Goldco gold IRA versus Augusta Precious Metals : how to choose?

Goldco and Augusta Precious Metals compared

Our recommendation: Augusta Precious Metals

Why? Because they have the lowest setup & annual fees; they have amazing educational material made by Harvard-trained economic analysts that you can request here for free before signing-up; they have zero BBB and BCA complaints.

Our rating: 5/5

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Who is Goldco?

Goldco is an award-winning precious metals company with over ten years of experience helping retirement savers add physical gold and silver to their IRA for greater diversity and more.

The company is also endorsed by Sean Hannity and has been featured on various reputable media outlets, including The Epoch Times, WND, and Consumeradvocate.org, for its premier services and high customer ratings.

Customers of Goldco can choose between a gold IRA or a silver IRA, or they can get gold and silver bullion and coins outside of an IRA.

Who is Augusta Precious Metals?

Augusta Precious Metals (APM) is a respected gold IRA provider that enables current retirement account holders to transfer their funds to a gold IRA for increased portfolio protection.

Members can also acquire gold and silver directly from the company.

The company has been in business for many years and has also won various awards for its service, including the Stevie Award for its customer service.

It was also featured on various media outlets and holds high rankings on a number of reputable feedback sites.

What Do Goldco and Augusta Offer That is the Same?

Both Goldco and Augusta Precious Metals (APM) specialize in facilitating the sale of physical gold and silver to users wishing to incorporate such rare metals into their IRA to hedge against inflation and more.

Members can choose between gold coins and bullion or silver coins and bullion with both companies, and they both also work with dealers that provide IRA-approved physical assets to help keep your retirement account compliant.

You can also get gold or silver bullion or coins using cash or your savings account to store your own assets and diversify your retirement plan.

They both also only work with vetted custodians. However, APM works solely with Equity Trust, which is a leading company of self-directed IRA providers.

Both Goldco and Augusta also provide potential and current clients plenty of learning resources to help educate them in the gold and silver market to help empower them to make confident choices.

They both also pair you with highly knowledgeable precious metal specialists to help you set up your account and get the best gold and silver products for you. Of course, it goes without saying that both Goldco and Augusta help their members to rollover their 401k plans to gold IRAs.

However, Augusta specialists are trained by a Harvard-graduate leader. They also complete 95% of the paperwork with you for a fast and smooth IRA rollover.

Once you put gold or silver inside your IRA, both companies will also automatically ship it to a secure depository for safekeeping as per IRS requirements.

How Does Goldco Differ From Augusta Precious Metals?

Both companies offers a silver IRA. However, Goldco source their assets directly from mints all over the world, whereas Augusta Precious Metals does not state exactly which dealers they work with.

The company also offers complimentary storage when you acquire gold or silver directly from them. However, APM only gives free shipping to the location of your choice when you acquire your precious metals outside their IRA.

This firm also has a lower minimum investment of $25,000 compared to Augusta's minimum of $50,000. However, when new members make at least a $50,000 initial investment, their account fee is waived for the first year.

Goldco also provides coins for those who make a direct purchase of precious metals of at least $3,500.

They also have a buyback program, in which they promise to offer the highest value for your gold.

Both companies also store your gold in secure IRS-approved depositories; however, Goldco solely works with the Delaware Depository, which is a private storage facility that protects your holdings against financial and political entities, creditors, and more.

What Can You Get at Goldco That You Can't Get At APM?

Goldco requires a low minimum initial investment, which enables retirement savers of all levels to participate in its gold IRA.

As a direct purchaser of their gold or silver, you can also choose between having your assets stored by the company at no cost or having them delivered to your home.

The gold IRA company also offers a silver IRA, which is also becoming a popular way to help diversify your retirement savings due to silver's increasing demand for industrial use and more.

Members also benefit from the ability to get their precious metals directly from mints, which are the actual producers of gold and silver, for a more premium product compared to dealers who may or may not have access to high-quality products.

The IRS also requires the precious metals in your IRA to be manufactured by a government mint or another approved manufacturer to qualify.

They also work with a variety of custodians to choose from.

What Can You Get at Augusta That You Can't Get at Goldco?

When you choose Augusta for your gold IRA, you get the advantage of working with a highly-knowledgeable team that is trained by a Harvard alumn, which helps ensure you get industry insights and education like no other.

The company also provides one-on-one webinars for those who prefer a more personal meeting when learning about the world of precious metals. And you may even have the opportunity to personally meet with the company's education leader himself, provided your initial investment is of a certain amount.

The firm also works with a third-party compliance team that also includes an experienced lawyer to ensure their activities and systems are compliant. Hence, it provides you with peace of mind, knowing you won't encounter issues with the IRS when building your IRA.

Clients also have more depositories to choose from, which offers a better chance of finding one near you if you want to visit or if there is an emergency.

The organization may also reward you with a complimentary silver coin for sharing your experience with them.

Our score: 5/5

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Is Goldco Trustworthy?

Goldco has been around for over 10 years, which is long enough to have racked up their share of comments with various consumer protection agencies and the Better Business Bureau, so if there was ever an issue of trust with their company, it would be on record with one of these agencies.

Hence, be sure to check sites like Consumer Affairs Agency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Better Business Bureau to see what previous users have to say about the company before investing your hard-earned money.

In the meantime, the organization has also been featured on many notable media outlets, which means they were most likely vetted as reputable before being allowed to do so for the sake of the company's reputation.

They have also received various awards and high rankings from more than one prestigious executive, company, and consumer agency, which were based on their clientstestimonies and industry buzz.

You can also do what many other visitors did and call them to ask lots of questions to gauge their trustworthiness, which is always strongly recommended before investing large sums with a company you are unfamiliar with.

