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In the ever-evolving world of precious metal investments, choosing the right partner can make all the difference between a secure future and missed opportunities.
Enter Goldco and Noble Gold—two industry titans each promising to safeguard your wealth with gold IRAs and more.
But which one truly stands out?
In this in-depth comparison, we unravel the offerings, strengths, and unique features of Goldco and Noble Gold.
By the end of this article, you'll have a clear understanding of which company aligns best with your financial goals.
Ready to discover the champion in the battle of gold investment giants? Let’s dive in.
Before we get started, investing your savings is a serious task. When it comes to adding precious metals to your portfolio, how do you know which companies to trust?
That is why we have researched every company in the industry and selected the very few with the highest customer service standards.
This way you can easily compare the best companies in the business, and choose one that fits your needs and investment goals.
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Get a FREE Gold Information Kit from our #1 recommendation, by clicking the button below:
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As an example, in January of 1998, gold cost a little less than $300 an ounce whereas in April of 2023, it costs just about $2,000 an ounce. Over that time, there have been ups and downs, but the rise has been inexorable over the last 30 years. Still, all investors should bear in mind that previous performance is not a guaranteed indication of present or future performance.
The focus of this article is on gold and two companies that provide you with investment opportunities. First, you should know a few ground rules regarding investing in gold. First, it is illegal for you to have possession of any gold associated with an IRA in your own home.
You can't provide the kind of security that would be necessary to protect gold bars, and if they were to be stolen or destroyed, then you would have no recourse. Your entire investment would disappear.
Instead, the IRS controls gold investment in gold IRAs by mandating that it be kept in secure stockpiles in places like Fort Knox, banks, and other security-focused places. If you happen to take possession of any gold that is held in your IRA, the IRS treats it as a withdrawal.
After that, there are penalties and taxes that you might owe, and in certain cases, the IRS can seize some or all of your gold. There are rules, too, that govern who manages investment accounts, such as gold IRAs. Usually, there is a custodian who does all of the buying and selling. In certain cases, however, you might be able to direct things yourself.
The two companies focused on in this article are Goldco and Noble Gold. Both are highly respected in the field. Goldco has been around longer and has the stronger claim to "the best customer service," but Noble Gold has its advantages.
Precious Metals IRAs
The self-directed version of these accounts is designed for retirement savings. Because it is a stable investment, gold is like a "blue-chip stock." Its gains are modest and tend to pay out over time. It rarely rises wildly or drops catastrophically. Retirees diversify their portfolios with gold.
With such an account, you can also own certain gold coins from the United States, Canada, and Australia. The IRS controls what you can and cannot own. Some of the prohibited items are collectibles, such as old American Double Eagles, which are $20 gold coins.
Like other IRAs, Gold IRAs have tax benefits. You either don't pay tax when you create an account, or you don't pay tax when you withdraw the money from the account. Gold IRAs have limits on how much can be donated per year after account creation.
If you have an account with a custodian, nearly all the rules and benefits are the same. The only difference is that you have someone else "making the deals" for you. Companies that are on the up-and-up will make the process easy and put your interests above theirs.
No matter which of these two companies you choose for your Gold IRA, make sure to ask if the people with whom you're working, including any custodian involved, is a fiduciary who is beholden by law to do what's best for you. Otherwise, you may wind up with the short end of the stick when the person sells you something just to earn a bonus or make a quota.
Goldco
Having only been around for 17 years, Goldco is a relative newcomer in the world of precious metals investing. The company plans, manages, and through its efforts, maintains people's retirement savings.
The company's founder is Trevor Gerstz, who is renowned for the praise he receives from his customers.
Goldco provides deep analysis and support when it comes to finding the right kind of retirement account. The company, however, is not a financial planning company and doesn't offer investment advice.
It provides customers with all of the relevant information and then does what the customer asks. Speaking of doing what the customer asks, Goldco is consistently held in the highest regard for its customer service.
One of the other top advantages new customers will see is that they will receive exceptional incentives and deals when becoming investors and opening an account. Goldco doesn't use the hard sell.
You won't feel any pressure when making your decisions.
The company takes pride in its philosophy of allowing clients to proceed at their own pace. The cost structure of using Goldco is easy to understand, and the costs themselves are competitive those of the competition in most cases when considering the value you receive.
Goldco does not provide a custodian service, they work with trusted outside custodians, the precious metals you add to your portfolio are "physical gold." In other words, the custodian hold the physical gold and silver on your behalf.
It is a physical metal-backed investment. Therefore, it's useful only for a long-term investment and not short-term trading. With Goldco, you also cannot open an account on the internet. You have to get a free brochure and then work with a precious metals specialist to create your account.
Keep in mind, though, that this person, according to Goldco's website, is not a licensed financial advisor. Goldco also doesn't have a wide assortment of products. The minimum investment amount with Goldco is $25,000, which is not only higher than other companies but also out-of-reach for many smaller investors.
Noble Gold
If Goldco is a relative newcomer to the market, then Noble Gold is in its infancy. The company was founded in 2016 upon a philosophy of honesty, transparency, and value, which it said its competitors lacked. Like other companies, it provides advice to customers to help them make smart purchases.
The company's chief advantage is that it owns its own secure storage facility in Texas for the gold you would buy for your gold IRA. Additionally, the annual fee is nominal, and there is no fee to set up an account with Noble Gold if you stake enough money. While the company does have a minimum investment amount, it's much lower than that of Goldco and many of its other competitors.
