Discover the Best Gold IRA Custodians

• Gold has historically served as a form of diversification, an investment vehicle in times of inflation and uncertainty, and a store of value.
• In 2019, the price of gold fell by 10 percent, but it's up more than 300 percent since 2008.
• Gold prices have long been regarded as a safe haven for investors when markets become volatile.
• Gold prices have been highly volatile due to a variety of global factors.
• The dollar and gold prices move together most of the time, with gold rising when the value of the dollar falls, and vice versa.

Gold has historically served as a form of diversification, an investment vehicle in times of inflation and uncertainty, and a store of value. In 2019, the price of gold fell by 10 percent, but it's up more than 300 percent since 2008.
Gold's price fluctuates based on a number of factors, including geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates, and changes in the value of the dollar.

Best Gold IRA Custodians: An Overview

Investors interested in investing in gold as an IRA with physical gold should consider the following gold IRA custodians:
Regal Assets

Regal Assets is a family-owned gold IRA company, founded in 2002. The company is headquartered in Florida and has 80 offices across the United States. Regal Assets offers a variety of gold IRA investment options, including coins, bullion, and ETFs.
BullionVault

BullionVault was launched in 2005 and is based in the UK. It is the largest online gold marketplace in the world, with more than 1 million customers and 1,000,000 ounces of gold bullion in storage.

Goldco

Goldco was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. It is an online gold broker and is not a traditional IRA custodian. Goldco provides investment options in physical gold, and customers can buy and sell gold online.

My Gold IRA

My Gold IRA, based in Boca Raton, Florida, was founded in 2004. The company provides physical gold IRA investments.

Opening a Gold IRA with Gold Bullion Direct

Gold Bullion Direct offers precious metals IRAs for clients who want to invest in physical gold. The company allows you to purchase gold bars or coins, as well as physical gold. Investors can also choose from six different storage options:

1. Individual Storage: The gold is kept in a vault near the company's office building.
2. Safe Deposit Box: The gold is stored in a safe deposit box at a bank, which can be located anywhere in the U.S.
3. Fractional Ownership: The gold is kept in segregated, allocated, and allocated storage accounts.
4. Gold Bullion Direct Vault: The gold is kept in a high-grade, high-security vault. The vault is located in either the U.S. or Canada.

Gold Bullion Direct's Pros and Cons

The Pros:
Gold Bullion Direct offers a wide selection of gold, silver, and platinum bullion products.

Gold Bullion Direct offers free shipping, convenient payment options, and immediate delivery.

Gold Bullion Direct provides a 30-day money back guarantee.

Gold Bullion Direct offers competitive prices.

Gold Bullion Direct has 5 stars over 20 reviews.

The Cons:
Gold Bullion Direct is a newcomer to the gold IRA industry.

Gold Bullion Direct does not offer investment advice.

Gold Bullion Direct does not accept international orders.

American Bullion

American Bullion is one of the most respected precious metals IRA custodians in the industry. It offers the lowest all-in fees around, starting at just $50 per year.
Golden Eagle
For investors who want a bit more flexibility with their gold investment, Golden Eagle is a great option. It offers IRAs, 401(k)s, and self-directed accounts. Best of all, the company doesn't charge IRA setup or annual fees. However, it does charge $100 to open an account for self-directed accounts.
IRA Services Trust Company 
IRA Services Trust Company offers both traditional and self-directed gold IRAs. Plus, the company offers physical gold bars and coins, in addition to paper precious metals.

American Bullion's Pros and Cons

Pros

American Bullion is a gold IRA company that operates out of Las Vegas. This Nevada-based company offers a variety of products and services, including bullion, coin, and bar storage, IRA rollovers, and IRA management.

American Bullion offers IRA storage in four different facilities, with each one having a different level of security. The Virginia facility is monitored by closed-circuit television, and the Nevada facilities include 24-hour security, locked storage for precious metals, and fireproof vaults.

American Bullion offers several IRA plans, including traditional, Roth IRA, self-directed, and a 401(k) rollover.

American Bullion works with clients who are 55 or older, and who are looking to buy precious metals.

American Bullion offers a fair selection of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium.

American Bullion offers reputable gold IRA rollover services, including free account setups, 24-hour customer service, no minimum balance, and free shipping.

American Bullion is independently owned.

American Bullion has a solid reputation for customer service.

American Bullion accepts a variety of payment methods, including checks, bank drafts, money orders, cashier checks, and cash.

Cons

American Bullion has a number of hidden fees, including monthly account maintenance fees, IRA annual fees, and IRA management fees.

American Bullion's customer service isn't available 24/7.

American Bullion's website isn't very user-friendly.

American Bullion's IRA Reviews
American Bullion has a solid reputation for customer service. However, many customers reported confusing forms and confusing account management. The setup process isn't the easiest, and customers have to mail in their paperwork, wait for it to be processed, and then receive confirmation. This can take anywhere from 24 hours to 10 days.

Goldco Precious Metals

Goldco Precious Metals is America's largest online precious metals dealer. They specialize in making the process of purchasing precious metals simple and affordable.

You can buy precious metals with the confidence that Goldco Precious Metals stands behind its products with a lifetime buyback policy. They offer a 99.9% purity guarantee, and they offer a lifetime guarantee on purity.

Goldco Precious Metals partners with over 40 of the nation's leading mints, refineries, and suppliers.

Goldco Precious Metals is known for its excellent customer service. They can be reached 24/7 by calling 1-800-394-3337 or by visiting their website.

Goldco's Pros and Cons

Pros

Goldco is a well-established dealer, owned by 1st National Bullion, established in 1973.

Goldco specializes in precious metals and is a member of the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA).

Goldco offers educational seminars and webinars, and its website provides a wealth of information on precious metals and related topics.

Goldco offers IRA rollovers, and will help you determine whether your IRA or 401(k) rollover would be tax-advantaged when you move your retirement funds into precious metals.

Goldco offers secure storage for your precious metals.

A live operator is available to answer your questions.

Goldco offers competitive retail pricing.

Goldco offers other precious metals, such as silver, platinum, and palladium.

Goldco offers free shipping on orders over $3,000.

Cons

Prices at Goldco.com are slightly higher than those found at many other online dealers. However, Goldco's prices are competitive, and you will do well to remember that you are comparing apples to apples. Prices at physical dealers, such as CoinFlip.com, are considerably higher.

Goldco's website does not offer much in the way of self-service. If you would rather do your own research, then Goldco is not your best option.

Gold IRA: Should You Open One To Save For Retirement?

Regal Assets' Pros and Cons

Pros
Regal Assets offers a variety of gold IRA options including gold bullion, physical gold, and paper gold.

Regal Assets offers clients complete transparency when it comes to fees and storage fees.

Regal Assets has an online interface that's easy to navigate.

Regal Assets offers customer service via phone, email, and live chat.

Regal Assets has the added bonus of selling products outside of the precious metals market.

Cons
Regal Assets is not well-known and, thus, is relatively unknown.

Regal Assets only offers one storage facility and that facility is located in Texas.

Regal Assets does not offer a rollover IRA.

Regal Assets does not offer the opportunity to invest in silver.

Regal Assets does not offer IRAs for clients younger than 591⁄2.

Bottom Line
Regal Assets is a good choice for clients seeking a gold IRA company and who don't want to pay high fees. Clients can invest their gold IRA funds in a variety of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.