Updated: August 5, 2026

OPRS may receive compensation when readers open an account through partner links on this page. Our analysis is based on independent research, BBB data, and IRS publications.

Quick answer

Hard Assets Alliance no longer operates under that name. The consumer site at hardassetsalliance.com now 301 redirects to gbidirect.com. The corporate footer on the new site reads 'Hard Assets Alliance, LLC d/b/a GBI Direct' (2026 copyright). The underlying legal entity is unchanged.

The platform, vault partners (Brink's, Loomis, Malca-Amit), MetalStream automated investment product, and 877-727-7387 phone line all carried over to the GBI Direct brand. If you are a legacy HAA customer, your account continues under GBI Direct with the same login credentials.

If you were researching Hard Assets Alliance as a possible dealer in 2026, the brand you would open an account under is now GBI Direct. This page documents the rebrand, the entity behind it, and the vetting steps that apply whenever a precious metals brand changes name.

Table of contents show

Hard Assets Alliance Review: The Brand Is Now GBI Direct

30-second verdict

Hardassetsalliance.com 301 redirects to gbidirect.com. The legal entity is Hard Assets Alliance, LLC d/b/a GBI Direct (2026 footer copyright).
The parent operator, Gold Bullion International LLC, has filed Form D private placement amendments with the SEC every year from 2017 through March 2026 under CIK 0001511026. The entity is active, not dissolved.
The account infrastructure carried over: Brink’s, Loomis, and Malca-Amit vault storage, MetalStream automated monthly buys from $25, IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE) support, and the same 877-727-7387 phone line.
Public pricing detail is now gated behind account creation. Storage fee percentages that HAA disclosed publicly in 2023 (0.7 percent gold, 0.8 percent silver per year) are no longer posted on the GBI Direct pricing page as of August 5, 2026.
A rebrand is not, by itself, a red flag. It is a vetting reset: BBB accreditation, state licensing, complaint history, and any regulator record must be re-checked under the new name before opening or maintaining an account.

What happened to Hard Assets Alliance

Hard Assets Alliance rebranded to GBI Direct. The consumer domain hardassetsalliance.com resolves with an HTTP 301 permanent redirect to gbidirect.com when queried in 2026. The new site’s meta description explicitly states “GBI Direct (formerly Hard Assets Alliance).” The footer on every GBI Direct page reads “Hard Assets Alliance, LLC d/b/a GBI Direct.” That footer language matters: it confirms the legal entity behind the customer contract is unchanged. Only the customer-facing brand changed.

The rebrand tightens the naming under the parent, Gold Bullion International (GBI). GBI is the trading and vaulting engine that Hard Assets Alliance ran on top of from launch. The HAA brand was created as a distribution and marketing layer over the GBI platform. Consolidating the brand under GBI Direct removes that layer of separation. Customers who opened SmartMetals or IRA accounts under the HAA brand see the same account records and vault positions under the new name.

The corporate entity, verified from primary filings

Gold Bullion International LLC is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under CIK 0001511026. The entity has filed Form D private placement notices (and Form D/A amendments) continuously since at least 2017. The most recent D/A filing on the SEC EDGAR system is dated March 5, 2026. The filing cadence is annual, and 2026 is the tenth consecutive year of on-time filings visible in EDGAR search.

Form D is filed when a private issuer sells securities under Regulation D exemptions. The recurring GBI filings relate to the company’s capitalization, not to the retail bullion product. But the filing history is a useful liveness signal: a private issuer that has stopped operating typically stops filing Form D amendments. GBI has not.

The 2026 GBI Direct site publishes headline scale numbers on its homepage: 10-plus institutional customers, $8.6 billion in assets, 12-plus physical storage vaults, and 200,000 customer accounts. These are self-reported and have not been audited by OPRS. They are consistent in order of magnitude with the “used by four of the six largest U.S. financial institutions” claim that the same page carries.

What carried over from Hard Assets Alliance

Vault partners. Brink’s, Loomis, and Malca-Amit. These are the same three names HAA used for global vault operations from launch.
Product family. SmartMetals account (spot-based order execution against multiple dealer quotes), IRA accounts across Traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE, MetalStream automated monthly investing from $25, and business or trust accounts.
Metals coverage. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in coin and bar formats. The bar sizes on the pricing page include 1-oz LBMA-approved gold bars, generic 1-oz platinum, and coin sizes for American Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and other sovereign products.
Customer support numbers. The published main number 877-727-7387 was the HAA main line and is now the GBI Direct main line. A separate sales line at 877-418-3339 is published on the account contact page.
Retail 24/7 buy-and-sell functionality. The “buy and sell 24/7” comparison table on the new homepage repeats the same value proposition HAA marketed since inception.

