When you can own a gold individual retirement account

There is usually a huge difference between investments in tangible and physical gold bullion and paper-backed investments like bonds and stocks. It can be hard to think that paper-backed investments give any significant benefits compared to real goals except liquidity. 

If you desire to have an exposure to gold, then you should look for physical metals. While gold is a collectible and the IRAs are usually not allowed to have collectibles, there are also ways you can legally own gold using an IRA.

When you should have a gold IRA

As explained earlier, an IRA cannot own all gold investments. The basic rule says that an IRA cannot own a collectible. Keep in mind that precious metals are considered to be collectibles regardless of whether the investment is in coins or bullion. Thankfully, there are some exceptions to this general rule for silver, gold, palladium, and platinum that can be held in certain forms.

You can have a gold IRA if you have bullion coins for legal tender. These coins need to have a 99.5 percent fineness level. For example, the American Eagle coins qualify as well as some bullion coins that are issued by the states. You can also have the Canadian Maple Leafs in an IRA. 

Even better, bullion bars and even rounds of silver and gold are also allowed in IRAs but they need to have a 99.9 percent fineness level. Remember that some IRA custodians don’t allow you to have gold in their IRAs. Instead, they only allow investments in publicly-traded securities like bonds, stocks, and mutual funds. 

To have gold whether in bullion or coins in an IRA, then you should have a self-directed IRA that a few custodians offer. It’s important to have a custodian because the IRS requires that the bullion or coins should be handled by a custodian. You can’t utilize IRA funds to purchase the precious metals and store them yourself.

Finding an approved custodian

To find a custodian that provides self-directed IRAs, then you need to research properly on the internet. You should pay close attention to the length of time they have been operating, the fees they charge, and how they will purchase the bullion or coins for your IRA.

In other words, you need to find the best gold IRA companies that can offer a good price and not the one that can charge excessive markup. You should also make sure that you understand the insurance, transaction, and storage fees that they charge. You can go to the Goldtrends website to view the Gold IRA company reviews as this can help you to find the right company that you’re looking for.

To benefit from increases in gold prices, it’s a good idea to have an exchange-traded fund. With the exchange-traded fund, you can buy and sell whenever the markets are open. The exchange-traded fund can also purchase, store, and even insure gold at a low price.

However, if you are not comfortable with the exchange-traded fund, then your best option is to have an IRA custodian. This is the most efficient way you can own precious metals including gold and silver.