Noble Gold also provides clients with the ability to choose rare silver and gold coins and actual bullion. Of course, these purchases wouldn't be as part of any kind of IRA, but our Noble Gold review shows they do offer the service to folks who just want to hold the bars. The company calls this its "Royal Survival Pack."
Because of the company's youth, it's not as well-respected as its older competitors. Also, the company only has facilities in North America. That means that your international options are nonexistent. The storage fees are more expensive than Noble Gold's competitors for that reason.
On Noble Gold's website, you cannot find the prices of the precious-metal coins; you have to call the company and request a list. When speaking to a rep from Noble Gold, your customer service experience will be good, but it won't be nearly as good as that from Goldco.
Fees
Goldco doesn’t charge fees for IRAs, the custodians charge the fees.
Goldco's Gold IRA Fees
The required minimum purchase at Goldco to start a gold IRA is $25,000. Goldco’s preferred Custodian charges a flat annual account service fee which includes a one-time IRA account set-up fee of $50 as well as a $30 wire fee.
Annual maintenance is $100, and storage is $150 for segregated storage or $100 for non-segregated storage.
Fees for gold storage and custodianship can vary depending on the company you select to handle these services (required by the IRS, as all IRA assets must be managed by a custodian).
Depending on the Custodian, storage fees can range from $10 to $60 per month, or as a percentage of assets, from 0.35% to 1% annually. Goldco does not charge any storage fees for cash transactions over $25,000.
Noble Gold's fee is just $80 per year. If you choose to store gold with them, then the storage fee is $150 annually no matter how much you invest.
Noble Gold's incentive is a waiver of the first year's fee for new clients. The minimum amount you need to invest to get started is just $5,000, which is among the lowest in the entire market.
Other Ratings
The Better Business Bureau gives both companies an A+ rating. The Business Consumer Alliance rates Goldco AAA and Noble Gold AA. Both companies have above-average consumer ratings, and Goldco, at the time of this article's writing, has no outstanding consumer complaints.
Customer Services
Goldco provides chat and email service 24/7, and you can call in to speak to someone during regular business hours. Their focus on such levels of service has led to prime ratings by several industry organizations beyond the Better Business Bureau and the Business Consumer Alliance. Noble Gold only supports customers through email and phone, and there is no 24/7 option.
Cryptocurrency
Of the two, only Noble Gold offers clients the ability to buy and trade Noble Bitcoin. This cryptocurrency is not tied to gold. Currently, each token is trading at $0.0001108, and there are 2,354,320,788 tokens in the circulating supply, which also happens to be the max supply.
Goldco vs. Noble Gold
Because of the reasonable fees and large minimum purchase, Goldco is the best bet for folks with a high net worth and businesses. Their model is geared toward fulfilling these clients' wishes and needs.
Indeed, they've made their reputation in the industry by providing these customers with the stellar customer service they both advertise and promise.
Noble Gold, on the other hand, is more for the smaller investor. The minimum of $5,000 is well within the reach of most of the population.
Their aim, too, is to diversify their clients' precious metals options, which is why, in addition to gold, they offer both palladium and platinum along with cryptocurrency. Noble Gold is still striving to cement its reputation in the marketplace. After just seven years, it remains to be seen if the company can measure up over the long term.
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions Issues
No review of these companies would be complete without the mention of one glaring weakness in Noble Gold. On the company's website, the sitemap provides access to both the privacy policy and the risk disclosure terms and conditions. Both pages on Noble Gold's website contain the same text, which is a template of industry boilerplate.
It's even marked with "suggested text."That a company that prides itself on honesty and transparency doesn't list either its privacy policy or its risk disclosure statement on its website for the public is quite alarming, especially considering the legal ramifications if something were to go wrong with a client's investment.
This would be particularly true if the client were to choose the Royal Survivor Pack option, which could result in the loss of all physical gold if it were stolen from the client's home. All of this regarding the lack of clear privacy and risk disclosure policies might even reduce client confidence in the company.
Also, despite being in business only since 2016, which is proven by the company's profile on the Better Business Bureau website, the company has presented an article about itself on LinkedIn that claims it has been in business for, "... over 20 years."
To its credit, Goldco has clear text on the subject on its website. The privacy policy is fairly comprehensive, but the terms and conditions are perfunctory and only cover communications and shipments.
Conclusion
In the end, the choice is clear, Goldco is by far the better of the two. Here at Digital Financing Task Force, we have received positive feedback from hundreds of readers that have used Goldco to help protect their retirement savings.
If Noble Gold were to correct the oversight on its website regarding the terms and conditions and remove the false information from the article on LinkedIn, that would be helpful. Goldco is a better choice than Noble Gold for precious metals investors due to several reasons.
First, Goldco has a more extensive range of investment options, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, while Noble Gold only focuses on gold and silver. Second, Goldco has a higher reputation for customer service, with a 5-star rating on Trustpilot and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
In contrast, Noble Gold has a B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and mixed reviews from customers. Additionally, Goldco offers a buyback program, ensuring that investors can sell their metals back to the company at a fair price when needed.
Overall, Goldco is a better choice for precious metals investors looking for a diverse investment option with a high level of customer service and reputation.
Remember to read out list of the Top Gold Companies.
>> Click HERE to read our Best Precious Metals IRA Companies list <<
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