Many people often focus on gold when looking to add diversity and an inflation hedge to their retirement portfolio using alternative investments.
However, like gold, silver also has a history of value for backing money. In fact, U.S. quarters and dimes are still being produced using it to this day, which makes it also popular in demand.
Hence, this offers at least one good reason to consider adding it to your IRA for its future growth potential too.
That being said, many precious metal companies have begun also offering a silver IRA to further expand investors’ options for protecting their nest egg outside of just physical gold.
But through our extensive investigation and experience with various companies, we have found that not all of them are the same. In which case, we bring you what we feel are some of the best silver IRA companies in the industry to help make it easier for you to choose the best one for you.
However, of all the companies we listed, Augusta Precious Metals tops our list as the best silver IRA company for various reasons, which we will share in more detail in our conclusion.
Best for beginners
A+ Better Business Bureau Grade
Silver, Gold, Platinum & Palladium
- lots of IRS-approved storage option
- great ratings & reviews
- good educational material
Best overall option
A+ Better Business Bureau Grade
Available metals: Silver & Gold
- no high-pressure sales tactics
- Harvard-trained economic analyst
- works with Equity Trust
Our third choice
A+ Better Business Bureau Grade
Silver, Gold, Platinum & Palladium
- works primarily with Equity Trust custodian
- transparent annual fees
- Easy withdrawal process
1: Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta Precious Metals’ silver IRA is a self-directed retirement account that allows investors to acquire both premium and common silver coins and bullion to benefit from the unique advantages of precious metals when added to their long-term savings.
In fact, the company boasts that they proudly offer stunning silver products with various benefits, including IRS minimum fineness, that you’d be hard-pressed to find in other similar assets.
Their specialists also ensure you are never left alone to figure out how silver works as an investment vehicle so that you have full insight into the industry to make the wisest decisions toward your future savings goals.
Your specialist will also help make it easy to roll over your current retirement plan into a silver IRA, should you choose to do so to avoid IRS penalties.
The company also works with only the most trusted IRA custodians in the business, including Equity Trust, for added quality support.
Members can also choose from over ten U.S. depositories to store their gold, so there is a greater chance of finding one in or near their area.
You can also find a breakdown of their costs in their FAQs section.
Our rating: 5/5
Pros:
- Augusta Precious Metals has over 10 years of experience in silver IRAs.
- The company maintains an A+ with the BBB and has received hundreds of 5-star customer comments with Trustlink, Google My Business, and more.
- They also work with an outside compliance team to ensure ADA compliance.
- Their acquisition process is streamlined so that it is easier to make silver IRA acquisitions.
- The company boasts that it provides rare precious metal informations due to its Harvard-trained economic analyst staff leader of education, Devlyn Steele.
- There is also a chart and various learning resources and tools on their site to help you learn more and track the latest movements of silver prices before you decide.
Cons:
- They don’t guarantee they will trade your assets back.
2: Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group is an A+ BBB-rated IRA company that enables retirement investors to get IRS-grade silver bullion and coins as part of their portfolio.
You also don’t have to be experienced in physical silver products to open an account with them because they have a team of former financial advisors and wealth managers standing by to educate you on precious metals.
They will also learn your investment goals and then make recommendations for your account to assist you with making good choices.
Members also enjoy special perks when they join the company, such as it will pay your first year’s fees when you make an initial purchase above $50,000.
Our rating: 5/5
Pros:
- Birch Gold Group has been a proven industry leader since its opening in 2003.
- The company also provides education, articles on the latest news in precious metals, and a live ticker on its site to help educate yourself before switching to a silver IRA.
- They list their costs on their site.
- It is an accredited BBB business and has various high rankings with Trust pilot, Trustlink, and more.
- Members can choose to store their physical silver in the Delaware Depository or Brink’s Global Service in New York, Los Angeles, or Salt Lake City.
Cons:
- We couldn’t find any information on a buyback program.