Their costs

Goldco charges various fees for their gold IRA services, including a $50 account setup fee when you make the minimum investment of $25,000. However, if you make a minimum investment of $50,000 or more, the company will waive this fee.

There is also an account maintenance fee of $80, which is charged annually.

A storage fee of $100 will also be charged to your account each year unless you choose segregated storage, in which case you will be charged $150 per year to store your gold or silver separately from all other asset in the facility.

You may also be charged a wire fee if you deposit your funds via electronic transfer.

Users that utilize the company's buyback program may also be charged a fee when selling their assets back to the company.

As for their gold or silver prices, they are subject to change based on supply and demand as well as various other economic factors. So simply contact the company when you are ready to make your choice.

Some companies also charge a markup on their products, so be sure to also inquire about it.

In the meantime, if you acquire them directly, there are no fees involved, including a storage fee. However, there is a minimum investment requirement of $3,500.

Is APM Trustworthy?

The company has been around since 2012, and they have also received merits from some of the top financial businesses and consumer protection agencies in the industry, which, again, were heavily based on clients testimonies.

Hence, to get a better idea of how true to their image the company really is, be sure to read their customer feedback on Trustlink, Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs, Facebook, and more.

You can also get a personal feel for the company by simply calling them to see how patient and thorough they are at answering your questions and walking you through the account setup process, which is probably the best way to find out how well you can trust them.

Their Costs

APM charges of $50 to set up your gold IRA account. There is also a yearly account maintenance cost of $100 after that, which is typically charged by the custodian.

The depository where you choose to store your gold will also charge $100 for storage.

Meanwhile, their gold and silver prices will vary based on different market factors, so you'll have to contact the company for updates before acquiring your assets.

You may also be charged a fee for wire transfers, so be sure to ask. They also require a minimum investment of $50,000 for both non-IRA and IRA acquisitions.

Who Are the People Behind Goldco?

Goldco is a Los Angeles-based precious metals company that was founded in 2011 by Trevor Gerszt, whose main objective was to provide everyday people with effective alternative options to help diversify their retirement portfolios and protect against inflation, which is one of the greatest threats to long-term investments.

Since then, the company has gone on to hire only the most passionate and high-performing employees to educate customers and assist them with building their wealth, thus making them the true people behind the brand.

They also regularly attend development programs and receive ongoing training to help constantly build their skills to continue to help visitors achieve success.

The firm is also publicly endorsed by notable media personalities, including Sean Hannity, Ben Stein, Stew Peters, celebrities like Chuck Norris, and their families and friends.

Who Are the People Behind Augusta Precious Metals?

Augusta has two locations in the U.S, one in Wyoming and the other in Beverly Hills, California.

However, it was founded in 2012 by University of California graduate and now CEO of the company Isaac Nuriani.

His goal for creating the organization was to help retirement savers diversify their nest egg using gold and silver products but not without first educating them on the economic factors that affect it, including market policies designed to benefit major financial institutions over consumers.

Former financial services and economics professional Devlyn Steele

The company also has Devlyn Steele on its staff, who is the director of education and a former financial services and economics professional. He is also a member of the business analytics program at Harvard Business School.

However, he now works behind the scenes providing the APM team with valuable insights about what's happening in the economy, so they can inform their members about the latest risks to the market and how to diversify their savings with more stable assets, such as gold and silver.

Meanwhile, Howard Smith, who is currently the company's CFO, brings his years of experience as a risk manager for governments and big banks to the team to also assist them with helping customers better hedge against economic risks to their retirement investments.

APM is also publicly endorsed by Joe Montana, who is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and the company's ambassador.

How Do They Educate Their Members?

Both companies provide their members with ample educational material via their sites on everything they need to know before investing in precious metals, including many articles on retirement planning, investing, and more.

They both also provide market news on their company, the economy, politics, and more to help you prepare for the various factors that can affect your retirement plan.

However, APM also provides you with an inflation and retirement calculator that you can play around with to see how much you need to save to retire comfortably.

They also have a video library of information and provide you with articles on spotting fraudulent dealers and more to help you avoid gold IRA scams. You can also read about our top 7 gold IRA providers on this page to learn more.

Both companies also enable you to request an IRA guide to help you get started.

Once you contact the company, they both will also usually email you even more educational material to help you move forward in confidence.

Our Top Pick

Though, ultimately, we felt that both companies are capable of providing quality, trustworthy gold IRA services, Augusta Precious Metals is our top pick for its low annual and setup costs which can add up in the long run.

They also have unbelievable educating materials created by a true economic analyst which you can request before making any decision. We also love the fact that they educate you on gimmicks and other tactics used by other gold IRA companies.

We also found the educational articles on their site to be easier reads, and they are also easy to navigate for stress-free learning.

Finally, they seemed to have more articles on their website, which enables you to explore more for greater confidence when making your choices.

5/5

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Having that said, Goldco is still a great choice for its low minimum investment requirement that enables more investors to get in on the fun.

The company also provides many perks for its customers, which we also loved, especially the opportunity to get up to 10% back in silver with a qualified IRA transaction.

This way, you get introduced to the benefits of owning silver as part of your portfolio without having to put up your own money until you are ready.

We also liked how it has a low-minimum investment requirement for their direct buyers too, which also makes their services more approachable.

And they also offer gratuitous storage with your direct purchase, so you can still benefit from the professional safekeeping of your gold and silver.

Waiving the account setup costs for users that invest up to $50,000 or more is also a plus with us because it enables you to save on your major transaction, and who doesn't like that?

Lastly, though they only work with the Delaware depository, we like that it's a private facility, so you get the added benefit of knowing your holdings are also protected from creditors and more.