Disclaimer: Some or all of the companies reported here may provide compensation to us, at no cost to our readers. This is how we keep our reporting free for readers. Compensation and detailed analysis are what determines how companies appear below.
If you're exploring ways to diversify your retirement portfolio, you may have encountered the concept of Gold IRAs. This investment option offers an intriguing alternative to traditional stocks and bonds within your IRA.
While initiating a Gold IRA comes with its own set of challenges, partnering with the right company can make the process seamless and rewarding.
One such company is GSI Exchange, known for assisting customers in setting up Gold IRAs.
Is GSI Exchange the ideal partner for your investment needs?
Join us as we examine the details and discover if they are the right fit for you.
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.
Read the list to see if GSI Exchange passed our strict customer service standards to become one of our top recommendations.
Or
Get a FREE Gold Information Kit from our #1 recommendation, by clicking the button below:
Protect Your Retirement Savings - Tax and Penalty Free!
GSI Exchange Company Overview
Established in 2014, GSI Exchange is a coin and precious metals company that offers wholesale trading and offers Gold and Silver IRA products for individual investors.
Located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the GSI Exchange management team has a combined over 75 years of experience in the financial industry.
GSI Exchange is led by Senior Partner Anthony Anderson, a high-level coin broker with almost twenty years of senior-level experience. His previous experience includes working with some of the largest gold and silver dealers in the US along with over a decade in the financial industry.
They provide extensive information on the entire GSI Exchange team including a background check from the National Ethics Association. They have team members that help handle IRA services along with Account Executives that help individual customers with their accounts and purchases.
GSI Exchange Services and Features
GSI Exchange offers assistance with setting up a Gold or Silver IRA, or you can use a third-party custodian. They can also assist if you’re looking to roll over funds into a Gold or Silver IRA. They also offer options for customers to liquidate their precious metals via registered and insured US mail.
You can also buy gold bars, gold coins, silver coins, silver bars, and other precious metal products. They also offer account services where you can view your assets on the dashboard and view purchase requests, view newsletters, and more.
If you’re looking for IRA-specific products, you’ll have to search for them in the search bar; there isn’t a separate section that divides the IRA-eligible gold and silver products from the others.
What Are Gold IRAs?
A Gold IRA is a special kind of IRA or Individual Retirement Account and is considered a self-directed IRA by the IRS. It allows you to purchase and hold approved gold, silver, platinum, or palladium in the form of bars, coins, and other approved forms.
Similar to other IRAs, you can set up a Gold IRA with pretax (Traditional) or after-tax (Roth) dollars subject to the same IRA annual contribution restrictions.
The big difference between a regular IRA and a Gold IRA is that you physically hold precious metals such as gold or silver within an account and have them stored at an approved depositor.
Things to Consider with Gold IRAs
If you want to open a Gold IRA, you have to find a custodian that specializes in offering Gold IRAs. Conventional brokers and custodians generally don’t offer these specialized accounts and you have to find one that offers this product.
Another consideration with Gold IRAs is that you may have more fees compared to a traditional broker/dealer since you have to keep the precious metals purchased at an IRS-approved storage facility. This is typically a bank or other depository that is allowed to hold onto your precious metals assets.
Gold stored at your house would be considered a withdrawal or distribution by the IRS and could potentially subject you to taxes.
With annual contributions to an IRA, the IRS looks at contributions made to all of your IRA accounts as a whole. That means if you’ve already maximized your contributions to your IRA with a different custodian, you can’t make contributions to your Gold IRA. You may be able to do a rollover, transfer, or conversion, but you may want to discuss it with a tax professional before initiating a rollover, transfer, or conversion.
With a traditional IRA, you’ll still have to consider future required minimum distributions that you need to take out and it may be harder to liquidate your gold assets when compared to a more conventional account.
One last consideration with Gold IRAs is that there is no set increase in value. With retirement products such as stocks or bonds, there could be dividends or interest earned. With a Gold IRA, the value of your account is based on the value of the gold or other precious metal when you sell it.
Depending on what the financial markets are doing, this means you could end up making more or less than if you put the money in a stock or bond. It’s a good idea to take a look at all of your financial options before investing in gold or any other financial product.
Types of Gold IRAs
With a Traditional Gold IRA, your retirement account is funded by pre-tax dollars. This allows you to grow the value of your account on a tax-deferred basis and then withdrawals after the retirement age are taxed as income.
Roth Gold IRAs, on the other hand, have contributions made with after-tax money. This doesn’t provide any upfront tax benefits, but you may be able to take distributions tax-free after retirement if certain requirements are met.