What changed, and what is now less visible

The clearest disclosure change is on pricing. In prior years HAA published its annual storage fee schedule as fixed percentages on the public site. The 2023 archived schedule showed 0.7 percent per year for gold, platinum, and palladium and 0.8 percent per year for silver.

The 2026 GBI Direct pricing page shows only “estimated pricing” for selected coin and bar products. It states that live, executable pricing is available inside a GBI Direct account. Storage fee percentages, if unchanged, are not confirmable from public pages alone. Prospective customers should request the current storage fee schedule in writing before funding an account.

Account-opening minimums are not published on the pricing page. The MetalStream product entry states the minimum recurring investment starts at $25 per month, which is the same floor HAA marketed.

The BBB profile that Hard Assets Alliance carried under the HAA name is a separate vetting question after a rebrand. The BBB rating shown on the 2023 OPRS review of HAA was an F with the note that HAA was not BBB-accredited.

Ratings that predate a rebrand do not automatically transfer to the new entity name or profile. Prospective customers should search the BBB directory under both “GBI Direct” and “Hard Assets Alliance, LLC” and compare the results before assuming either profile is current.

How to read a precious metals brand rebrand

A rebrand is not, on its own, a red flag. It can be commercial (consolidation under a parent name, as here), regulatory (a settlement condition), reputational (distance from prior complaints), or financial (a change in ownership).

The response is the same in every case: treat the new name as a new dealer and re-run the standard vetting checks. Check the current entity name in the state of incorporation for good-standing status. Search the BBB profile under both names. Search the CFTC and FTC enforcement databases under the operating entity name. Read the current customer agreement in full.

The custodian selection framework and the broader vetting sequence apply here without modification. A rebrand does not shorten the checklist. It usually lengthens it, because the trailing history under the old name has to be reconciled with the current disclosures under the new name.

For gold IRA use specifically, the rebrand affects paperwork. IRA account documents, custodian instructions, and beneficiary forms filed under “Hard Assets Alliance” reference an entity that now does business as GBI Direct.

Contract continuity is confirmed by the “d/b/a GBI Direct” language in the corporate footer. IRA account holders should still confirm in writing with the custodian that the “Hard Assets Alliance” counterparty reference remains legally sufficient on file.

Where GBI Direct fits in the 2026 gold IRA landscape

GBI Direct competes in a segment adjacent to the traditional gold IRA dealer market. The traditional dealer model bundles metals sales with concierge account opening, IRS-approved custodian coordination, and delivery to an IRA depository.

GBI Direct sells its platform as institutional-grade order execution with a self-service overlay. That is a legitimate distinct model, closer to a bullion brokerage than to the concierge dealer channel.

Prospective retail buyers should decide up front which model they want. Concierge dealers cost more per ounce but hold the customer’s hand through paperwork. Platforms like GBI Direct cost less per ounce but push account-setup and IRA-custodian coordination back onto the customer.

Neither model is inherently better. The right question is whether the buyer has the appetite and the time to run the vetting and paperwork themselves. If yes, a platform model can compress markup. If no, a concierge dealer is a rational premium to pay.

Our short list of dealers that survived the 2026 due diligence pass is published on the 2026 dealer screen. GBI Direct is not on that list. Its inclusion would require a full re-audit under the new brand.

Red flag checklist for any rebranded dealer

Corporate footer names a legal entity that resolves in the state of incorporation’s business registry (Secretary of State) as active and in good standing.
BBB profile exists under the new brand, with rating and complaint count visible. If no new BBB profile exists yet, that is not automatic disqualification but is a data gap to close.
SEC EDGAR or state securities filings, if applicable to the entity, are current and not marked stopped or withdrawn.
CFTC enforcement database (sirt.cftc.gov) and FTC press releases return no active proceeding against the legal entity or its predecessor under the old brand.
State Attorney General enforcement search returns no active case against the entity in the states where it operates or advertises.
Customer agreement is downloadable in full without account creation. Fee schedule is disclosed either on the public site or on request in writing before funding.
Storage vault partners are named. Vault contracts are held in the customer’s name (allocated, segregated) rather than pooled to the operator.

The scam detection sequence is a superset of the checklist above and applies even when a rebrand looks clean. A rebrand that fails one or more of these checks does not automatically mean fraud. It does mean the dealer needs a longer conversation before any money moves.

If you already have an account under the Hard Assets Alliance name

Log in at gbidirect.com. Confirm that account balances, holdings, vault allocations, and beneficiary designations carried over correctly.
Save a screenshot or PDF export of the pre-rebrand statement. The last HAA-branded statement is a useful audit-trail artifact and may not remain available through the new interface indefinitely.
For IRA accounts, contact the custodian in writing. Confirm the custodian recognizes the counterparty as “Hard Assets Alliance, LLC d/b/a GBI Direct” and that account documents remain in force without amendment.
Request the current fee schedule and storage terms in writing. Post-rebrand fee changes can be introduced without triggering a public disclosure.
Confirm the phone lines and email domain. The 877-727-7387 main line and the sales@gbidirect.com email address are what the new site publishes. Anything else claiming HAA support in 2026 is worth a closer look.

