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Advantage Gold was created in 2014 and has quickly developed a strong reputation for customer service, education, and value. It has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a AAA rating with the Business Consumer Alliance. It’s also earned well over 1,000 positive reviews on Trustpilot.
The company helps you open a precious metals IRA in only a few steps, and sells gold, silver, platinum, and palladium to invest in it. All of its precious metals meet the IRS standards for purity, which are:
Advantage Gold is for anyone who wants to diversify their IRA and add precious metals to their portfolio. It’s especially good for beginners, as it takes education seriously. The site includes several charts, investment comparisons, guides, and other resources to help you make informed investment decisions, and their representatives have established a reputation for helpfulness, thoroughness, and patience in helping new investors make their decisions.
The 10-part beginner’s guide on gold IRA investing is particularly good. It covers everything from what it is and how it works to how to choose the best provider.
The Advantage Gold website doesn’t offer pricing details about minimum investments or fees. However, a quick phone call revealed that the minimum investment is $10,000.
I learned some of the fees by viewing the Strata Trust Company fee schedule. Strata is a custodian that Advantage Gold works with.
Essentially, Advantage Gold is a dealer that sells you the precious metals in your IRA, but Strata actually holds the metals, oversees the accounts, and ensures all IRS regulations are followed.
There’s a $50 fee for setting up an account and a $125 annual account fee. You’ll also have to pay either $100 or $175 annually for precious metals storage depending on whether you want commingled storage or segregated storage.
Commingled storage means that your metals are mixed and stored with other customers' metals. When you sell, exchange, or take a distribution of your metal, you’ll receive equivalent metals, but not the exact ones you purchased initially.
Segregated storage means that your exact metals are marked and stored with your IRA number and name, so you’ll always deal with the metals you originally purchased.
| Annual IRA fees | Account setup fee | Annual storage fee | Minimum IRA investment |
| $125 | $50 | $100 for commingled storage $175 for segregated storage | $10,000 |
The Advantage Gold site also mentions you can switch your current retirement account over to a precious metals IRA without worrying about taxes or penalties.
Advantage Gold has an easy four-step process for opening a precious metals IRA. The steps are:
Fill out an IRA application online. It asks for your personal information, details about your beneficiary, how you’re going to fund the account, and more.
Fill out a client and shipping agreement. This covers procedures and terms, and gives the company permission to contact you.
Attach a recent copy of your retirement account statement.
Fill out a disclosure form. This goes over disclosures and possible risks, and lets you choose the type of storage you want.
You can also call the company at 888-501-9001 to open an account over the phone. Once your account is open, you can fund it by contributing money directly or transferring from another IRA. You can move funds from a different type of investment account like a 401(k), too.
After funding your account, you can purchase precious metals to invest in the IRA. If you need assistance at any point throughout the process, the company has knowledgeable specialists ready to help.
Advantage Gold offers support over the phone at 888-501-9001, by email at info@advantagegold.com, or by filling out an online form. Getting support is easy, and I was able to get connected over the phone in seconds.
Despite being relatively new to the industry, Advantage Gold has quickly developed a great reputation among their customers and the industry as a whole. It has a 4.9 rating on Trustpilot with over 1,600 positive reviews. Many reviews highlight the great customer support and the staff’s knowledge and patience.
The company also maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a AAA rating with the Business Consumer Alliance.
Its website provides several resources for educating yourself about investing in a precious metals IRA. This includes a comprehensive beginner’s guide, a collection of FAQs, videos, and charts.
Advantage Gold has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a AAA rating from the Business Consumer Alliance. Customers have also had good experiences with Advantage Gold as it has a 4.9 rating on Trustpilot with over 1,600 reviews.
In addition to gold, the company offers silver, platinum, and palladium. All of the metals provided by the company meet IRS purity requirements, too.
You have to store the precious metals that you invest in an IRA with a third-party depository that’s been approved by the IRS. If you store them at home, it’s considered a distribution and you risk getting a 10% tax penalty of the value of the precious metals you’re keeping at home.
Advantage Gold is a dealer that helps you invest gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in a precious metals IRA. Even if you’re a new investor in precious metals, the company has knowledgeable staff and helpful resources to assist you on your journey.
While I’d like to see the company be more upfront about pricing and fees, it’s a good option for those looking to diversify their investments with precious metals.
This review was written using information from the Advantage Gold website, the Strata Trust Company website, and the Advantage Gold Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot pages.
