Schiff Gold is the new name of its former business Euro Pacific Precious Metals, which was launched in 2010 with the goal of offering clients a more trustworthy way to purchase precious metals for their portfolios.
Their professional advice also differed from other companies of its kind in that they suggested that investors incorporate just five to ten percent of alternative assets into their portfolio to reap their diversification benefits.
However, today, the company has been renamed after the founder, Peter Schiff, to show that he stands behind the quality of their silver and gold bullion products.
He also promises that the company has an even stronger commitment to delivering the industry's best fares on their precious metals this second time around and without compromising the same full service they have come to be known for.
Our review of Schiff Gold in a few words
Company name: Schiff Gold
BBB grade: Not Rated
Summary: Schiff Gold is for modern investors looking to take their retirement portfolio to the next level with the addition of precious metals and the ability to pay for their purchases using cryptocurrency.
They also help take the work out of finding buyers when it's time to sell by only offering the most liquidable assets.
However, they may need to establish their company's reputation a bit more before you feel confident investing with them.
Our score: 4/5
Should you work with Schiff Gold in 2023?
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Pros about Schiff Gold
Get Gold and Silver With the Highest Liquidity
Whether you intend to hold onto the gold, silver, platinum, or palladium in your account until you retire and then cash it in, or you want to keep it in your possession for emergencies, it is only as liquid as the demand for it.
That said, though all precious metals are rare, which naturally creates a demand for them, they do not all have the same number of interested buyers. Therefore, some are more liquid than others.
For instance, collectibles, special editions, numismatic coins like gold-plater quarters, and the like require special knowledge and passion to value them. Hence, there is typically a smaller market for them when it's time to trade. They also tend to cost more, which also makes them harder to trade.
This is especially important to keep in mind when purchasing gold, silver, and more for trading during tough economic times.
Therefore, Schiff Gold makes it a point to offer only the most popular, high-quality collection of precious metals that have the potential to sell fast. Even their bullion products are only the most widely recognizable, so you enjoy the highest liquidity on all their products.
It is also the company's promise that they charge a lower markup fee on their products than any other dealer in the field, which they are able to do by simply offering only common coins and bullion that don't constitute high commissions.
Investors Can Also Use the Funds From Their Current IRA, 401K, and more to Purchase Precious Metals for Their Schiff Gold IRA
If you already have an IRA, 401k, or another retirement plan and are interested in switching it to a Schiff Gold IRA, you may simply be able to roll over the savings from the current account to the new account to achieve your goal.
Each retirement plan, especially 403bs, has specific rules that determine whether they are eligible for a rollover to an alternative IRA. For example, you may have to be no longer working for your last employer before your account can be transferred.
Whichever type of retirement plan you have, Schiff Gold states that its experienced representatives can let you know if it qualifies for a rollover.
So be sure to consult with a member of their company before opening an account with them to ensure your employer-sponsored retirement plan can be used to fund your new IRA before you proceed.
Once they determine your existing account is eligible for a rollover, they can then help you complete any necessary paperwork to make your request known to your previous employer and work with your current custodian to have your accumulated savings wired directly to your new plan to avoid taxes.
Or you can also fund your account on your own using cash or an indirect IRA rollover, which allows you to receive the money in your 401k, etc., and put it into your account to acquire gold or silver for your alternative assets retirement plan.
They Offer Secure Vault Storage
Many retirement investors are probably aware by now that, as precious metals IRA account holders, they have access to secure vault storage for the maximum protection of their gold, silver, palladium or platinum.
In fact, once you acquire such assets for your IRA, they are automatically shipped to a high-security storage facility for maximum safekeeping, which is required by the IRS.
However, the company also provides secure vault storage for non-IRA investors to safely store their investments outside of their homes.
They can also choose a depository abroad for greater privacy and protection against political instability, creditors, and more.
Meanwhile, IRA account holders can choose from various depositories throughout the U.S. for quicker access to their assets in emergencies and more. They are also fully insured while there due to IRS rules.
You may also be able to store your precious metals separately from all other clients' assets in the facility, also known as segregated storage so that your assets are yours. Therefore, be sure to ask about their storage options.
Some depositories also provide you with an online account to track it whenever you want. So, again, be sure to ask.
They Also Take Back Your Gold and Silver
At any time after you acquire gold and silver from them, you decide that you would like to trade them back to them, the company will happily allow you to do so.
They state that this one just one of the ways they would like to show you that they stand by their products.
The company even goes a step further than other precious metals IRA companies and also trade gold, silver, platinum, and palladium acquired from other dealers.
This is their way of allowing you to witness their dedication to fairness on all levels of precious metals investing for greater trust in them.
They also pride themselves on providing some of the industry's best buyback rates.
They Also Help You Dispose of Your Gold and Silver
Even if you do not own an IRA account with the company, they will still help you dispose of your silver and gold.
Their precious metals specialist will begin by helping you evaluate what your gold investments would be worth in the market.
Then, if you are satisfied with their estimated value and want to trade them, they will give recommendations on the best way to exchange them to get the amount you want.
Investors Can Also Acquire Gold and Silver With Cryptocurrency
Schiff Gold also allows its investors to get silver and gold using digital currency. In fact, they boast that they are one of the trailblazing companies to enable their clients to do so.
Clients are also not limited to purchasing precious metals with just one cryptocurrency because they use BitPay, which accepts Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin.
However, you must have a BitPay-compatible wallet. You can also make your acquisitions using your crypto-compatible PC or smartphone.
Otherwise, simply contact their company by phone, and a representative will walk you through the steps to complete your order using your chosen digital coin.
After your payment is accepted through BitPay, the representative will have the precious metals shipped to you.
You will also receive a receipt of the transaction and a shipping number or code, etc., to track your package.
