Gerszt set up in 2006 has grown into one of the USA's most reputable and largest providers of retirement-related gold and silver investment services.
A Pros & Cons "Cheat Sheet"
With a top-notch service provider in the IRA space, it's pretty common for the pros to outnumber the cons on a list like the following. So, don't be surprised that the first part is much longer than the second! Here are the main beneficial factors we discovered about the company:
Pros
Cons
Account Setup Process
Once you decide to pull the trigger and initiate a self-directed gold or silver IRA with Goldco, the reps will walk you through the process by asking questions and explaining everything step-by-step. What are those steps? There are three of them. Here's the short list of what each one entails.
The nitty-gritty of the process is either filling in the application at Goldco's website or just telling the phone rep that you want to let them do it for you by collecting the general information during a conversation.
After a few signatures and legal details, the account will be officially activated with your authorization. Next, it's time to fund it. Here, you'll need to make a simple decision. It's a matter of transferring money directly from a bank account to Goldco or rolling over an existing IRA or 401(k).
So, the situation is that you're either setting up a brand-new IRA with funds you transmit or rolling over a retirement account you already have. Don't worry about the tax impact or penalties during a rollover. The IRS allows you to do this tax-free and legally. The Goldco rep will give you all the details you need to enact a rollover in a swift manner. Their experts go through the process with people every day, so it's second nature to them.
Fastest Ways To Contact Someone At Goldco
There are several ways to get in touch with the company. By far, the fastest is by calling their toll-free number, which is listed in bold letters at the upper-right side of their site's main page, which is 855 450 1394. That will put you in touch with a representative who can answer any questions about IRA and precious metal investing.
The main website is located at www.goldco.com, but the handy contact page is at https://goldco.com/contact-us/, where you can fill out a simple form and ask a question. The reply will come via phone or email, depending on which method you prefer. Note that the phone hours are weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
The official office address is 24025 Park Sorrento, Suite 210, Calabasas, Calif., 91302
Selling Or Withdrawing Metals
If you don't want to incur a 10% penalty on the withdrawal, it's necessary to wait until after age 59.5 to take money out of an IRA. This is a longstanding rule and applies to all retirement accounts. Still, it also applies to precious metals IRAs, so be sure to wait until six months after turning 59 to make a withdrawal.
A Goldco rep can explain all the details about withdrawal schedules, but the main thing to know is that you have several choices about what to do with the metals once you decide to take them out. First, an account holder can have the metals sent directly to their home. Or, they can have Goldco sell them on the open market.
Third, Goldco has a buy-back program that offers highly competitive prices, which means you can sell your IRA gold and silver directly to them if you want to. Of course, the prevailing price of the metals at the time of the sale will determine what the going price is and what you will receive in exchange for whatever amount you choose to sell during a withdrawal.
What's The Deal With Self-Directed IRAs?
In other words, what's the short version of why people use self-directed IRAs, also known as SDIRAs? As opposed to a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, or 401(k), a self-directed version allows the account holder to place precious metals into them, particularly tangible assets like gold, silver, platinum, or palladium, bullion rounds, bullion bars, coins, and a few other forms of those metals, or any combination of them.
Since 1993's Tax Reform Act, individual investors have been able to maintain retirement accounts that contain precious metals. However, the IRS added some picky rules about what can and can't be put into an SDIRA. Gold and silver bullion must meet purity requirements, primarily being greater than 99% pure, or higher, in almost all cases of bullion.
For coins, the rules are even stricter, with the IRS allowing only certain kinds of officially minted gold and silver coins. Don't worry about the details on this point because Goldco only sells IRS-approved precious metals, both in coin and bullion form.
Why use an SDIRA? Millions of investors don't like the volatility factor of the stock market or the fact that corporations can go bankrupt at any time. Plus, during a major financial crisis, it's possible that the entire equities market, which consists solely of intangible assets, could come crashing down like so many broken Legos. Gold and silver tend to perform well when the stock market is in trouble. There are other reasons people create self-directed IRAs, but those are the main ones.
Why Do People Invest In Gold And Silver?
It might seem like a question that has an obvious answer, but in reality, there are lots of reasons people prefer putting their retirement money into precious metals. For one thing, gold and silver can be an excellent way to hedge against the travails of inflation and a shaky US dollar. Other smart reasons to opt for precious metals include:
Fees, Charges, Account Minimums, Etc.
