Augusta Precious Metals: Pros and Cons of #1 Gold IRA Company

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After weighing Augusta Precious Metals' pros and cons: which wins out? There are many pros to opening a gold IRA with Augusta Precious Metals including free personalized 1:1 investor education; no pressure and no gimmick sales presentation; lifetime professional customer service; competitive fees and spreads; and transparent policies, to name a few.


There are two cons with this multi-awarded and top-rated precious metals IRA provider: high minimum account opening and having no platinum and palladium products.


We believe, though, that the advantages vastly outweigh the disadvantages of opening a gold IRA account with Augusta Precious Metals. You will find that Augusta Precious Metals give investors complete confidence and peace of mind when opening a precious metal IRA.

Pros and Cons of Augusta Precious Metals

Summary of Advantages and Disadvantages

Pros

  • Free Personalized 1:1 Education
  • Free Videos, Guides, Web Conferences
  • On-staff Harvard-trained economist
  • No-Pressure, No Deceptive Sales Gimmicks
  • Lifetime 5-Star Customer Support
  • Complete IRA paperwork assistance
  • Competitive fees (Free for select customers)
  • Competitive spreads
  • Transparent Policies

Cons

  • High Account Minimum: $50,000
  • Gold & Silver Only (No Platinum & Palladium)

Pros

Before you open a Gold IRA with any company, take advantage of the Free 1:1 Web Conference with Augusta Precious Metals. This is especially important if you don’t have a lot of knowledge about investing in precious metals. You will know everything you need to know before deciding to commit a significant portion of your wealth and retirement savings to precious metals. And you are not obligated to invest with Augusta after you complete the 1:1 web conference.

In addition to the 1-on-1 educational sessions where you can have all your questions answered, their website has free videos, guides, and web events for further education on many important aspects of precious metals investing. They also have a very important series on reasons not to buy gold. This will help clarify if investing in precious is really for you.

An important resource person during the 1:1 sessions is Mr. Devlyn Steele. He is the Director of Education at Augusta. He is a Harvard-trained economist and is deeply committed to educating investors about investing. Don’t hesitate to consult with him if you have any hesitation about starting a gold IRA.

Augusta Precious Metals provides all of this education with no expectation that you will open a gold or silver IRA with them right away. They employ no pressure and no gimmicks in their sales process. Many gold IRA companies resort to lies and gimmicks just to get a customer but Augusta does not operate in that manner. It believes in educating the customer first and giving them as much time as possible to study, make observations and ask questions.

They provide lifetime customer support, one of the main reasons they have rated 5 stars in many watchdog and consumer review sites. They are easy to talk to and committed to serving your account throughout the lifetime of your investment. They are just a phone call away.

They will provide complete IRA paperwork assistance. Everything you need to fill out will be handed to you to make sure you don’t encounter any issues in opening your IRA.

They have one of the lowest fees for setup, storage, and custodianship. The fees are flat unlike some companies that are percentage-based or the fees scale the larger your account. Augusta just collects flat fees for maintaining your custodian and storage fees. Plus, they will cover the fees for up to 10 years for qualified accounts. Ask if you qualify when you avail of the 1:1 web conference..

As a big-volume dealer of precious metals, they have competitive spreads on gold and silver transactions. This means you pay less on gold purchases and make more on gold sales compared to others.

They have transparent policies you can read on the transaction agreement before engaging Augusta Precious Metals service. Some companies don’t have transparent fees and you end up surprised after spending a year with them. With Augusta, there are no surprises and everything is laid out for you to review before starting the relationship.

Cons

They have a high minimum amount to open an account: $50,000. However, this amount gives you competitive spreads on purchases. If amounts were lower, the spreads would be higher, which would mean less gold in your retirement account.

They only offer Gold & Silver products. They don’t have platinum & palladium products if you want to buy those for your precious metals IRA. There is greater demand and liquidity in gold and silver though, which can mean it would be easier to liquidate those metals at a fair price if you need to.

There are far more advantages than disadvantages in choosing Augusta Precious Metals as your gold IRA company. We believe that Augusta Precious Metals is legitimate and the best company to buy precious metals from for your gold and silver IRA. Money Magazine and IRA Gold Advisor also agree that Augusta Precious Metals is the best gold IRA company in the United States.

