Fidelity Gold IRA Vs. Augusta Precious Metals Gold IRA Company 2023 Comparison

Fidelity Investments Vs Augusta Precious Metals review

When it comes to choosing the right gold IRA company for your needs, proper comparisons are important. Different gold IRA companies – and other precious metals IRA companies in general – can offer vastly different account options and benefits if you choose to work with them.

Whether you are treating your IRA like a retirement portfolio or just want a traditional gold IRA as a way to invest in precious metals, it is important to choose the right company.

But how do you compare two different gold IRAs? Here are some of the factors to consider when hunting the best gold IRA companies – using the Fidelity Gold IRA and Augusta Precious Metals IRA as an example.

Understanding an IRA

An IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, is a way of investing in physical precious metals – such as gold investments. 

These can have several advantages to paper assets and can be easily invested in via a gold IRA rollover, making them a fairly straightforward way to start investing in precious metals.

IRAs generally offer tax-free growth or a range of other important benefits, meaning that it can be worthwhile to turn some of your savings into precious metals investments. 

However, many can hold precious metals only of a certain type or require specific minimum investment limits.

IRAs are essentially standard retirement accounts that use physical gold bullion (or other types of precious metals) instead of regular money. 

These come with some advantages (an easier way to purchase precious metals) and drawbacks (gold IRA fees). Reviewing gold IRA companies to find the one that suits your situation best is extremely important.

Important Factors to Consider

Comparing different IRAs can be simple on the surface, but once you start doing it, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which ones might be best for you. Gold IRA investors need to know what they are looking for and what kind of features or factors might be most important when choosing an IRA for themselves.

Remember that it is important to look deeper than the absolute basics. You do not want to be stuck with surface-level comparisons that do not represent the companies correctly.

Say you are comparing American Hartford Gold, Birch Gold Group, Patriot Gold Group, Noble Gold Investments, and GoldCo precious metals IRA accounts. Even if American Hartford Gold stands out to you at first, it might not be the best option for your specific situation.

Using a combination of common sense and careful research is the best way to find precious metal IRAs that suit your position in the precious metals market. Whether you gravitate towards traditional IRA types, Roth IRAs, or something else entirely, thinking ahead is important.

Gold Prices

Always consider prices before comparing an IRA with any other gold IRA company. This goes for gold, silver, and any other metals you are interested in investing in.

Actual gold can cost a varying amount based on the state of the gold market, and that changes the cost of precious metals holdings as well. The more gold costs, the more it could cost to start investing, depending on how you are investing in your IRA.

Despite what many people believe, gold costs change on a monthly basis, even if it is only by a very small amount. This means that a precious metal, coins, and gold/silver bullion will change value too.

While it might be tempting to wait for low prices to gain an advantage, gold investment prices do not change too rapidly. Instead of waiting for an advantage, gold investors should instead consider how the cost of gold impacts their ability to start investing, especially if they have very limited savings to work with.

Gold IRA Rollovers

Rollovers are essentially the process of converting your existing money into IRA funds. This is not like buying gold mining stocks – you are literally converting part of your existing savings from another account into gold for an IRA.

This can be a great way to break into using both traditional IRAs and non-traditional options, but not every service offers it. 

Many IRA companies will not provide the option for rollovers, which means that you have to invest in bullion, coins, and other metal types yourself in a more direct way.

Rollovers are not necessary, but they can be very useful if you want to slip straight into investing in gold without any major delays. A simple rollover can jump-start your investments and get you on the right track very, very quickly.

Precious Metals IRA Type

Different precious metals IRA options will allow different metals. For example, the Augusta Precious Metals IRA allows both gold and silver bullion, meaning that you can use it as both a gold IRA and silver IRA at the same time.

However, a standard IRA would be more limited. If it only allows gold, then that means things like gold coins and gold bars – but absolutely no silver bullion. Each type of IRA has specific approved precious metals that you will be allowed to use in your IRA.

Precious Metal Forms

It can also be important to look into the specifics of each metal type. For example, a gold IRA may allow American Gold Eagle coins alongside regular coins but not other kinds of collectible or event-based coins.

It is important to know the limitations of an account or service before you start using it, and IRAs are no exception. Not all of them follow the same set of rules, and you need to understand what you can and can't do with your account.

Fees

Whether you get a traditional or Roth IRA, a gold IRA investor needs to consider fees too. Aside from purchasing gold, you often also have fees for gold IRA services. 

Sometimes this is just an upkeep fee for gold IRA firms, but it could also be for things like not meeting a minimum investment amount or having your IRA managed by experts.

This can be very important to consider when choosing between gold investment company options. Sometimes the fees are worth it for an extra service (like storage fees), but in other cases, they can eat into your retirement savings quite quickly.

Security

While it is not mentioned very often, the best gold IRA companies are the ones that can keep your precious metals secure. Proper security makes it much easier to trust gold and silver IRAs without worrying about your retirement account being hijacked.

Since you can't always keep your physical gold at home, it is important to know that you are getting the best gold IRA company for keeping that physical gold safe. 

Account security is just as important – a reputable gold IRA company is much more likely to protect your bullion account from unauthorized access.

Investment Limits

Some precious metals IRAs have minimum limits on what you need to invest, just like other financial options like mutual funds. This means that some options will not actually be accessible to every user since you may be forced to invest more than you actually have to spare.

This means that it is important to choose the right service and company for your current situation. You can always move to a different kind of account later if needed, but it's a good idea to filter out any that are clearly beyond your comfort zone. You should never feel pressure to invest more than you want to invest, especially with a new company.

Self-Directed IRA Status

A self-directed IRA provides you with a precious metals IRA that you have full control over. Compared to a standard IRA, a self-directed gold IRA account means that you can choose to handle precious metals investing however you like – without a financial advisor there to help.

Regular IRAs are more limited in the assets that you can invest in, such as investing in the stock market but not real estate. Self-directed gold IRA accounts (with options to choose between a traditional IRA and Roth IRA) are a lot more flexible but require more initiative to use properly.

SDIRAs are a lot riskier but allow for more diverse investment options. Self-directed gold IRA providers are not allowed to advise account owners, so they are best used for people who understand the gold investments they want to make and are prepared to take those risks.

Brand Names

Some gold IRAs will be more notable than others. For example, if you have heard of names like Noble Gold before, you might be more inclined to look into them instead of a competitor. However, that does not necessarily make them the better option. 

It can be important to look at different companies objectively, comparing their different services and benefits to make sure that you are choosing the right option for your situation.

Looking into particular companies by checking online reviews or even through sites like the Business Consumer Alliance can be a good way to see what they might be like before working with them. This also usually gives you a quick breakdown of the services and specific benefits that they can offer.

Risk Disclosure: Any investments into alternative assets, including precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, come with an inherent risk, where you could end up making less money than what you put in. Before investing your hard-earned cash, be sure to speak with licensed professional financial advisor first. Always remember that past performance is not an indication of future returns.

Disclaimer:  The website's owners of Cryptowealthbay.com may be compensated for suggesting certain businesses, goods, and services. While we do everything possible to verify that all of our content is accurate, the information we provide may not be impartial or unbiased, and it does not constitute financial advice.