Best Gold IRA Options

4 Reasons to Invest in a Gold IRA Starting Right Now

1. It’s the perfect hedge against the US dollar. Believe it or not, when the US dollar falters gold investments tend to rise in value. The dollar is on rough footing these days. Trump’s trade wars with Russia and Mexico are hurting market sentiment and the short-term outlook on the US economy. In turn, the dollar is becoming weak. If this trade standstill continues for a long time, the dollar could get crushed. Are you willing to risk everything on a celebrity game show host turned US president with no political experience?
2. World businesses are on the mend. Everybody took a bath and business suffered tremendously during the US financial crisis. In fact, the US is losing its good standing as a financial leader because so many countries suffered. Why would you want to invest in businesses that are shaky at best? Gold is a stable investment during goods times and an even better investment when times get tough.
3. Gold continues to rise in value. Ever since the U.S. government has abandoned the gold standard the value of gold has increased drastically. In the past 20 years, the value of gold has risen by $1080 per ounce. That’s a 415% increase! And it’s only going to continue its upward climb as the Fed continues to print fiat money. Need we say more?
4. Overcome retirement account ceilings investing in precious metals. As you know, retirement accounts have a contribution ceiling. You can only invest so much per year. Instead of leaving your money vulnerable in cash, you should buy gold as a much safer alternative. Many investors believe the US dollar is on the brink of collapse. Do you feel this way? You might want to limit your exposure to the dollar if you answered yes.

Gold IRA Investing Guidelines

There are three ways that you can invest in a precious metals IRA:

1. through a direct purchase from a licensed broker,
2. converting your current retirement plan to a gold IRA via a rollover,
3. or funding your precious metals IRA via direct transfer of funds from your existing retirement plan.

So, without further ado, we’ll take a closer look at each type of investment

1) Direct Purchase

You can directly purchase a precious metals IRA and it will usually be for a minimum amount that is significantly lower than for retirement plan conversion options (rollovers and transfers). For example, with Regal Assets, the minimum investment requirement for directly purchases are $5,000 whereas the minimum for a rollover is $10,000.

2) Initiating a Gold IRA Rollover

A gold IRA rollover is the right choice for investors who already save for retirement but aren’t allowed to own physical assets under their current plan. This person might have a traditional IRA without precious metals purchasing permission as they would in a self-directed precious metals IRA. Or they might have an existing 401(k) through their current or former place of employment. It is very simple to rollover any traditional or Roth IRA to a precious metals IRA. A 401(k) is more complicated and it depends on whether or not you have one with your previous or current employer. If you have a 401(k) with your current employer, you may have challenges rolling it over to a precious metals IRA. On the other hand, if you have a 401(k) with a previous employer, it is very easy to rollover your retirement plan to a gold IRA. Traditional IRAs are only allowed to hold stocks, bonds, and cash. As you can see, it’s missing the gold investment component. So a gold IRA rollover is in order if you intend to secure your retirement future investing in precious metals.

Types of Rollovers

According to the IRS, they stipulate that investors can complete a rollover three different ways. They include the following:

1. 60 Day Rollover – if you directly receive a distribution from a retirement plan or IRA, the IRS allows you 60 days to deposit some or all of it into a gold IRA account.
2. Direct Rollover – if a distribution is coming your way, you can request your retirement plan administrator to pay the distribution directly to your precious metals IRA.
3. Trustee-to-trustee Transfer – anyone receiving a distribution from an IRA can ask the trustee to make the transfer to your new gold IRA instead.

3) Initiating a Precious Metals IRA Funds Transfer

Do you currently have a different retirement account but plan to invest in precious metals? If so, you’ll need to transfer the funds from your current financial institution to your new gold IRA custodian. As an example, let’s say you intend to convert your existing traditional IRA to a gold IRA. You can initiate a tax free transfer from one institution to another without any problems. Just make sure an impending distribution isn’t in progress. This is only one example of the types of gold IRA transfers currently possible. You can also transfer funds from your existing Roth IRA to a gold IRA: With transfers, you can make them directly from one account to another. Or you can liquidate your current funds and deposit the proceeds into your new account.

