Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. Refer to a professional for investment advice. In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners. Opinions are always our own.When you’re looking for a gold IRA company to work with, it’s important to choose the right one. The gold industry is surprisingly unregulated, and some companies want your business so badly they’re willing to use high-pressure sales techniques and questionable schemes to get you to buy.To help you choose a good company you can feel confident about working with, we’ve done research on many of the most prominent gold IRA companies in the market and will report what we’ve found. On this page, we’ll go over what we’ve seen and heard about Goldco, one of the biggest gold IRA companies in the market. Afterward, we’ll go over some information about how you can find the gold IRA company that’s right for you.Who is Goldco Precious Metals?Goldco is a California-based gold company offering precious metals IRAs to retirement savers. The company got its start in 2006 by selling precious metals in a business-to-business capacity. Since then, they have pivoted to offer precious metals and precious metals IRAs to consumers who are looking to diversify their savings.Goldco has served thousands of customers over the years, and a quick look at their online reviews will give you a good idea of how those customers have felt about them.Goldco’s ReputationNo single experience can really tell you how a company will behave when the chips are down—you need a wide variety of experiences to really get a good view. For that reason, the first thing we’ll be looking at is Goldco’s reputation and reviews.
Click here to see Goldco offer for new customers
All in all, Goldco’s online reputation seems pretty good, having an A+ rating with the BBB and a AAA with the BCA. There have been some complaints over the years—19 on the BBB in the last three years and 1 on the BCA—but these seem to have mostly been resolved. You do have to wonder why the complaints were there in the first place, and there are other companies that don’t show any BBB complaints. Although Goldco doesn’t seem to have a long history of reviews with the BCA, they have a satisfactory average rating of 4.83 out of 5 with the BBB.Goldco’s Celebrity EndorsementsIn addition to their happy customers, Goldco has the backing of a couple of prominent celebrities. Sean Hannity and Chuck Norris both act as brand ambassadors for Goldco. Both are known as men with strong convictions.Even if they are paid by the company and not financial experts, it’s good to know that a familiar face is willing to put their name behind Goldco’s products and service. Online reviews can come from anyone, but these are people you already know.Is Goldco a Good Company?In our assessment, Goldco is a good gold IRA company to work with.
Vetting a Gold IRA CompanyMany retirement savers are concerned about the state of the economy, fueled by reports of high inflation and recession. As a result, some have decided the best course of action is to diversify their savings in hopes of hedging the value of their retirement against inflation, recession and other economic forces—and a gold IRA is one way to do just that.
However, deciding to roll some portion of your life’s savings over into an IRA is a big decision, one that requires a lot of thought and consideration. Those who are new to the gold IRA industry may be unsure of how they should go about choosing a company to work with. It’s a real concern because the gold industry, unlike other financial industries, is technically unregulated. Gold IRAs carry the same IRS rules as any other IRA, but the industry itself and the way companies do business is not specifically regulated.
Unfortunately, because of this, there are some companies out there that are using high-pressure sales tactics and various schemes that might not be allowed if the industry WAS regulated. We’ve even seen boldly false statements used – and almost more worrisome are statements on some gold IRA websites that seem to promise things they can’t really promise. Technically, the wording may be factual, but the meaning is misleading.
Although the problems can be subtle, it’s important to be aware and call out companies that are not being above board. If you go to a bad barber, you just have to wait for your hair to grow out again. But the consequences of working with a bad gold IRA company can be much more impactful on your personal finances. So let’s talk about just what you can do to determine which gold IRA company is the best.
Many people start out by just doing a random internet search, without even knowing what they should be looking for. A professional-looking front page is often all it takes to get consumers to buy, but it takes more than good web design for a company to take its place among the best.
We’ve compared many different gold IRA companies and reviewed the experiences of their customers, and we’ve put together a list of what you should look for in a gold IRA company—and what you should steer clear of.
Gold IRA Company Red Flags
You want to work with the best gold IRA company you can, but the first step is to avoid working with any company that doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Once you’ve separated the less-than-straightforward companies from those on the up-and-up, you’ll be able to choose the one that’s right for you. So what are some of the warning signs that should disqualify a company from your list?
