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Finding the best Silver IRA companies can be overwhelming. There are many different types of companies with a variety of interesting options for people who intend to invest in silver as part of their retirement plans. If you are one of those people, it is important that you make an informed decision, and you can only do that if you do your own research. With the many options out there, you need to dive into these companies, their key features, offers, plus their advantages and disadvantages.
You will find this article helpful in making a smart choice for your silver IRA company. (Note: IRA – Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements.)
Top 3 Silver IRA Companies
- Goldco - Best Gold IRA Company Overall
- Augusta Precious Metal - Runner up
- American Hartford Gold - Best Gold and silver coin collection
#1 Goldco (5/5 Rating)
Goldco, which was established in 2006, is a company selling precious metals. Their main headquarters is in Woodland Hills, California. If you are hesitant in investing in stocks or bonds, perhaps you can consider buying gold and silver from Goldco instead.
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 shows there are a few exceptions to the “no collectibles in an IRA”. IRA investment with Goldco is a possibility since certain types of gold and silver are included in the exceptions. Take note that these exceptions are for precious metals that have met a minimum fitness requirement.
Goldco aims to help people set up new accounts, and to date, the company has helped many people who wish to transfer their IRAs or other qualified retirement accounts from other companies to Goldco.
BBB has given Goldco a good rating. On the other hand, Goldco received a Triple-A rating from BCA, meaning the company’s clients gave them positive reviews. Their clients have experienced ethical business practices from the company.
Pros
- Goldco offers clients both gold and silver IRAs.
- Clients can get free silver of up to $10,000 by opening a qualifying Ira account.
- The company can provide its clients comprehensive gold or silver retirement portfolio.
- The company has extensive experience in the industry.
- Godlco’s specialty is metal-backed IRAs.
- They have received an excellent A+ rating from the BBB.
- They profile the best customer service.
- The best buyback programs
Cons
- They require a minimum investment amount of $50,000.
- The company offers only gold and silver IRAs.
Click Here For Free Gold/Silver IRA Kit
#2 Augusta Precious Metals (4.7/5 Rating)
Having been established a decade ago, Augusta Precious Metals has become one of the leaders in the precious metals industry, offering retirees the option of investing their money in gold and silver. BBB has not received any complaints against the company since it started. They offer competitive prices that are 5% above the cost of bullion.
Aside from gold and silver, Augusta also offers “cash accounts. Their commitment to their customers is total transparency. When you transact with Augusta, you are assured that everyone in the company will ensure that you learn everything there is to know about their products.
The company specializes in assisting its clients in setting up their own gold and silver self-directed IRAs easily, using an efficient and streamlined process. Augusta employs professional and experienced IRA agents who are knowledgeable about precious metals.
The company has been voted by a top industry rating organization as the “Most Trusted in the U.S.”
If you want to learn more about this company, their website is a good place to start. They have a variety of resources online, including videos, a distribution calculator, and current market news. They even offer free one-on-one web conferences courtesy of their resident economist who is Harvard-trained.
When choosing an IRA company, you have to know more about its benefits and drawbacks.
Pros
- Zero complaints logged at the Better Business Bureau and BCA, and consistently receiving 5-star reviews from their clients.
- Lifetime customer account support – ably taking good care of both their existing and new clients.
- Streamlined approach process for creating an account.
- Recognized as the most competitive and the most transparent.
- Augusta Precious Metals has been voted as the most trusted U.S. gold IRA company.
- It has been endorsed by well-respected hall of famer, Joe Montana, who is an existing client. Montana’s advisors have recognized Augusta as the U.S.'s best silver IRA company.
- The company offers one-on-one online conferences, designed, and initiated by their own Harvard-educated economist. This feature sets the company apart from its competitors as no other silver IRA providers offer the same.
Cons
- minimum $50,000 deposit
Click Here For Free Gold/Silver IRA Kit
#3 American Hartford Gold (4.5/5 Rating)
American Hartford Gold, a family-owned business, offers precious metals, like silver, gold, platinum, and other precious metal IRAs. Clients can use either their gold or silver IRA to ensure that their retirement savings are protected.
Gold and silver IRAs are a good alternative to traditional IRAs (bonds, stocks, and other similar “paper” investments. The company helps diversify their clients’ retirement savings aligned to create improvements in their clients’ overall long-term portfolio returns.
The company doesn’t charge clients upon the setting up of their IRAs, and they provide retirement accounts. In addition, they also won’t charge clients for the shipping of their precious metals. They also won’t charge anything for tracking and insurance.
Their depository fees will vary, according to the amount clients want to invest. The company’s online catalog doesn’t provide a list of prices of their precious metals. The website also doesn’t have price charts for silver, gold, and platinum.
Pros
- The company offers a buy-back guarantee.
- They provide a good customer experience.
- Their IRA professionals and experts are always ready to assist clients.
- They don’t charge shipping fees.
