- A+ BBB rating
- Over 6,000+ 5 star reviews
- Highest buy back guarantee
- Excellent customer service
- Only can invest within U.S.
- No online purchase available
I will help you determine if Goldco the right choice to provide you with precious metals for either a precious metals IRA or for direct purchase.
Goldco can be an excellent choice for either investment. However, our major concern is the lack of transparency in markup charges over bullion cost (you must contact the company directly for this information on each purchase).
Learn more in this Goldco review.
The Verdict for Goldco
Goldco is a well-regarded (by consumers) precious metals dealer, giving investors the choice to either take direct custody of their metal investments, or to set them up in a gold or silver IRA account.
I’ve given them a rating of 9.5 out of 10.
The company operates in a manner like other precious metals dealers, though you must call directly to obtain specific pricing information on the metals you wish to purchase.
In our Goldco review we’ve considered the following criteria in evaluating this company:
Category | Rating (out of 10) |
---|---|
Product & Service Offerings | 9 |
Pricing & Fees | 8 |
Guarantees | 9.5 |
Customer Experience | 9.5 |
Storage & Security | 10 |
Account Setup & Maintenance | 9 |
Reputation & Reviews | 10 |
Overall Rating | 9.5 |
In this review of Goldco, I’ve followed GIC’s detailed criteria for evaluating the precious metals IRA company.
About Goldco Precious Metals
Based in Calabasas, California, Goldco precious metals began operating in October 2011. It’s stated mission is to help Americans achieve greater financial security by providing more options to protect their wealth.
They believe precious metals are an important part of a successful overall retirement strategy and seek to make it easy to invest in them with a commitment to guide you through every step of the process.
Goldco offers its services to investors throughout the US. The company specializes in providing precious metals IRAs as well as the direct purchase of gold and silver.
Goldco claims to have placed over $2 billion in gold and silver since it’s been in business.
In addition to top ratings from Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau, Goldco is endorsed by celebrities including Chuck Norris, Sean Hannity, and Ben Stein.
From the founder
I believe that there is always a good time to invest in gold and silver — when markets are down, precious metals tend to rise in value.
When markets are more stable, precious metals continue to steadily grow in value. (source)
Founder at Goldco
Product & Service Offerings
Goldco’s primary products are its precious metals IRA and direct sales of gold and silver to investors.
Goldco IRA
Note:
Goldco does not act as a trustee for IRA accounts the way investment brokers and banks do. Instead, they are a precious metals dealer providing a source of metals for IRA accounts held by other trustees. See Storage & Security below.
The Goldco precious metals IRA offers investors the ability to diversify into a true non-correlated investment.
Through direct ownership of gold and silver bullion within a precious metals IRA, investors can hold a portion of their retirement assets in an investment that isn’t tied to the performance of the financial markets.
You can choose either a gold IRA or a silver IRA, either of which can be either a traditional or a Roth IRA. A minimum initial investment of $25,000 is required to open a Precious Metals IRA.
You can choose between gold, silver, platinum, or palladium. All must be in bullion form – either coin or bar. Gold must have a minimum purity of .995, while silver must be at least .999% pure (the exception is the American Eagle gold bullion coin, which is .9167% pure).
Available coins and bars for your precious metals IRA will be detailed below.
Goldco Direct
You can take advantage of Goldco Direct to purchase precious metals outside of an IRA. You’ll open your account by signing an agreement of Goldco’s terms of doing business.
Next, you can fund your account, either by bank wire or by mailing a check to Goldco’s office in Los Angeles.
Once your account is funded, you can choose the precious metals you wish to own. Once you have, the metals will either be shipped to an independent insured depository (in the case of an IRA) or directly to your home.
Note
If you send payment by check, Goldco will send you a FedEx shipping label enabling you to avoid shipping costs should you decide to take possession of the metals purchased.
Goldco offers the following gold investments:
- American Eagle Gold bullion coins (1 ounce, .50 ounce, .25 ounce, and .10 ounce denominations).
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins (1 ounce, .50 ounce, .25 ounce, and .10 ounce denominations).
- Various commemorative coins from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands (.25 ounce to 1 ounce denominations).
- Gold bullion bars in various sizes.
The selection of available coins with Goldco is more limited than much of the competition, many of whom also offer South African Krugerrands, Mexican Gold Pesos, and British Sovereigns.
Goldco also does not offer numismatic gold and silver coins, which is a common product line in the precious metals industry.
Numismatics are coins in which the value is determined primarily by the rarity and condition of the coin, rather than its bullion content.
Pricing & Fees
Whether you open a precious metals IRA or simply an account to purchase metals directly from Goldco, you should expect to incur the following charges:
Setup fee for IRA | $50 (one-time, only for IRA account set-up, not cash purchases) |
Wire transfer fee | $30 |
Custodian administration fee | $125 annually |
Storage fees | $100 for non-segregated or $150 for segregated per year |
Goldco Promotions
Though it does not appear on the Goldco website, the company is currently offering free silver with a precious metals IRA investment (the information below is from an email from a Goldco representative).
The bonus is paid only on the purchase of limited mintage coins.
You will receive additional free limited mintage silver coins. These are bullion coins produced by the mints of various countries in limited numbers.
They are usually ¼ ounce of gold or silver, and typically minted after 2020 (these are not the typical numismatic pre-1933 US minted gold and silver bullion coins).
The eligibility requirements are as follows:
- $50,000 to $100,000 investment – Receive 5% additional limited mintage silver coins.
