The Gold IRA custodian industry is one of the fastest growing industries in America. As retirement savings become increasingly important, there’s no doubt that demand for IRA custodians will continue to grow. In fact, according to the latest data from the Investment Company Institute, the number of registered investment companies grew by 19% in 2017 alone. This growth is expected to continue into 2018 and beyond.
In addition to being a fast-growing industry, the IRA custodian industry is also highly competitive. With roughly 2,500 different firms operating today, finding the best IRA custodian for your needs can be difficult. To help you make sense of the options out there, we’ve put together our list of the top ten most promising IRA custodians of 2022.
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Gold IRA Custodian Reviews: Fees, Surcharges and Taxes
There are many types of IRAs that you can invest in, including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and others. You can even invest in tax-free municipal bonds. But there are some things you should know about investing in IRAs. First, every custodian charges different fees, surcharges and taxes. Second, you must read the fine print carefully before you sign any contract. And third, it’s important to understand how much money you could lose if you don’t do enough research.
The IRS allows investors to contribute up to $5,500 per year ($6,500 if you’re 50 or older). If you’re under age 70 ½, you can make additional contributions during your working career without paying income taxes. However, once you reach age 70 ½, you’ll begin to pay Medicare taxes on those earnings.
If you want to open a Traditional IRA, you’ll have to pay a 10% contribution fee. This amount goes into your account immediately and cannot be withdrawn for three months. After that, you can withdraw the funds, but you’ll owe taxes and penalties.
A Roth IRA doesn’t require a contribution, but you still have to pay income taxes on earnings. In fact, you won’t have to pay taxes on withdrawals either. If you’re younger than 59 ½, you can take out your entire balance at retirement. However, once you turn 59 ½, you’re forced to start taking distributions from your Roth IRA.
With a SEP IRA, you can save up to 25% of your salary and avoid income taxes. Like a Traditional IRA, you can contribute up to $5K per year. Unlike a Traditional IRA, however, you can withdraw your earnings at any time, regardless of age. As long as you’ve been contributing to your SEP IRA for five years, you can withdraw your entire balance at retirement, although you’ll owe a 10% penalty.
SIMPLE IRAs are similar to SEP IRAs except that you don’t have to worry about making contributions. Instead, you simply set aside pre-tax dollars. Once you retire, you can withdraw your savings at any time, but you’re subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Municipal Bonds are another popular investment option because you don’t pay federal income taxes on interest earned. You can buy bond mutual funds, ETFs, or individual muni bonds directly from issuers. When you purchase a muni bond, you’ll receive regular payments over several decades.
Things to Look For When Choosing a Gold IRA Custodian
The best way to protect your money is to put it into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). But choosing an IRA custodian — whether it’s a bank, brokerage, mutual fund company, or insurance provider — isn’t always easy. You want someone with experience managing IRAs, but you don’t want to pay too much for that experience. Here are four things to look for when choosing an IRA custodian.
1. Experience Managing IRAs
You want to make sure that your IRA custodian has experience managing IRAs. If you’ve ever had an account with them, check to see if they’ve managed one of your accounts in the past. Also ask if they’ve handled similar accounts in the past. A good IRA custodian will have plenty of experience handling IRAs.
2. Customer Service
A great customer service team is key. You want to feel like you can call up the company anytime and get quick responses to questions. And you definitely want to avoid companies where customers complain about getting poor service.
3. Tax Knowledge
If you plan on taking advantage of certain retirement planning strategies, such as Roth conversions, you’ll need to work closely with your IRA custodian. Find out if they offer those types of plans and if they understand how they affect your taxes.
4. Fees
Fees aren’t always included in the price tag. So make sure you find out exactly how much you’ll be paying each month. Some fees are upfront while others come out of your investment earnings.
1. Examine Setup Charges and Annual Fees
Flat rate fees are typically lower than sliding scale fees because they don’t require an up front investment. However, flatrate fees often come with high setup costs and annual maintenance fees. These fees might seem like a good deal, but it’s important to understand what you’ll be paying upfront and over the course of the contract.
Sliding scale fees are usually less expensive than flat rate fees because they let you pay for each month based on how much you use. This allows you to spread out your payments and avoid having to commit to a large amount of money upfront. But there are some drawbacks to sliding scale fees. For example, you could end up paying too much if you exceed your monthly budget. You’ll also likely have to pay an additional fee if you want to upgrade your plan later on. And while most providers offer discounts for students, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, you won’t know exactly how much you’ll save until you sign up.
Setup charges and annual fees vary widely depending on the provider. Some charge a one-time fee while others charge per month. If you decide to cancel early, you’ll have to pay a penalty. Find out how many months you have left on your contract and whether you’ll be charged extra if you try to cancel within those dates.
2. Compare Overall Reputation and Industry Presence
We use data from third party sources such as BBB, Yelp, Angie’s List, and others to determine how well a company is perceived in the marketplace. This helps us understand what customers are saying about companies and whether those comments are positive or negative.
The way you choose a custodian depends on what type of investment you want to make. For example, some custodians waive setup and maintenance fees, while others charge annual fees based on the number of shares held. You might also consider how much money you plan to put into precious metal investing. If you have a large amount of capital, you may find that buying directly from the producer is cheaper. On the other hand, if you don’t have a lot of cash, you may prefer to use a custodial account because you won’t pay transaction costs.
There are many types of precious metal investments, and choosing the one that suits your needs best is important. Here are four options to consider:
1. Bullion
Bullion refers to physical bars of precious metals. These include gold, silver and platinum. Each bar contains a certain weight of the precious metal. When you buy bullion, you’re purchasing the actual metal itself, rather than owning a piece of paper that represents ownership of the metal.
