Goldco review
- Stock trade fee
- Minimum deposit
- $25,000
Summary
It’s well-reviewed by investors but isn’t transparent about its account fees.
This California-based provider offers precious metals IRAs and will help you roll your existing retirement savings into gold or silver bullion. But you’ll need at least $25,000 to open an account and can only purchase eligible metals from Goldco’s catalog.
Who is Goldco best for?
A Goldco self-directed gold and silver individual retirement account (IRA) is best suited to investors seeking hands-off asset diversification. Although these IRAs are limited to a single asset class, they offer investors the opportunity to hedge against paper investments by investing in precious metals.
Unlike investing in stocks, bonds or funds, you don’t need to devote time to market research when selecting the investments for your precious metals IRA. Instead, select from Goldco’s catalog of gold and silver bullion and fund your account. Goldco’s precious metals IRAs function the same way as traditional and Roth IRAs, offering a tax-advantaged investment opportunity for investors who want to save for retirement.
How does it approach investing?
Investing in a precious metals IRA is different from purchasing paper assets through a brokerage account. Here’s a quick rundown of the process:
- Open an account. Contact Goldco’s customer support team to schedule a call with one of its sales representatives.
- Transfer funds. Roll some or all of your existing retirement account funds into your Goldco precious metals IRA. You’ll need at least $25,000 to open an account.
- Select metals. Choose the coins and bars you’d like to add to your account from Goldco’s catalog.
- Metals are stored. Place your order to have your metals shipped to one of Goldco’s depository locations.
As the account broker, Goldco purchases precious metals on your behalf and acts as the account administrator. It then ships your metals to one of its six partner depositories where your metals are safely stored. When the time comes for you to cash out, you can sell your metals back to Goldco or to a third-party dealer.
Investors are welcome to set up a new account or roll an existing IRA or 401(k) into a Goldco gold or silver IRA. You’ll need at least $25,000 to open an account and any precious metal investments added to your account must be purchased through Goldco — you can’t add gold or silver you already own to your Goldco account.
What is a gold IRA?
A gold IRA is a self-directed retirement account that allows you to invest in physical gold and other precious metals. Both Traditional and Roth IRAs are available and can be funded by partially or fully rolling an existing retirement account into the new IRA. Once you’ve selected the metals you’d like to purchase, the account administrator facilitates the purchase and metals are transferred to a depository facility for safe storage.
Only metals that meet IRS fineness standards of 0.999 or 99.9% purity qualify to be added to a precious metals IRA. Standard IRA contribution limits apply.
The following retirement accounts are eligible for Goldco’s IRA rollover program:
- 401(k)
- 403(b)
- Roth 401(k)
- Roth 457(b)
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- SIMPLE IRA
Goldco fees
Goldco doesn’t offer any information about its fees on its website. And when we contacted Goldco through its live chat service to inquire about its fees, we were told that we would need to schedule a call with one of its sales reps for more information.
Precious metals IRAs are typically accompanied by one-time account fees and ongoing management fees. Before you sign up, inquire about the following:
- Setup fees
- Annual administrative fees
- Annual storage fees
What you can buy
With a Goldco IRA, you can purchase the following types of gold:
- American Eagle
- American Eagle Proof
- American Bald Eagle
- Buffalo
- Maple Leaf
- Freedom
- Lucky Dragon
- Australian Saltwater Crocodile
- Royal Mint Gold Lunar Series coins
- Gold bars
You can purchase the following types of silver:
- American Eagle
- American Eagle Proof
- Maple Leaf
- Australian Saltwater Crocodile
- Lucky Dragon
- Silver World War I
- Silver World War II Victory
- Bald Eagle
- Royal Mint Silver Britannia Lunar Series coins
- Silver bars
Pros and cons
Pros
Precious metals IRAs offer a hands-off investing opportunity for those looking to save for retirement. Accounts are tax-advantaged and precious metals provide asset diversification that can help investors hedge against inflation.
An account with Goldco also offers the following perks:
- Hands-off investing. There’s little guesswork involved with a Goldco gold or silver IRA — your account administrator sends you a catalog of available coins and bars — you select what you’d like to purchase.
- Solid reputation. Goldco maintains a strong online reputation across several reputable review platforms, including the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Cons
Only certain products qualify for purchase and cashing out a precious metals IRA isn’t as simple as selling off paper assets. You’ll need to find a buyer willing to purchase your coins and bullion and may not get a competitive price.
And if you plan to open an account with Goldco, be wary of the following:
- Lack of transparency. Goldco isn’t forthcoming about what it charges its account holders.
- High minimum deposit. You’ll need at least $25,000 to open a Goldco gold or silver IRA, which is steeper than the $5,000 minimum required by a number of Goldco’s competitors.
- Can’t add existing precious metals. Any assets you add to your Goldco IRA must be purchased through Goldco.
Goldco reviews and complaints
Goldco investor feedback is largely positive. As of February 2022, it’s an accredited business with the BBB. It has a TrustScore of 4.7 out of 5 based on the feedback of 649 investors and has no complaints to its name on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
| BBB rating | A+ |
| BBB accredited | Yes |
| BBB customer rating | 4.89/5 based on 212 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 4.7/5 out of 649 customer reviews |
| Google Play app | N/A |
| Apple app store | N/A |
| Customer reviews verified as of | February 2022 |
The company was founded in 2006, with headquarters in Woodland Hills, California. Investors say the process of rolling existing funds into a Goldco account is straightforward and easy to navigate. Complaints are few and far between but several investors warn of aggressive sales reps that pushed them into purchases they weren’t comfortable with.
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Bottom line
Goldco facilitates the purchase and storage of precious metals through its gold and silver IRAs. But it isn’t forthcoming about its fees and aggressive sales reps have been reported.
Do your research ahead of time to make the best purchase to fit your investment strategy. Review your retirement investment options with multiple providers to find the account that best meets your long-term needs.
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