What Makes Augusta Precious Metals Stand Out

They have a sterling reputation in the market and what makes Augusta Precious Metals stand out in the industry is they have zero complaints on the BBB and similar review platforms (although they don’t have a presence in Trustpilot). They’re the only gold IRA company with that distinction. We covered this extensively in the full Augusta Precious Metals review and the article diving into Augusta Precious Metals' complaints.


Yet it’s not the perfect choice for everyone. It’s important to find out if you have the right fit with your gold IRA provider. If you don’t have complete trust and confidence in them or in the idea of precious metals as an investment, you might second-guess your decisions.


Let’s compare Augusta with other companies. What makes Augusta Precious Metals different when pitted against other precious metals companies? Let us look at the complaints history and fees.


Table. Gold IRA Fees Summarized.

Gold IRA Company

Complaints
(BBB, BCA)

Set Up Fees

Annual Fees

Account Minimum

Advantage Gold

1 in last 3 years

$295

$275

$25,000

American Hartford Gold

24 in last 3 years

$50

$250

$2,500

Augusta Precious Metals

0 since beginning

$50

$200

$50,000

Birch Gold Group

11 in last 3 years

$90

$250

$10,000

Goldco

12 in last 3 years

$50

$180

$25,000

Noble Gold

1 in last 3 years

$80

$230

$2,000

Gold IRA Company

Complaints
(BBB, BCA)

Set Up Fees

Annual Fees

Account Minimum

Advantage Gold

1 in last 3 years

$295

$275

$25,000

American Hartford Gold

24 in last 3 years

$50

$250

$2,500

Augusta Precious Metals

0 since beginning

$50

$200

$50,000

Birch Gold Group

11 in last 3 years

$90

$250

$10,000

Goldco

12 in last 3 years

$50

$180

$25,000

Noble Gold

1 in last 3 years

$80

$230

$2,000

It’s easy to see that what makes Augusta Precious Metals unique among other companies is having Zero Complaints in the Better Business Bureau and Business Consumer Alliance from the very beginning. They also have zero pending lawsuits. That is very impressive! No other company can make that claim. Every company can claim that they give excellent customer service but only the company with zero complaints can truly say it with integrity.


And Augusta Precious Metals’ fees are very competitive, with only Goldco offering lower annual fees and it’s not by much. Would you pay an extra $20 to have zero problems on your retirement account?

Why You Should Choose Augusta Precious Metals

One of the reasons why Joe Montana chose Augusta Precious Metals is the impeccable reputation of the company. When you have thousands of dollars and even millions in your retirement account, you want the peace of mind that the company handling your wealth is absolutely trustworthy. Knowing that no customer has ever complained against the company with the BBB or BCA says a lot about the company.


This is a company that truly takes customer service seriously. In fact, if you take a look at the Augusta Precious Metals reviews, customers are overwhelmingly amazed at the company’s commitment to investor education and customer service.


With these commitments plus their unmatched performance, you can see why we don’t have any hesitation in recommending Augusta Precious Metals.

Background on Augusta Precious Metals

Augusta Precious Metals is a precious metal IRA company and authorized precious metal dealer. They’re one of the biggest gold and silver dealers in the United States.

 
It is based in Casper, Wyoming, with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, California.


Isaac Nuriani, who owns Augusta Precious Metals, founded the company in 2012. He serves as its CEO. The Nuriani family has over 45 years of experience in the precious metals industry.

 
Isaac is a staunch advocate of adding physical gold and silver to retirement portfolios. He is committed to total transparency, simplicity, and lifetime service to his customers.

Augusta Precious Metals Products and Services

Augusta Precious Metals helps you set up your gold and silver IRA. You can also buy IRS-approved physical gold and silver in your precious metal IRA. Augusta Precious Metals will walk you through the easy steps to open your account. We help with the required forms, funding your new gold IRA and safekeeping your metals in a highly secure, insured depository.


You can buy gold and silver bullion from Augusta Precious Metals. There are Common and Premium Bullion products.

Augusta Gold Products 

You can check out the Augusta website for a complete list of their products. Augusta Precious Metals has various common Gold Bullion such as the Gold American Eagle, American Buffalo, and Canadian Maple Leaf. You can also buy Gold Bars.


