How we check gold IRA companies.

What we read

We read what each company publishes and what the public record says about it. That is the whole method for now, and it’s the same reading anyone can do in an afternoon.

What we look at for each company

What we read	What we look for
Minimum purchase	The smallest amount the company says it accepts, for an IRA and for a cash purchase.
Published fees	Setup, annual and storage fees the company states, and whether it puts them in writing.
Custodian and depository	Which IRA custodians and storage depositories the company names.
Buyback terms	Whether the company commits to buying metal back, and the exact words it uses.
Complaint record	The company’s Better Business Bureau profile: its rating, when it was accredited and when it started.
Its own materials	Whether its guides and kits explain costs and rules, or skip them.

The result is in our comparison of gold IRA companies. Every cell there names its source, and a blank says “Not published”.

The company we refer readers to

That’s Augusta Precious Metals. We have an affiliate agreement with Augusta, so it may pay us when a reader we send asks for its information or becomes a customer. Our description of Augusta uses only the facts Augusta provides to its partners. We list it first in comparisons and say why.

What we haven’t done

• We haven’t opened an account or bought metal through any of these companies.
• We haven’t called them as a prospect to test their sales calls or collect quotes.
• We don’t score or rank companies, and we don’t publish star ratings.
• We haven’t covered every gold IRA company in the country.

If we add any of those steps, we’ll describe them here first.

Check any company yourself

Published terms only go so far. The markup on the metal itself isn’t on a fee schedule. Before you sign with any company, ours included:

1. Ask for the price of each coin or bar in writing, and work out the premium with the price over spot calculator.
2. Ask what the company would pay to buy the same metal back today.
3. Check which coins qualify with the IRA coin checker.
4. Look the company up with the BBB and read the complaints, not just the rating. Our dealer guide shows what to look for.

The limits of what we read

Fees, staff and offers change. What we read reflects the day we read it, and each page says when that was. Get current terms in writing and read the account agreement before you sign anything.