- Less-Than-Honest Advertising
You’ll want to be careful of any deals that seem too good to be true. As the saying goes, when they seem that way, they often are.One tactic is the “free silver” scheme, where a company promises a large amount of free silver in exchange for opening an account. Another saying is “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”—and that’s true here, as well. While the silver itself may be free, it must be paid for in some other fashion in order for the company to stay above water. For example, the “free” silver may be compensated for in the form of larger price markups or fees.
For more, use this guide to help you identify and avoid the scams, gimmicks and high-pressure tactics some companies use to gain buyers.
- Doom-and-Gloom Messaging
Because of gold’s history of holding strong when other assets are down, gold IRAs are often used by retirement savers as a safe-haven asset. Some gold companies will do everything in their power to convince you that the sky is falling, and the only way you can protect yourself is by buying a gold IRA.
It’s one thing to have justified concerns about the direction of the economy, and another thing entirely to foretell the “collapse” of the financial world. Gold IRAs can be a good option for those who want to hedge a part of their savings against market forces, but if you think a company is going out of their way to scare you about the future, stay away! Take your business to a company that wants you to make decisions based on logic and information, not volatile emotions like fear.
- Groundless Price Forecasts
We all want to make a profit, so it’s understandable that people are always looking for a way to get in on the ground floor of whatever the next big market shakeup is. Some companies will try to convince you that the price of gold is going to skyrocket—any minute now—and that you need to buy immediately if you want to get in on the deal. Some companies will even guarantee they will buy your gold back at that higher price (inevitable, of course) when you want to sell it.But guaranteeing buybacks is illegal in the U.S. What’s more, no one can predict the future, and you shouldn’t believe them if they tell you they can. One can look at data, trends and histories and make a prediction. But there are never any guarantees things will turn out the way anyone expects. Reality often has a funny way of humbling those of us who think we can see the future.
Gold isn’t the kind of asset you should be buying because you want to get rich quick. You should buy gold because you think it has a viable place in your long-term savings strategy.
Get this guide to help you identify gold IRA schemes. Protect yourself against lies and gimmicks, so you can work with the best gold IRA company for you.
Signs of a Good Gold IRA Company
Fortunately, not every gold IRA company out there is after your wallet by any means necessary. There are gold companies that prefer to take the high road and conduct themselves with transparency and professionalism. But how do you pick them out from the crowd?
Here are some of the best signs that a gold IRA company is one you want to work with:
- Valuable Information
The best gold IRA companies don’t want you to make an uninformed decision, so they do their best to give you as much information about gold IRAs as possible. If a gold IRA company has a wealth of free educational resources for you to learn about gold, IRAs and the economy, it’s a good sign that they really do want you to know as much as possible going in instead of trying to get you to “buy now” without thinking it over.
- Transparency
It’s very important to work with a gold IRA company that’s straightforward and upfront about how their business works. That means having access to documentation like statements and purchases, and a fee structure that’s clear and not complicated or confusing. If the company is trying to hide this information behind layers of complication, you should start wondering what it is they don’t want you to know. Better yet, find a different company—one that doesn’t have something to hide.
- Self-Regulation
The gold IRA industry is relatively new, and therefore somewhat less regulated than many similar industries. That means some companies can get away with various business practices they wouldn’t be allowed to use in other industries. Some companies will even push the limits of what few regulations do exist. The best gold IRA companies make an effort to follow the spirit of existing rules and regulations but will also go the extra mile and do everything they can to regulate their own messaging and practices.
One obvious sign of a company that properly self-regulates is that its messaging doesn’t contain anything in the “red flags” section of this article. But it can go far beyond that. The best companies are constantly rechecking the way they do things with their legal and compliance teams, so they know everything is on the up-and-up.
The Best Gold IRA Companies are the Ones You Can TrustEverything we talked about in this article really boils down to one thing: you want a company worthy of your trust. Companies that seem pushy or are offering too-good-to-be-true deals should be avoided at all costs.
Instead, look for the best gold IRA companies – ones that are upfront and straightforward and wants you to be as informed as possible when you decide what to buy; ones that have a great track record confirmed by customer reviews and are noticeably transparent. When interacting with a gold IRA company, try to take a step back and ask yourself: Can I have faith in this company to do what’s best for me? If you see anything in their messaging that makes you worry, you should consider looking for a different company.
see Goldco review here