- $100,000 or greater investment – Receive 10% limited mintage silver coins.
- For example, when you invest $50,000 you will receive $2,500 in additional coins and for a $100,000 investment you will receive $10,000 in additional coins.
Guarantees
All precious metals available for sale on Goldco come from national mints in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and other countries.
Both bullion content and fineness are published for each metal offered, whether coin or bars.
Goldco offers their Goldco highest buy back guarantee, in which they’ll buy back your precious metals at the highest price.
Customer Experience
Goldco customer contact is available by phone at (858)283-5842, Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Pacific time. You can also contact the company by live chat or email.
In contacting the company for additional information, I received quick responses by both email and live chat. Representatives were eager to provide the needed information and did so quickly and thoroughly.
The website does offer FAQs and an adequate number of educational resources to help investors better understand the risks, rewards, and intricacies of investing in precious metals.
The company’s high ratings with the Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, and other third-party sources confirmed a favorable customer service experience.
Storage & Security
Goldco does not provide in-house storage for precious metals.
Instead, the company works with all major self-directed IRA (SDIRA) trustees, but the company has a preferred trust arrangement with Equity Trust, which is a popular SDIRA trustee.
When your precious metals are held by a trustee – which is required for a precious metals IRA – storage can be either segregated or nonsegregated.
Segregated means your coins and bars are held separately from those of other investors. Non-segregated means your coins and bars will be held in storage with like coins and bars from multiple owners.
Segregated storage will require a higher fee than nonsegregated.
While your precious metals are held in storage with a trustee, it will be recommended you hold insurance on the value of the assets.
The cost of this insurance will vary based on the insurance providers being used by the storage trustee.
If you are purchasing precious metals from Goldco outside an IRA, you can take direct custody of the assets.
In that case, you can choose to have the metals insured under your homeowner’s or renter’s policy.
Account Setup and Maintenance
Setting up a precious metals IRA is a three-step process:
Step 1: Open an IRA account with Goldco, in which you will sign required documents and work with a company representative throughout the process. The account can be either a traditional or Roth IRA.
Step 2: Fund your account, which can also be accomplished by rolling over funds from other retirement accounts, such as an IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or TSP. (There are no taxes or penalties when you do a direct rollover of retirement assets from one plan to a Goldco IRA.)
Step 3: Purchase the precious metals you will hold in your new IRA.
If you are rolling over funds from another retirement account, the process will take approximately two weeks to complete.
Once you purchase precious metals for your Goldco IRA, delivery of the metals into your account will take between one and 12 weeks, depending on the availability of the specific metal purchased.
Request your Free Gold IRA Kit today!
Reviews & Reputation
Goldco enjoys highly favorable ratings among various third-party sources:
- Better Business Bureau: A+, the highest rating given.
- Trustpilot: 4.8 out of five stars among nearly 1,500 reviews.
- Google listing: 4.9 out of five stars among more than 2,600 reviews.
Goldco Alternatives & Competitors
Goldco can be an excellent choice as a source for precious metals. However, if you prefer to “shop the competition” consider the following alternatives:
Our Rating:
4.0
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Our Rating:
4.2
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Our Rating:
4.5
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Minimum for IRA transfers:
$50,000
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Minimum for IRA transfers:
$10,000
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Minimum for IRA transfers:
$10,000
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Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta Precious Metals is another precious metals dealer offering a gold IRA program. It offers precious metals similar to Goldco, as well as the ability to purchase metals outside of an IRA.
Augusta offers free shipping and transit when you have the metals delivered directly to your home. Much like Goldco, you must call the company for metals prices as they are not offered on the website.
Augusta may be a choice if you prefer to hold a wider variety of gold bullion coins, such as the South African Krugerrand or the Austrian Gold Philharmonic coins.
Request Augusta’s free gold guide
American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold also offers a gold IRA, as well as the direct purchase of silver and gold coins and bars.
American Hartford Gold offers a satisfaction guarantee that if you notify the company within seven days that you wish to cancel the transaction, you will receive a full refund within 30 days of receipt of the returned metals.
Request AHG’s free gold investors guide
Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group also offers direct purchase of precious metals as well as a gold IRA. However, it offers a larger selection of gold and silver bullion coins than Goldco.
That includes numismatic coins, such as the Morgan Silver Dollar (minted from 1878 to 1904) and the Silver Peace Dollar (minted from 1921 through 1935).
Though numismatic coins cannot be held in a precious metals IRA, Birch Gold Group may be your choice if you want to take direct custody of such coins.
Request Birch’s free gold info kit
Is Goldco a legit company?
Based on the consumer ratings on Google, the Better Business Bureau, and Trustpilot – as well as the endorsements of various celebrities – Goldco appears to be a legitimate company.
Request your free gold & silver guide today!
FAQs
Who owns Goldco?
Goldco appears to be a privately owned company, so no information on its ownership is provided.
However, Trevor Gerszt is the Founder/CEO of the company, and has been working as a gold dealer for over 20 years.
Does Goldco have any pending lawsuits or complaints?
Goldco has been the subject of two recent civil actions. Both actions involve filings over telephone related matters, and not disputes over business transactions with consumers.
How does Goldco make money?
Like most precious metals dealers, Goldco earns revenue on the markup between the price charged to investors for precious metals and the bullion price of the metal at the time of sale.
Related reading:
Goldco vs. Augusta Precious Metals
Goldco
Goldco is one of the premier Precious Metals IRA companies in the United States.
Product Brand: Goldco
4.7