Gold is known as a crisis commodity because its value commonly rises when other assets decrease. When economies are slumping or in turmoil, gold generally shines and is always valuable anywhere in the world. Deciding to invest in a gold individual retirement account, or IRA, is not a bad idea at any time. However, there are some tips for investing in a gold IRA that can help you make a better decision:
Gold IRA Companies
Before you decide to invest your IRA in gold, you must do your due diligence when finding the right company to handle the account. There are many unprofessional IRA companies that can leave you high and dry when you place your account with them. Others do not have good customer service, experience or charge fees that are hidden from you.
You must do some research on a company in order to compare their fees and their success at handling this type of an account. Most of this information can be found over the Internet. Do not take the word of the company and their website to make this decision. Call the better business bureau, ask to speak to current and past clients and find out what they charge before investing your retirement money with them.
Ask for a Waiver of Fees
All IRA financial consultants and companies charge fees to open an IRA account with them. They even charge fees to maintain the account. Most charge about $50 to open the account and an annual charge to maintain the IRA, which is based on the value of your account. You will also have to pay a storage fee for the gold, because you are not allowed hold the gold yourself. There are even fees for any transaction you make. Most reputable IRA companies are willing to waive all or part of the fees for the first year. Make sure you ask about this before investing with the company.
Buying the Gold
One tip you need to be aware of when buying gold is the type of gold you need to invest your money does make a difference. If you invest in coins, they need to be at a minimum of 99.5-percent pure. It is better to buy gold bars, because these are generally 99.9-percent pure. You can also buy bullion in different sizes. The one thing that you need to be aware of here is make sure you invest in the heavier bars for your IRA. You would pay more for 16 one-ounces bars than you would for a one-pound bar. You get more value out of the larger bar and a lot more value than out of gold coins.
Request an Expedited Account
Time is money to most people and it should be the same for you. After deciding on making a gold IRA investment and choosing the company that will handle your account, ask them to expedite the account. You do not want the price of gold to go up while you waiting for your account to be opened. Reputable companies know this and can speed up the account process.
About the author: Joseph Fitch is a finance writer from Los Angeles, California.