3: Noble Gold
Noble Gold is dedicated to helping clients preserve their wealth in unstable markets by allowing them to invest in silver and other precious metals for a more balanced IRA portfolio.
The company also offers a free guide and one-on-one attention to help increase your understanding of the benefits of adding such rare assets to your nest egg, so you can feel more confident about getting alternative assets for your account.
In fact, their experienced team consists of financial agents, estate planning attorneys, and certified public accountants for the best investment advice. They also provide members access to other experts in various other financial fields for maximum support.
Noble Gold is also Better Business Bureau and Business Consumer Alliance accredited and has many satisfied customer reviews on multiple reputable platforms.
Our score: 4.5/5
Pros:
- The company has more than 20 years of experience assisting users with acquiring precious metals.
- They have a simple account signup process to help make opening an account with them easy.
- Their trusted advisors provide sound advice for more secure transactions.
- They offer a list of their costs in their FAQs section.
- They provide online access to your account.
- They work with the Texas Depository, which is one of the most trusted storage facilities in the U.S.
Cons:
- They don’t state information on whether they exchange back their precious metals.
- They don’t offer live silver costs on their site.
4: Goldco
Goldco is a privately held company that strives to help investors learn how owning precious metals as part of their IRA can enhance their overall retirement investment strategy.
It is also their goal to help make it simple for nest egg savers to get started in silver investing with their silver IRA that allows you to own IRS-approved bullion and coins for their future growth potential and more.
Then, once you are ready to open and fund your account, a Goldco specialist will assist you along the way so that you are aware of everything that’s going on throughout the process for greater confidence.
In the meantime, clients and potential members can also check out the news and articles on the company’s site for more market insights into the silver industry and more to help prepare them for investing.
They also provide a silver value chart to check its current and historical costs for more reasonable acquisitions.
Pros:
- The company has over 10 years of experience in precious metals, during which time they have also earned various business industry merits, including the Inc. 5,000 award.
- Members can also acquire gold and silver directly.
- Goldco is also BBB A+ accredited and endorsed by major media outlets and leaders.
- They also have many high evaluations from various sites.
- The company’s buyback program guarantees the highest value.
- They work with all major self-directed IRA custodians.
Cons:
- They don’t state which depositories they work with.
- They don’t list their costs.
5: Patriot Gold Group
Patriot Gold Group is a leading gold IRA company, as voted by Consumer alliance for multiple years in a row; however, they also offer a silver IRA.
The company also helps eliminate retail and compensation costs for a no fees IRA account and the most competitive silver pricing.
Instead, they allow members to work directly with the senior partners of the firm, who are former top-level managers of the largest wholesale and retail precious metal establishments in the country.
It is their goal to inform individuals on the safest way to acquire silver for savvier investing.
Pros:
- Patriot Gold Group has over 50 years of combined experience in the industry. You can read our feedback about this company here.
- They have many high satisfaction scores with Google and more.
- Their team of professionals helps you open an account with simple documentation.
- Applicants can begin the account setup process on the company site.
- Their site also features a knowledge center to help educate yourself on silver before investing.
Cons:
- They are Consumer Alliance accredited but don’t state whether they are also BBB accredited.
- They don’t state which custodians or depositories they work with.
6: RC Bullion
RC Bullion is a top-rated gold coins company that also enables individuals to get IRS-approved silver coins as part of their retirement portfolio.
They also have a dedicated, customer-friendly IRA Department to help ease the process of converting your current retirement plan into a silver IRA. And they also handle all paperwork for your rollovers to help you avoid taxes and IRS penalties.
You can also request an investment guide to help prepare for opening an account with the company.
Pros:
- RC Bullion is a full-service precious metals company with years of experience in the industry.
- They also have many 5-star with Trustlink and more.
- Clients can also get gold, platinum, and palladium coins, bars, rare and collectible coins using their silver IRA.