They Provide a Live Ticker on Their Site
Schiff Gold, like Patriot Gold Group and other dealers, also provides a scrolling view of live gold, silver, platinum, and palladium fares at the top of their site, so you can check their current value at any given time before you invest.
They also have live charts on their site to compare the live value of gold to other precious metals and more.
You can also adjust the time range on the charts to view different comparisons. Moving your mouse over the top of the charts will also allow you to see the current cost.
There is also a Historical Spot Prices chart to view past values of the different assets to also help you get a general idea of what is a good investment entry point for each.
Get Market Analysis Materials Right From Their Site
Schiff Gold also provides loads of reading and research materials on its site.
This way, you can explore their archive of original analysis posts, guest commentaries, videos, interviews, Peter Schiff's Gold News, and more to help find the answers to any questions you may have about investing in these rare resources from the earth.
They also have various articles on gold scams and finance for yet another view of the precious metals industry to help you make well-informed investment choices.
You can also sign up for their weekly newsletter to get additional content and access the latest industry information as it breaks.
In the meantime, check out their FAQs page for answers to some of the most common questions about investing in precious metals and more.
Cons about Schiff Gold
They Don't State Exactly Which Custodians and Depositories You Can Choose From
The IRS requires that to purchase gold, silver, and other precious metals as part of an IRA, you must appoint a custodian for your account to make your purchases on your behalf and manage your paperwork.
However, there are various custodians to choose from, and each provides its own benefits. So it would just be nice to know exactly the list of custodians they work with so that you could research their benefits before choosing one.
The company also states that they partner with private storage facilities throughout the world, including North America, Asia, and Europe; however, they don't list the exact depositories they work with in each of these continents.
But this is important to know if you plan to visit the facility or simply want to be near your goods for quicker access during emergencies, etc.
There is No List of Costs on Their Site
When a precious metals company lists its prices on its site, it not only makes them seem more trustworthy; it also makes it much easier to research the company before contacting them.
This way, it helps prevent awkwardness if you find out their fees are too expensive for you.
It may also make you feel pressured to act if you contact the company before you are ready to invest, as opposed to already knowing the costs and calling the company because you are confident you want to set up an account.
Is Schiff Gold a Scam?
Schiff Gold has been in business for over 16 years. However, we were unable to find hardly any outside information about the company online, let alone any complaints about it being a scam.
So we also did an online search of Euro Pacific Capital, Inc., which is their former name, and also found only a few scattered testimonies, ratings, and business pages on the company, including a barely there Better Business Bureau profile page.
The only information that was provided on the page was that the company is not accredited with the BBB and nor does it have a BBB grade. However, there were no customer reviews or complaints to see what others had to say, which we found perplexing.
Hence, again, we thought maybe it was because of the company's name change, so we also checked for a BBB business profile for Schiff Gold and found nothing.
However, we did find that the company under its new name, Schiff Gold, has a 4.9 out of 5-star on Facebook, which was based on the opinion of 43 people.
Surprisingly, there were no comments for the company on Trustpilot, Trustlink, or Consumer Affairs, which are three of the most popular sites for member testimonies and business-consumer interactions.
How is Their Customer Support?
The organization promises that, as a member, you have the benefit to work with a precious metals specialist that personally knows the market and shares Peter Schiff's economic outlook to give you the best advice on selecting the right coins and bars for your portfolio based on your goals.
They also state that the specialist will be with you every step of the process to ensure a successful account setup.
After checking their Facebook comments, we found that many users stated how professional, helpful, and knowledgeable their staff was.
However, they seemed to refer to the company's previous business, which dealt more with trading rather than investing in precious metals.
We also found a few customer opinions on Yelp stating how informed and helpful their specialists were. But, again, they also tended to refer to the previous company, which dealt in trading and cryptocurrency investments. See our list of the best Bitcoin IRA companies to learn more.
So it basically leaves only their previous business dealings to go on when determining if their new company's customer support is good.
Has There Been Any Complaints About Schiff Gold?
Though we found some positive comments on Yelp regarding the company, we also found many complaints, resulting in a 2 out of 5-star rank for Schiff Gold based on 30 reviews.
We found that most of the complaints were targeted toward the founder Peter Schiff and his investment strategies and podcast opinions.
However, there was one complaint about a person not being able to close their account and receive a refund, while a few others stated how high their costs are and that their fees are non-transparent. We found similar complaints when we audited Money Metals.
Again, the feedback tended to be concerning the company's previous business, so we still don't know if there are any complaints about this firm.
Conclusion on Schiff Gold IRAs
Schiff Gold is the perfect picture of a modern company with its ability to accept cryptocurrency, which many financial experts speculate will be the wave of the future when it comes to making payments and investments.
Hence, there's no doubt the company appeals to our young and hip side that doesn't just want to be tied to centralized currency when making investments, which makes them more interesting than traditional precious metals companies.
Their have great products
We also like how savvy they are to only propose quality, common coins and bars to ensure their fast liquidity while also helping us save on commission costs for lower-priced products.
The company also gets a plus for allowing us to track asset values any time of the day via their website and live charts. This way, we can conveniently track when the gold, silver, platinum, or palladium cost reaches our desired entry point to make the wisest investment.
Too few feedback and company ratings
However, no matter how much we love what the company represents and where it may be going, we don't like that its history is so sketchy, with very few members' testimony and company ratings, especially after being in business for over 16 years, which makes us concerned about the quality of their service.
But again, to be fair, it could simply be because they're operating under a new name and just haven't had time to establish credibility under it yet.
In either case, you may want to wait until the company has developed a good repertoire of third-party feedback under their new name before investing for greater confidence.
Would you rather invest in silver?
>> Click here to take a look at our curated list of the most reputable silver IRA companies. <<
4/5