If you were solicited by a caller who identified as being from “Hard Assets Alliance” after the rebrand, the caller should be able to explain the “d/b/a GBI Direct” relationship. They should also provide a verifiable email at the gbidirect.com domain.

If they cannot, follow the post-incident response guide. Stop the conversation before providing any account information.

The rollover question for legacy HAA IRA holders

An IRA under Hard Assets Alliance, LLC is not automatically distributed or rolled over by the rebrand. The account contract is with the legal entity, which persists. A rollover would only be triggered by a customer instruction, by a custodian change, or by an entity dissolution. None of these are the case here.

Some IRA holders may nevertheless want to move the account after the brand change. That is a personal decision, not a legal requirement. Standard rollover rules and procedures apply.

The direct trustee-to-trustee transfer avoids the 60-day rule under IRC Section 408. It also does not trigger the 12-month one-rollover restriction. A 1099-R with distribution code G (direct rollover) is the expected federal reporting outcome. Any dealer that pressures a legacy account holder into an unnecessary rollover on the ground that the rebrand somehow forced it is misrepresenting the mechanics.

What this review does not do

OPRS does not currently maintain an affiliate relationship with Hard Assets Alliance or with GBI Direct. This page contains no tracked outbound link to either brand. No affiliate compensation is received if you open an account at gbidirect.com.

The purpose of this refresh is to document the rebrand event and provide the vetting framework that applies to any precious metals brand under a name change. The 3 of 27+ gold IRA dealers reviewed by OPRS that make the 2026 trusted list are published on the dealer screen linked above. That list is refreshed on a separate cadence.

Frequently asked questions on the Hard Assets Alliance rebrand

Is Hard Assets Alliance still in business in 2026?

Yes, as a legal entity. Hard Assets Alliance, LLC continues to operate but does business under the new brand name GBI Direct. The consumer domain hardassetsalliance.com now permanently redirects to gbidirect.com. The corporate footer on the new site confirms the “d/b/a GBI Direct” relationship. There is no bankruptcy filing, no dissolution filing, and no CFTC or FTC enforcement action against the entity as of the date shown at the top of this page.

When did the rebrand happen?

The GBI Direct logo files on the new site are dated January 2026 in the WordPress uploads path (/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GBI_Direct_Logo.png). The most recent article modification timestamp on the homepage is May 2026. The transition period from HAA-branded content to GBI Direct-branded content therefore spans early to mid 2026. Legacy content that references “HAA” or “Hard Assets Alliance” still appears in customer testimonials on the new homepage, which is consistent with a recent rebrand.

Do my Hard Assets Alliance IRA documents still work?

In principle yes, because the legal entity is the same and the “d/b/a” language preserves continuity. Verify in writing with the IRA custodian that the counterparty is still recognized. Save the pre-rebrand and first post-rebrand statements as audit artifacts. If the custodian requires an amendment or a new signature, the custodian will initiate it; you should not need to open a new account.

Did the storage fees change with the rebrand?

The public GBI Direct pricing page does not publish a storage fee schedule as of August 5, 2026. The prior HAA-published schedule was 0.7 percent per year for gold, platinum, and palladium and 0.8 percent per year for silver. Whether those percentages carried over unchanged is not confirmable from public disclosures. Request the current storage fee schedule in writing before funding or renewing an account.

Are Brink’s, Loomis, and Malca-Amit still the storage partners?

Yes, per the GBI Direct homepage as of the date shown at the top of this page. The three vault operators are the same institutional custodians HAA used before the rebrand. The homepage also states “12+ physical storage vaults” globally, which is the count HAA marketed historically.

Is GBI Direct on the OPRS 2026 trusted dealer list?

No. GBI Direct is a newly branded consumer entity as of 2026 and has not been run through the OPRS due diligence pass under that name. Inclusion or exclusion from the trusted list would require a full audit of the current corporate disclosures, BBB profile under the new name, customer agreement, and fee schedule. Until that audit is complete, GBI Direct sits outside the OPRS trusted list. That is a neutral status, not a negative signal.

Is Hard Assets Alliance a scam?

No, based on the primary sources reviewed. The parent legal entity Gold Bullion International LLC is a registered issuer with active SEC filings under CIK 0001511026. The most recent Form D/A amendment is dated March 5, 2026.

The rebrand to GBI Direct is disclosed publicly on the new consumer site and reflected in the corporate footer copyright. No open CFTC or FTC enforcement proceeding against the entity was found in the public search results reviewed for this page. That does not remove the standard vetting burden that applies to any precious metals dealer, particularly one that has just changed its consumer-facing name.

Our Review of Hard Assets Alliance