Some companies offer SEP Gold IRAs but are typically rarer than Traditional or Roth Gold IRAs. These types of retirement accounts are available to small businesses and self-employed individuals and allow you to contribute up to 25% of your income up to a certain amount as a contribution.
GSI Exchange Guides and Tools
GSI Exchange offers a Learning Center where you can read free guides and tips on buying gold and silver. They have information for new investors to learn about how the market works and even on collecting gold and silver coins. Some of the articles offer tips on what types of gold and silver coins to invest in as well.
If you’re looking to get current and historical information on prices for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You can check one, five, and ten-year highs and lows and even look at more recent timeframes.
The chart allows you to set a range of dates and you can compare the prices with other benchmarks such as the US dollar, crude oil, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones to see how the precious metals have performed compared to other investments over the years.
Curious about using gold and silver as legal tender? GSI Exchange has information on the current regulations and laws about the taxation of gold and silver investments and breaks it down by state so that you can get more information about your particular tax situation.
If you provide your name, phone number, and email address, you can also download a free Info Kit that provides information on gold and silver.
GSI Exchange Fees and Pricing
The fees for buying and selling precious metals at GSI Exchange are listed on their online catalog. With the online catalog, you can view the current cost of the gold or silver products that you’re looking to purchase. You can open an account for free with GSI Exchange but there is a $75 annual fee assessed on the account. This fee is waived if you hold more than $50,000 in precious metals.
With orders, there’s typically a minimum order amount of at least $1500.00 and large orders may take longer to ship due to the size of the order. Your Account Executive would be able to provide some more details to you.
Is GSI Exchange a Scam?
GSI Exchange currently has an A+ rating with the BBB but is not BBB Accredited. GSI Exchange has had one complaint in the past three years regarding delivery timeframes. Overall their customer feedback has been mostly positive. One thing to consider is that GSI Exchange merely provides wholesale buying and selling of gold and silver products.
While they provide a price range on their website, this generally won’t be the amount you will pay since the prices can fluctuate from day to day. You have to call their customer support line and speak with one of their customer service reps to get a guaranteed price.
With high-dollar orders, they also require customers to use a wire transfer as well. While there aren’t any major red flags, it’s a good idea to compare the fees and prices between GSI Exchange and other companies.
Our Rating
GSI Exchange Pros and Cons
GSI Exchange offers online accounts and you can view current prices on many of their gold and silver products. On the page, you can see the current bid and ask prices you can compare them to the current prices of the coins and bullion on their market.
You can see in-stock items along with out-of-stock items and easily search for specific products. They also have a chat feature available where you can talk to an Account Executive with your questions or find information about your orders.
The online dashboard allows you to see your portfolio and purchase additional products for your portfolio. You can also see information on your purchases such as shipping information and view books, infographics, and the latest articles.
The dashboard provides you with an overview of the market through Global Market Graphs so you can see what your portfolio is doing. You can even create a wish list of items so you can make more purchases in the future.
When it comes to reviews, customers talk highly about the Account Executives and their extensive knowledge and professional service. Most of the customer complaints deal with the shipping timeframes for their gold or silver purchases.
Another disadvantage of GSI Exchange is the lack of Platinum and Palladium products. They specialize primarily in coins and bars from the US Mint, the Royal Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, and the Perth Mint. If you’re looking for other types of precious metals investments, you may want to look at a different company.
Sometimes an order can become back ordered when GSI Exchange gets delays in receiving certain products from their vaults or other wholesalers. In some cases, this can delay your ship date by a week or so.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a company to buy and sell precious metals for your Gold IRA, GSI Exchange may be the right company for you. They provide a lot of free resources for you to learn more about Gold IRAs and the overall precious metals market. You can get a range of prices for particular gold or silver items so you can more easily compare the different products.
If you choose GSI Exchange, you will have to find a separate custodian for your Gold IRA and also a depositor to store the precious metals in your Gold IRA. Keep in mind that they may have their fees in addition to the fees paid to GSI for your account.
Just like with any other investment, it’s a good idea to consider all of your options when searching for a company for your Gold IRA before opening any accounts or making an investment. It’s always a good idea to read up and research multiple companies so that you can make a good decision for your retirement future.
Remember to read out list of the Top Gold Companies to see if GSI Exchange made the cut.
>> Click HERE to read our Best Precious Metals Investment Companies list <<
Or, if you like what you read about GSI Exchange, you can visit their website below.
At Digital Financing Task Force, we provide research and analysis for people that want to take control of their financial future and protect the savings that they have.