Probably the first thing people want to know is "How much is this going to cost me?" Well, the price you pay for the gold and silver that goes into the account is dictated by the prevailing market at the time. Other than that, there are fees associated with setting up a precious metals IRA with Goldco. Here's the short version:
There's a one-time-only pair of fees for wire transfers of funds of $30 and for account setup of $50. Yearly account maintenance fees will run you $80, but storage fees are $100 for non-segregated and $150 for segregated. The minimum deposit for IRAs is $25,000.
Note that the storage fees apply to the Goldco preferred facility of the Delaware Depository, but you can use any IRS-approved facility. If you use another facility, the storage fees might be higher or lower than what Delaware Depository charges.
Note: For non-IRA services, the charges are much lower, as is the account minimum. First, there are no storage, account setup, or account maintenance fees for non-IRA metals purchases. The minimum purchase amount is $3,500.
What's The Consensus Of Reviews?
Investors need to trod with caution when using online reviews to evaluate products and services. That's especially important when it comes to placing your retirement capital in the hands of a brokerage firm or precious metals dealership. Fortunately, there are several verified, reputable, longstanding review websites out there that you can use to size up Goldco's credentials and general reputation.
Consensus From Major, Legit Review Sites
As noted above, Goldco earns the top rating from BBB and BCA, but there are more specific data on both of those sources. For example, the BBB's A+ rating for Goldco comes from nearly 300 verified customer reviews that result in a 4.86 out of 5.00 rating. For BCA, the AAA rating is also a five-star rank. Other sources reveal similar across-the-board consumer sentiment.
Google's reviews for the company are based on 688 consumers who give an average of 4.88 out of five stars. TrustLink gives Goldco a 4.8/5.0 based on 253 authentic reviews. Trustpilot's data is similar, with a 4.9/5.0 rating based on 759 reviews. ConsumerAffairs gives the company a 4.8/5.0 out of 820 verified consumer reviews. Finally, Goldco is an official, registered company with the Ethics.Net community, which adds even more heft to the general tone of the positive customer reviews.
What Kinds Of Retirement Accounts Can New Customers Roll Over?
This is one of the most common questions the Goldco reps hear, and the answer is clear-cut and encouraging for investors. Virtually any legally structured retirement account can be rolled over into a precious metals IRA. What does that include?
Well, if you already have a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, a 401(k), 457, 403(b), or almost any type of TSP (thrift savings plan) or pension through an employer, you can easily convert it into a gold or silver IRA. There are no financial penalties from the IRS because rollovers are a legal way to move money from one account to another.
Does Goldco Act As Custodian and Storage Service?
It's essential for investors to know how precious metals IRAs are set up. According to IRS rules, there must be an official "custodian" who oversees the paperwork on the account, and tracks and administers all the assets that are held in the account. In addition to a custodian, there must be an IRS-approved storage company. Goldco does not store or serve as a custodian.
Their role is to help you set up the whole arrangement, sell the precious metals that will go into the account, and help you connect with a storage company and custodian. Note that you are also free to choose any IRS-approved custodian and storage facility you wish. Working with a Goldco rep, you can do a rollover in less than two weeks, get all the paperwork taken care of, set up the account, fund it, and place precious metals into it.
In fact, whether you choose to do a rollover or set up a brand-new self-directed precious metals IRA, Roth version, or otherwise, the Goldco specialist will walk you through the process and deal with all the paperwork along the way.
What Gold & Silver Products Does Goldco Sell?
The company sells a wide variety of gold and silver products suitable for IRS-approved IRA accounts. The following are currently listed on their website. Keep in mind that occasionally some are added or removed if the IRS alters its official list of what's allowed and what isn't. In general, you're always okay to add gold or silver bars. It's the list of coins that can change every now and then. Here's what's currently available:
Gold
Silver
All Things Considered, Is Goldco A Wise Choice For Investors?
There are plenty of reasons to select Goldco for your IRA precious metals investing. In addition to being the Company of the Year in 2021 in their industry, they do a lot of things right.
For instance, they have spent more than two decades building a reputation for:
In light of all those positive factors, we placed Goldco on the top of our precious metals IRA list. Not only do they have rock-solid industry credentials, but they are a clear consumer choice in a highly competitive industry.