2. Exchange Traded Funds
ETFs are similar to mutual funds, except that ETFs trade on stock exchanges just like stocks do. Investors can buy or sell individual securities within an ETF without having to go through a broker. Because there are no brokers involved, ETFs tend to be less expensive than traditional mutual funds. However, ETFs aren’t always appropriate for every investor. For instance, they are illiquid, meaning that you’ll likely have trouble selling your position quickly. Also, ETFs are subject to market volatility, which makes them risky compared to other asset classes.
Best Gold IRA Companies in 2022
Augusta Precious Metals is one of the most trusted companies in the world when it comes to precious metals investing. They offer both physical and digital options for investors to buy gold bullion, silver bars, coins, and even jewelry. They are rated #1 as “Most Trustworthy Gold IRA Company” and have thousands of 5 star ratings and hundreds of 5 star reviews.
They have been around since 1996 and are headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK. Their CEO is an expert on the gold market and he runs a free video series called “The Gold Investor” where he teaches people how to invest in gold.
Goldco: Best-Rated Company
Goldco offers a wide range of products including jewelry, watches, coins, bullion bars, gold certificates and even gold IRA accounts. The company has been around since 1849 and is based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 300 BBB reviews, it has an overall rating of 4.8/5 stars.
The company boasts a Buyback Guarantee where customers can purchase items at full price and receive a 50% refund if they are not satisfied within 30 days. If you decide to return the item, you must pay the shipping costs.
In addition to offering high quality products, Goldco also provides excellent customer service. You can contact them via phone, email, live chat, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.
IRA Custodian FAQs
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires certain custodians to maintain records about clients’ investments. This includes keeping track of assets held in IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and Keogh plans. The IRS states that custodians must report information such as asset values, account balances, and transactions to state authorities.
Custodians are required to provide investors with written notice of changes in ownership and must keep accurate records of those holdings. They must also advise investors of the risks associated with investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), real estate, commodities, and collectibles.
In addition, custodians must make sure that their employees follow federal securities law rules. Those include making sure that brokers and agents don’t give misleading statements or sell unsuitable products. Also, custodians must ensure that customers aren’t misled into buying unsuitable investments. Finally, custodians must comply with all applicable tax regulations.
What are the IRA custodian requirements?
An IRA custodian must be registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This includes being approved and licensed. In addition, a custodian must register with the Treasury Department’s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and file Form 8606 annually.
The IRS requires custodians to submit annual reports to confirm compliance with federal tax laws. These include filing Forms 5500, 1099, 990, and 990EZ. Each report must be filed within 60 days of the end of each calendar year.
A custodial agreement must be signed by both parties. If you are opening an IRA for someone else, you must sign it under penalty of perjury. You cannot use the custodial agreement to avoid taxes.
You must keep accurate records of transactions involving the account. You must retain those records for five years following the date of the transaction.
What fees can I expect in an IRA custodial account?
Annual fees for self-directed IRAs generally range from $200 to $500. Asset value fees are rarelycharged for most IRA custodians, although some charge asset value fees. Some custodians even waive those fees entirely. However, many do not. If you transfer assets into yourself-directed IRA, the custodian must pay a minimum fee of 0.25% of the total amount transferred. This fee is usually waived if the entire balance is transferred.
What is “checkbook control” in an IRA account?
Checkbook control lets you invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds without worrying about taxes or penalties. With this type of investment strategy, you can buy individual securities directly from brokerage firms rather than investing through mutual fund companies.
You can open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) with checkbook control if your net worth exceeds $200,000 ($250,000 if filing jointly). If you do, you’ll be able to make tax-deferred contributions to IRAs.
If you’re looking to build wealth over time, consider opening an IRA with checkbook controls. This strategy gives you the flexibility to invest in different types of assets while avoiding taxes and penalties.
How are IRA custodians regulated?
Custodians are required to hold sufficient funds to cover potential losses. This includes both cash and securities. In addition, custodians must keep track of how much money is invested in each security. If you invest in mutual funds, custodians are required to file annual statements with the Internal Revenue Service. These filings include information about the fund’s performance, fees and expenses, and holdings. Custodians are also required to provide clients with copies of these documents upon request.
In addition to filing reports with the IRS, custodians are required by law to make sure that all investments held in trusts meet applicable investment guidelines. Custodians are responsible for making sure that investments comply with state laws governing fiduciary duty. For example, they must ensure that investments do not violate federal anti-discrimination rules.
Can I view and manage my account online?
Most companies allow you to log onto your account online. If you don’t see it, check out our guide to logging in to your financial institution. You’ll find instructions there for how to access your account information, including checking balances, transferring funds, paying bills, and many other things.
Some companies require you to call or send an email if there are changes to your account. This could include adding or deleting bank accounts, changing contact information, or adding products. Call or write to your financial institution to make sure you’re up-to-date on what you need to do to maintain your account.
Many companies offer free mobile apps that let you check balances, pay bills, transfer money, and much more. Check out our list of the best banking apps for Android and iPhone.
Final thought – Best gold IRA custodians
There are four major gold IRA companies: Augusta Precious Metal Inc., American Hartford Gold Corp., Birch Gold Inc., and Goldco Financial Services LLC. Each one provides excellent customer service and support. They each offer different benefits and features, such as tax advantages, low fees, and no account minimums.
Birch Gold is the most recommended because it offers the best value for money. Its prices are competitive and there are no hidden costs. You won’t find any additional charges or fees once you open an account.
All four companies offer 24/7 customer service and support via phone, chat, and email. If you have questions about anything related to your accounts, you can always contact them directly.