Part 2 – What You Need To Know About Precious Metals IRAs
Sometimes referred to as self-directed or gold IRAs, precious metals IRAs are a hot topic right now. We have been helping clients with gold IRAs for the past 10- 15 years but lately we have seen an uptick in dealers advertising for them. Unfortunately, with the latest new and shiny idea also comes a handful of bad players who like to figure out a way they can scam people out of their hard earned retirement money.
Most recently, we became aware of a company with an office in Beverly Hills that was aggressively advertising for gold IRA business and vanished into the wind with many clients’ retirement savings. After multiple defrauded individuals came forward, investigators found the company’s office empty, their phone lines disconnected and the website inactive. They discovered that many clients’ physical gold and silver was never sent to the depository.
It is very discouraging for us to hear these stories, and we wish we could have prevented this from happening. At this point, all we can do is try to get the word out to as many people as possible as to what they can do to protect themselves. Our goal is to provide a very simple explanation about how a precious metals IRA is supposed to work.
Most importantly, there should be 3 independent parties involved in your IRA transaction.
- Custodian – the company who manages your IRA account.
- Precious metals dealer – company who buys the gold and silver for you.
- Depository – facility where your metals are stored.
For more detail, see How A Precious Metals IRA Works
Having these 3 parties as separate entities not only follows the IRS rules, but is the best way to protect yourself from scams. We recommend that clients do some research on the custodian and depository before they start the process. We can also recommend companies we have used in the past and we do not receive referral fees or commissions from these other companies. That way we
maintain our independence.
We also recommend reading reviews! Google, Yelp and BBB reviews can alert folks to some red flags, such as dealer delivery delays. Double check a few other dealers to see if wholesale inventory is really in short supply. If the answer is no, a delivery delay excuse could indicate that the dealer is having financial problems. We are always here as a resource for questions. Our firm has a no-pressure approach and no one here is a commissioned salesperson.
Please give us a call if you have any questions about precious metals IRAs at 602-840-5500. You can also email us at info@apmaz.com.
As we mentioned in our first piece, Part 1 – Bright and Shiny Gold Commercials, we hope that you will share this article with family and friends so that they, too, can protect themselves against companies who may be trying to take advantage of people.
Stay tuned for our next piece, Part 3 – Know Your Dealer.
All my best,
Courtney Svendsen
-Jerry Williams’ daughter and APM Inc. owner since 2013. Proudly taking over writing the news people need to know as it relates to precious metals.