Gold IRA Investing

Gold and silver in your retirement account can provide tax advantages, such as deferring taxes until retirement or giving them a tax-free status forever.

Investors can simply transfer funds from your 401(k) or other retirement plan, or make an annual contribution up to IRS limits, into a “self-directed” IRA at one of our connected custodian partners, and choose your investments. Assets are securely stored in vault storage facilities and can be sold or distributed as required at any time.

An IRA can be used to invest in physical gold and silver quickly and easily. Investors simply need to open an account, transfer or roller an existing account or fund a new account.

IRAs can be funded via an annual contribution, IRA transfer or Rollover 

Gold or precious metals IRAs are Individual Retirement Accounts in which physical gold or other approved precious metals are held in custody on behalf of the IRA account owner. 

Gold IRAs work in the same was as regular IRAs but hold physical gold bars or coins instead of paper assets.

The following four types of precious metals can be held in an IRA:

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Platinum
  • Palladium

Precious metals must be in the form of IRS approved coins or bars. Gold is the most popular choice as an IRA precious metal. Due to this popularity, the term Gold IRA is frequently used, additional terms used include precious metals IRA, silver IRA, in addition to platinum and palladium.

Precious metals provide a range of advantages including diversification to mitigate against political, economic and stock market uncertainty, in addition to hedging against inflation.

The following are currently permitted:

Gold

  • American Gold Eagle bullion coins
  • American Gold Eagle proof coins
  • British Gold Britannia coins (from 2013)
  • Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins
  • American Gold Buffalo uncirculated coins
  • Austrian Gold Philharmonic coins
  • British The Queen's Beasts (coin)
  • Australian Kangaroo / Nugget coins
  • British gold Shēngxiào Lunar Series (British coin)
  • Chinese Gold Panda coins
  • Gold bars and rounds produced by a NYMEX or COMEX-approved refinery or national government mint, which meet minimum required fineness levels.

Silver

  • American Silver Eagle bullion coins
  • American Silver Eagle proof coins
  • British Silver Britannia coins (from 2013)
  • Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins
  • Austrian Silver Philharmonic coins
  • British The Queen's Beasts (coin)
  • British silver Shēngxiào Lunar Series (British coin)
  • Australian Silver Kookaburra coins
  • Mexican Libertad coins
  • Chinese Silver Panda coins
  • Silver bars and rounds produced by a NYMEX or COMEX-approved refinery or national government mint, which meet minimum required fineness levels.

Platinum

  • American Platinum Eagle coins
  • American Platinum Eagle proof coins
  • British The Queen's Beasts (coin)
  • Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coins
  • British Britannia (coin) (from 2018)
  • Australian Platinum Koala coins
  • Isle of Man Noble coins
  • Platinum bars and rounds produced by a NYMEX or COMEX-approved refinery or national government mint, which meet minimum required fineness levels.

Palladium

  • American Palladium Eagle bullion coins
  • Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coins
  • Palladium bars and rounds produced by a NYMEX or COMEX-approved refinery or national government mint, which meet minimum required fineness levels.

Gold has long been attractive as an asset class, and as a secure high value asset seen as maintaining or increasing its value providing stability, security and investment returns. Investors also choose to diversify and de-risk their investment portfolios ahead of retirement. Gold IRAs provide a range of tax advantages in addition to diversification advantages.

Throughout history, gold has been used as money and as a relative currency equivalent for specific regions or countries.

Gold is traded continuously worldwide based on the intra-day spot price, originating from gold-trading markets, the code is “XAU”. 

The weight of gold determines its value. Gold reserves in the US amount to over 8,000 tonnes, making it the world's largest. WGC estimates that this amount of gold represents 4% of the 187,200 tons of gold mined so far. 

In the vaults of the Bank of England, the UK holds 310 tonnes of gold after selling off 400 tonnes between 1999 and 2002.

In terms of supply and demand, gold is considered a limited commodity. According to the World Gold Council, China, Russia, and Australia produced the most gold in 2020. 

Gold's supply is relatively limited, so variations in demand greatly affect the price.

Investing in gold can have several advantages, especially when economic conditions are volatile:

Preservation of wealth
The ‘real' value of a currency decreases over time as a result of inflation. Therefore, £100 today is worth less than it was 30 years ago. A gold investment can help you protect your wealth against inflation by protecting its ‘real' value. 

As economies around the world are experiencing high inflation, investors may turn to gold as a real physical asset that holds its value. In theory, increased demand for gold during inflationary periods can result in a rise in gold prices, suggesting gold is a good hedge against inflation.

Secure holdings
Several factors affect the value of a currency, including interest rates and money supply. On the other hand, gold's value is determined by supply and demand. Therefore, gold is often considered a safe haven in economically and politically uncertain times. This has been true for both investors and retail investors.

Diversification
Investors can diversify their portfolio with gold as well as cash, shares, bonds, and property.

In the event that one asset class, such as shares, underperforms, diversification serves as a form of protection. 

Inverse correlation is often used to describe gold's relationship with other asset classes. When stock markets are falling because of high inflation and economic uncertainty, investing in gold may yield a higher return. 

The carat number of gold determines its value – higher carat numbers have a higher proportion of gold and a lower proportion of other metals. Pure gold is 24 carats. A bar can weigh anything between one gram and over 10 kilograms. Gold bars are stamped with their purity level and weight.

You can add gold and other precious metals to your portfolio in a variety of ways. With the introduction of digital trading platforms, access to precious metal markets has become easier than it used to be. Traditionally, gold was only available in coins, bars, or jewelry.