- A spot price chart is also available on their site to help you keep up with changing silver value and more.
- You can begin the IRA account setup on their site.
Cons:
- They don’t list their fees on the site.
- They don’t state which depositories you can choose from.
7: American Bullion
American Bullion enables their members to acquire IRS-permissible silver coins and bullions as part of their self-directed IRA for long-term inflation protection and more.
Their specialists will also work with you to determine if the funds from your existing retirement plan can be directly deposited into your silver IRA. If so, they will also collaborate with your old custodian to begin the transfer.
You can also go to their site to research their educational resources for precious metals topics that interest you, such as what’s a silver IRA and more, to help determine if a silver IRA is right for you before opening an account.
They also hold the highest ranks with the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Alliance, Yelp, Google+, and more.
Pros:
- American Bullion has more than 10 years of experience in precious metals IRAs.
- You can begin the account setup process right from their site.
- They work with the Delaware Depository, which is one of the most trusted storage facilities in the industry.
- The founders are former commodity brokers.
- Their main goal is to make rolling over retirement accounts into a precious metals IRA hassle-free to prevent costly mistakes and more.
- They also exchange back your IRA assets.
Cons:
- They only list the custodian’s charges on their site.
- They don’t state if they trade back your silver.
Our analysis of the best silver IRA companies in the US in short
Augusta Precious Metals sets the bar for silver IRA companies, in our opinion, because it is the only company that promises to educate its clients on silver products the way that no other staff does, which is so important when investing in such an underrated commodity.
Knowing that you are receiving industry insights from a Harvard-trained-economic-analyst lead staff also makes you feel like you are capable of investing like a professional for more proud, confident decisions.
It is also one of the only silver IRA companies that work with a third-party compliance team and of which an experienced lawyer is also a member, which instills more trust in their IRA process.
The company also has a repertoire of impressive ratings and testimonies from various reputable sources, which helps when considering whether to work with their specialists for your silver IRA needs.
Finally, members also have access to rare perks, such as a webinar on precious metals taught by none other than the company’s director of education, Devlyn Steele, when they make an investment over a certain amount.
Frequently Asked Questions About Investing in a Silver IRA
Why are People Investing in a Silver IRA?
Silver has long been looked upon as an inferior precious metal to gold; however, like all precious metals, its value is in its scarcity, just like gold. Hence, all of them offer some degree of diversity and stability when added to your investment mix.
Furthermore, the recent increase in demand for silver across the world for its industrial and jewelry use and more has quickly piqued the interest of long-term investors for its potential future increase in value.
Silver has also even been shown to outperform gold during certain market downturns when the economy is at its lowest, making it a great source of hedge protection for your retirement savings.
Is Silver Cheaper to Get Than Gold?
Though both silver and gold offer similar benefits for your IRA in the long haul, silver is cheaper per ounce, which makes it more accessible to investors.
Its lower cost also leaves more room for a future increase in value than gold, which continues to remain in demand, hence, its stable higher value.
Is Silver as Liquid as Gold?
In many cases, silver is as liquefiable as gold due to its limited availability and increasing demand, which also makes it ripe for trading.
However, silver coins may make better or more practical trading vehicles during good times because they are already being used as currency, except silver bullion coins, which are more for investment purposes; therefore, they are highly liquid.
On the other hand, gold coins make better investments for financial crises or when you expect the economy to take a turn for the worse and need to ensure liquidity.
Liquifying gold also often involves higher costs.
Is it Cheaper to Store Silver in a Depository Than Gold?
Though the cost of silver is generally less than gold, the trade-off is it costs more to transport and store it than gold.
This is because silver is bulkier than gold; therefore, it requires more room for storage, which results in higher fees for the larger space it takes up.
Silver is also less dense than gold; however, the greater amount that can be transported per trip, compared to gold, results in a total heavier weight that adds to its shipping costs.
However, because silver is cheaper, it may come with lower insurance costs than gold.