Cons
- Absence of a pricelist in their online catalog.
Click Here For Free Gold/Silver IRA Kit
Silver IRA: What You Should Know
A silver IRA is a form of retirement account that allows retirees to invest in IRA-eligible silver bars and coins. The main difference in IRS (Internal Revenue Service) rules for silver IRA and other forms of IRA is that retirees can easily purchase silver and other available precious metals in your account, while the typical IRA types are invested in stocks, bonds, and other paper assets.
You are probably more familiar with the more commonly known IRAs like bonds and stocks that you can open using a brokerage firm like Schwab and Fidelity. However, there is a lesser-known option which is opening a self-directed IRA with an independent custodian specializing in managing these accounts. Most financial managers don’t usually offer them to investors, though. This type of account comes with the same tax guidelines and benefits as all the other IRAs except for one huge difference—investors manage their own investments. This means that the power is yours to choose what investments you want rather than being limited by what your broker offers.
Self-directed IRAs give you a wide variety of options to choose from, including precious metals like silver, gold, palladium, and platinum.
Is Silver a Good Retirement Investment?
Silver can be considered a good retirement investment. A lot of people see it as a safety net asset during uncertain times because they can use silver as a safe haven to protect their wealth and diversify their portfolios. Silver also serves as a hedge against losses during uncertain economic times and rising prices.
Silver is a tangible asset, giving you a sense of security over holding having intangible assets like owning a company.
What to Look For in a Silver IRA Company
These are the qualities to look for in a good silver IRA company:
- Informative
A lot of people do not easily understand IRAs right off the bat; thus, these companies need to offer educational resources for potential and existing investors to help them understand the whole process.
- Fair Marketing Techniques
You might be surprised to find a lot of companies offering silver IRA products and services. However, some make unsupported claims about yielding guaranteed profits. Some companies even create scenarios of impending economic disasters. If you are not well-informed, you might be tricked into investing in these kinds of companies. You have to take the necessary precautions and make sure you know everything about a particular company before investing your hard-earned money.
- Reputable
Look for companies with a good track record of quality service; hence, it is important to know more about their history before making a final choice. Take away from your list those companies with unclear origins or have received negative reviews from reliable organizations.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Silver IRA Company
These are the important factors to consider in a silver IRA company:
Track Record and Reputation of the Company
Learn more about the company’s history and track record. Be on the lookout for red flags. It is best to do background checks to determine if the people behind a particular company have tarnished records. Use the Better Business Bureau to check for complaints against the company and how they were able to resolve them (if any).
Check reviews of the company’s actual clients. See how they fare in terms of ratings from reputable companies like the Business Consumer Alliance, Better Business Bureau, and Trust Link.
Upfront and Reasonable Individual Retirement Account Fees
If you ask the experts, they will tell you to deal only with companies offering flat rates, and you might even find a company that would offer to pay the fees for you (this will depend on what account you have). Companies that constantly increase as your account size increases are only taking advantage of you.
Silver Storage Safety
Learn about the company’s policies for storage. Some companies maintain commingled storage wherein the different metals of all of their customers are stored in one place. Still, others offer segregated storage where each customer’s metals have separate storage.
With commingle storage, the depository vault contains all the metals belonging to many different investors. On the other hand, segregated storage keeps the silver in individual lockers.
In addition, with segregated storage, the bullion bars and the coins are still your original purchases. With commingled storage, however, the metals may be of the kind that you originally purchased, they might not be the same exact bars or coins that were put there on your behalf after you have purchased them.
If you plan to sell your precious metals in the future, choose segregated storage to make sure that your metals are not mixed with other people’s purchases. Doing so allows you to easily sell them. Plus, you are aware of the conditions your metals are in.
Generous Company Buyback Policies
If you intend to sell your precious metals in the future, choose a company that will buy them back. Although there is no law mandating companies to do this, there are companies that offer buyback programs. If the company won’t buy them back quickly, you might stand to miss out on the best spot prices at the time of sale.
Look for a company that has an existing buyback program that will buy back your metals at the current market price.
Sincere “Trust Signals” From the Provider
The best choice for a silver IRA company should not just offer silver but also other precious metals, like gold and platinum. You might need them in the future when the market changes. If you are considering investing in different types of precious metals, the company you choose should be able to appropriately handle them.
Choose a provider that is trustworthy, as proven by the positive ratings they have constantly received from their customers and their peers.
Final Thoughts – Best Silver IRA Companies
Choosing the best silver IRA company will be tricky because of the numerous choices being presented to you. Ensuring that you are making the right choice is crucial because they will be responsible for your hard-earned money. Consider the company’s reputation, integrity, and trustworthiness.
We recommend a company that is transparent with your investments, offers competitive and reasonable pricing, and will make it a point to understand you and educate you about your investment.
Number one on our list is Goldco because we know that the company checked all the boxes.