You can buy premium gold bullion which has a higher premium usually because of higher rarity. Some of the Premium Gold Bullion that you can buy are the 2022 St. Helena Sovereign, 2015 Canadian 0.25 oz $10 Polar Bear and Cub, 2014 Canadian 0.25 oz. $10 Arctic Fox and the American Eagle Proof and American Buffalo Proof.

Augusta Silver Products

For Common Silver Bullion, you also have varied options like the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, Silver Austrian Philharmonic, Silver 90% Bag, and Silver Bar.


For Premium Silver products, there’s the Silver Royal Canadian Mint Soaring Eagle, Silver Canada 1.5 oz. $8 Polar Bear and Cub 2015, Silver Canada 1.5 oz. $8 Arctic Fox 2015, Half Dollar Gold Coins (John F. Kennedy, Ben Franklin, Walking Liberty), and American Silver Eagle Proof.

Augusta Precious Metals sells both IRA-approved gold and non-IRA precious metals so it’s important to check with your Augusta representative if what you are buying is IRA-eligible.


For bullion to be IRA-eligible: gold coins and bars need to be 99.5% pure except for American Gold Eagle coins, which are 91.67% pure; and Silver coins and bars need to be 99.9% pure.

How to Get Started with Augusta Precious Metals?

There are 2 ways to get started with Augusta Precious Metals. You can request a gold IRA information kit or talk to an Augusta Precious Metals representative by calling 800-700-1008.

 
You will then attend a 1-on-1 web conference where you can ask all your questions and raise all your concerns about precious metals investing.

 
Once you are ready, opening a gold IRA account just takes filling out a few forms Augusta Precious Metals will provide. It’s not complicated paperwork.


You will then need to fund your gold or silver IRA. You can do this via check, wire transfer; or roll over funds from a qualified retirement account that you own.


Once funded, you then buy gold and silver bullion. Augusta Precious Metals will then deliver the precious metals to your secure depository. And you’re done. These are the easy steps to get started investing with Augusta Precious Metals.

Augusta Precious Metals IRA custodian

It’s important to note that Augusta Precious Metal is not your IRA custodian. They are a precious metals dealer. They recommend Equity Trust. Augusta will serve as your liaison to Equity Trust or any other IRA custodian.

Delaware Depository: Augusta Precious Metals' Choice for your Precious Metals Storage

The Delaware Depository is an IRS-compliant depository located in Wilmington, Delaware with branches in Orange County, California, Canada, and Switzerland. They use advanced, multiple layers of security to protect their assets. In addition, they are insured by London underwriters for $1 billion. In case the Delaware Depository goes bankrupt, your bullion stores are safe because they are held off balance sheets. They’re not assets of the Delaware Depository and the depository cannot use them. It would be illegal if they tried.


Augusta Precious Metals wants your investment to be safe and secure so they recommend the Delaware Depository as your depository storage facility. This is where your precious metals will be stored.

Who should become an Augusta Precious Metals customer?

Augusta Precious Metals is best for investors preparing for retirement and who want assets that are not correlated with the dollar or the stock market. Why is this important?


The US dollar has been declining in value for many years due to the increased money printing of the Federal Reserve. The monetary policies that were designed to help people during times of crisis are the same policies creating a crisis during retirement.


The drop in purchasing power has been accelerated by the rapid rise in inflation in 2022. From averaging less than 4% from 2000 to 2020 then jumping to 4.7% in 2021 and 8.15% in 2022, inflation has been angrily battering the investment and retirement accounts of Americans everywhere.

As the dollar falls in value so do retirement nest eggs.


Not only that, many of these retirement accounts primarily hold stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. A sudden drop in the stock market can easily wipe out huge chunks of retirement savings. This happened during the housing crash of 2008 and the pandemic crash of 2020. A crash during retirement with a majority held n stocks is not a pretty sight.


Countless unprotected Americans couldn’t retire when the housing and stock markets collapsed from 2007 to 2010. It’s hard to retire when your nest egg loses 30 to 50% of its value because it’s tied to the stock market.


Therefore, any astute investor should have an uncorrelated asset in their portfolios to protect their sum of money from market crashes and currency devaluation. That’s why precious metals are good for retirement, they serve to protect your portfolio from these risks.


