USING SELF-DIRECTED PRECIOUS METALS IRAS

Precious metal investments have become a popular retirement option owing to the general volatility of the U.S. Dollar. Self-directed precious metals IRAs have accordingly become a preferred choice for long-term investment plans.

If you want to invest in a retirement account that supports physical and non-physical gold and other valuable metals, you must first open an account with a custodian. A self-directed IRA is a better choice since you get to manage your investments by yourself, allowing you a wide array of investment options.

Generally, all precious metal retirement accounts are self-directed accounts. You can invest in real gold, silver, palladium, platinum, gold stocks and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as traditional stocks and real estate.

One thing to remember about a gold retirement account is that you do not purchase the metals yourself. What you do is contribute funds toward the account and then choose a gold dealer. From there you will direct the trustee or custodian to purchase the gold from that dealer.

This also means that you cannot put any physical gold that you already own into the retirement account as it is not permitted. Once the trustee purchases the gold for you, it is then deposited into the vault of a depository service.

The advantage of this procedure is that you do not need to go through the complicated process of purchasing, transferring, storing and insuring the gold. The custodial company performs the job for you in exchange for a transaction fee, storage and insurance fees.

An important thing, however, is to find a reputable gold firm who will manage your investment account. The regular brokerage firms do not offer this kind of service, so the choices can be rather limiting. This means that you will need to do a bit of research on your part to find the right trust company who will handle your gold investment. According to user reviews, Sterling Trust and GoldStar Trust seem to be two of the best options available.

You must also remember that once you withdraw from your account, you will not receive any physical silver or gold. The company sells the metals and distributes the proceeds, paying you their equivalent amount in cash.

One good thing about using self-directed precious metals IRAs is that they allow people to diversify their retirement portfolio within the space of a single account. You will have several investment opportunities and can juggle between them at your will.

Fine metals were approved for Individual Retirement Accounts back in 1997. However, all such products are not permissible for a retirement account. Only products that meet the fineness requirements may be included into an IRA.

Some of the gold bullion coins that are allowed for investing include the U.S. Buffalo, Austrian Philharmonic and Canadian Maple Leaf. Numismatic coins are not allowed for these accounts. However, a semi-numismatic coin like the Proof Gold American Eagle is permitted.

The account custodian will typically charge you a setup fee, an annual management fee plus annual insurance and storage fees. The amounts vary by the custodians, but you will typically spend anywhere between $160 and $340 per year for the management of your account.