The Right Way to Buy Physical Gold

There’s a wrong way and a right way to buy physical gold. We want to teach you the right way so you never get burned. Your two main options include:

• Buying gold in person
• Buying gold online

The option of buying in person is difficult. You never know who you can trust. You’ll wonder whether or not you’re actually buying gold or a cheap facsimile. Sure, you can walk into a neighborhood coin shop and make a purchase. Nobody will stop you. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to get ripped off in this situation. Plus, brick and mortar shops keep regular hours so it’s not too convenient either. Buying gold online is a totally different ballgame. It’s easy to learn which companies are trustworthy and which have bad reputations. You’ll have more options available when compared to a local coin dealer. And websites stay open 24/7. So you can buy precious metals early in the morning, late at night, or anywhere in between. Our recommendation: buy physical gold online. It’s safe, secure, and incredibly convenient.

A Brief Explanation of a Gold IRA

A gold IRA is similar to a traditional or Roth IRA with one major difference: it holds physical precious metals. So, if you plan to buy gold bullion coins and bars and accrue value toward your retirement, this is the way to do it. A gold IRA is also known as a precious metals IRA or a metals IRA. With a self-directed precious metals IRA, you the investor, are the only in control of the asset allocation. This means that you’re not only limited to investing in traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and treasury notes. In a self-directed precious metals IRA, you can hold all types of assets: cryptocurrency, oil and gas, commercial real estate, land and other assets that you would not be able to hold in any other traditional retirement plan. Some investors prefer other vehicles to gain precious metals exposure. We’ll tell you how three different styles of investing stack up against the gold IRA.

Gold ETF vs. Gold IRA

Buying an ETF is like placing a bet. Sure, buying GLD will give you exposure to gold in your portfolio, but it’s not a solid long term investment. It goes up when the value of gold goes up. And it goes down when the value of gold goes down. But it does so at triple the speed. So you can gain or lose money very quickly. This option is more for day traders not retirement investors.

Gold ETN vs. Gold IRA

An ETN is similar to an ETF but there’s one big difference. The ETF is actually backed by physical gold, although it’s hard to convert your shares to the real thing as an investor. An ETN is just an exchange traded note. It isn’t actually backed by physical gold. In our opinion, this is an even worse investment and bigger gamble than the ETF.

Gold Stocks vs. Gold IRA

Investing in individual stocks is always tricky. That’s why only a tiny percentage of the population will ever get rich buying them. You have to know what you’re doing to make money. A gold IRA is simple. You buy gold at a certain price per ounce and you know it will rise in value over time. How do you know? You know because of history and past performance, that’s how.

Gold Investing Q&A

You have questions and we have answers. Hence the Q&A.

Who can open a gold IRA account?

Anybody who wants one can open an account. There are no restrictions.

What other investments are allowed in a gold IRA?

You aren’t limited to precious metals in this account. You can also buy stocks, bonds, futures contracts, physical assets, and more. Speak to your IRA custodian for a full list.

What is the best advice for investing in gold?

If you intend to buy gold, you should do it in a precious metals IRA account. You can convert or transfer your existing retirement account and roll it over into an IRA. Or you can start a new account and fund it from scratch. Just make the most of the tax advantages of this investment vehicle and you’ll be alright.

What types of coins and bars are approved for gold IRA investing?

• Gold coins and bars must all have a .995% purity level.
• Silver coins and bars must all have a .999% purity level.
• Platinum coins and bars must all have a .9995% purity level.
• Palladium coins and bars must all have a .9995% purity level.

Each individual IRA custodian will have their own specifications. Ask yours for a list of requirements.

Conclusion

Investing isn’t supposed to be easy. If it were everyone would do it. But it’s necessary if you plan to live financially secure and free when you retire. So it’s up to you, and you alone, to protect yourself. As you can see, investing in physical gold is the right choice. With so much economic turmoil and strife, it’s hard to feel comfortable keeping all of your eggs in one basket. You need to expand your horizons and diversify your portfolio. Investing in a precious metals IRA is the perfect way to do so. So get started right away and don’t delay, view our List of Top 10 Gold IRA Companies today.