The value of gold is not correlated to the dollar or the stock market. In fact, there are times that gold spikes in value or holds steady in times of uncertainty. That’s why gold and other precious metals are the perfect counterweights to stocks-heavy retirement nest eggs. Plus precious metals traditionally serve as a hedge against inflation.

 
These are just some of the pros of precious metals investing. There are cons as well such as not earning passive income and having a lower rate of return but these are a major cause of concern as long as you keep precious metals at 5-15% of your portfolio.

Should I Keep Cash or Gold?

The year 2022 saw inflation rise to an average of 8.15%, hitting a high 9.1% in June. This means if you have $100,000 cash at the start of the year, It’s now only worth $92,464.17 according to inflation calculators like this.


And that’s just computing for 1 year. While it’s likely that inflation will come back down, it can still average between 3-5% in the next 10 years. At just 3% in 10 years, your $100,000 falls down to $74,409.39.


Clearly, keeping cash is not a long-term option. That’s why having 5-10% of your retirement portfolio in gold or silver is recommended to preserve your purchasing power and guard against inflation.

 
Is it still worthwhile to invest in precious metals? It is impossible to predict if inflation will go up or down or sideways in the next few years. As an investor, it’s your responsibility to be prepared for any eventuality. So yes, we believe it’s still a good time to invest in precious metals as it still serves their unique function in a well-balanced retirement portfolio.

Disadvantages of Investing in Precious Metals

There are disadvantages to investing in precious metals. One disadvantage to investing in precious metals is they don’t give passive income. They’re not meant to replace traditional retirement portfolios. They have a specific function and that is to protect your nest egg during times of uncertainty.


Having precious metals is good for your retirement because it protects your portfolio from premature selling.


When markets crash, the last thing that you want to do is sell your stocks. When you sell your stocks, you immediately realize the loss.

 
This is where investing in precious metals makes it worthwhile. You can sell your metals and live off the proceeds while you let the market recover. Gold and silver are the safest precious metals to invest in that serve this function.


In our opinion, the best way to invest long-term in precious metals is through a self-directed precious metals IRA because you enjoy the tax benefits of a self-directed IRA. But what is the best physical gold to buy?

Gold Coin vs. Gold Bar

The best physical gold to buy lies in knowing the different forms of metal you can buy for your precious metals IRA. Coins have a lower melt value than bars. But coins have more value even if they weigh less than gold bars because more work is involved in producing the coins.

 
The design, the craftsmanship, the rarity, and other factors all contribute to giving more premium to gold bullion or gold coins like the Gold American Eagle, Gold American Buffalo, or Royal Canadian Mint Gold Coins.

 
The same principle is true for a silver coin or silver bullion like the American Silver Eagle or Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. These are more valuable per ounce than silver bars because of the silver coins' workmanship, rarity, and collectability.


Ultimately it’s going to be based on your preference but it’s best to raise these questions during a 1:1 web conference with an Augusta Precious Metals representative.

Can you trust Augusta Precious Metals with your Gold IRA?

With their history of having zero complaints in BBB and other review platforms, and a high A+ rating in BBB, we can confidently conclude that you can trust August Precious Metals with your gold and silver IRA. Augusta Precious Metals is n a class of its own regarding customer service in the precious metals IRA industry.


This is the same conclusion reached by one of the prominent Augusta Precious Metal customers Hall-of-Fame NFL Quarterback Joe Montana. He and his financial team found Augusta Precious Metals to be the best gold IRA company after thorough research and interviews.

Their research is backed by others like Money Magazine and IRA Gold Advisor both cite Augusta Precious Metals as the best gold IRA company in the United States.

Conclusion

After looking at the advantages and disadvantages of working with Augusta Precious Metals, we arrive at the same conclusion that they are the best gold IRA company in the country. Their pristine reputation makes Augusta Precious Metals stand out. Having zero complaints and the highest ratings on the BBB and similar review platforms makes them truly unique.


The fact that they also have one of the lowest fees in the industry makes it a foregone conclusion. You don’t have to pay premium fees for premium customer service with Augusta Precious Metals. They are super-responsive to customer concerns and worthy of your business and trust. Their extreme commitment to lifetime customer service will give you the peace of mind that you have a trustworthy partner in retirement.


You can check our full Augusta Precious Metals review for a wider assessment of the best Gold IRA company in the United States.

About the author 

Ronald Cagape

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