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In today's volatile economic landscape, finding a reliable partner for your precious metals investments can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.
That's where United Gold Group comes in. With a reputation for exceptional service and expertise, they promise not just to safeguard your wealth but to help it flourish.
In this comprehensive review, we'll dive into what makes United Gold Group a standout choice for both novice and seasoned investors alike.
Whether you're looking to diversify your portfolio or secure your financial future, this article will provide the insights you need to make an informed decision.
Read on to discover if United Gold Group is the right fit for your investment goals.
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 United Gold Group passed our strict customer service standards to become one of our top recommendations.
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About United Gold Group
Contrary to some of the reviews online, which might just simply be out-of-date, the company's website is actually fairly comprehensive regarding policies, procedures, and company philosophy and history. The only thing that seems to be lacking is a detailed breakdown of the fees associated with orders.
One of the company's uncommon endorsements is from the American Numismatic Association. Having the backing of the premier numismatic association in the country buttresses the company's claims about the quality and purity of its bullion coins.
Sure, it's the law that the coins have to meet certain qualities and purity, but it can seem like a lot of, "Yeah, yeah, but ...," without the credibility that such an endorsement brings.
Products and Services
You can buy all four of the standard precious metals from United Gold Group: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. There are more choices of gold and silver items than there are of the other two. Aside from the bars of various sizes, these are the bullion coins the company offers:
Gold
Silver
Platinum
Palladium
These coins all meet the purity standard, and they are of various sizes and weights. Like all precious metals, they are sealed in protective cases because the oil from human skin can affect the purity of the item. That's why it's never a good idea to handle any of the precious metals that you buy.
United Gold Group provides you with access to Madison Trust Company, which acts as the required custodian of your precious metals when it comes to a self-directed IRA. Madison Trust Company handles all of the transactions and ensures that your precious metals are stored in the depository of your choice. The applicable depositories are in New York, Delaware, Texas, California, and Utah.
United Gold Group will also work with you, with Madison Trust Company's help, to roll over your existing 401K or regular IRA into a self-directed IRA. This process incurs no tax liability when you create the self-directed IRA. Instead, it comes later when you either make a withdrawal after turning 59.5 or when you sell part of your precious metals.
The Self-Directed IRA
There are other rules when it comes to these accounts. Aside from the aforementioned requirement of being 59.5 years old before making a penalty-free and tax-free withdrawal, there is the rule that after you become 72 years old, you must begin to make regular withdrawals.
Once you start the required withdrawals at age 72, you may take those withdrawals in either cash or in precious metals, based on the spot price of the applicable metals at the time of withdrawal.
Remember, too, that any gold or other precious metals that you put into your self-directed IRA must be stored in a qualified depository. You are allowed to have precious metals at home, but they can't be part of your self-directed IRA.
Home storage isn't a good idea anyway because you can't provide the same level of security that a depository can.
Even a safe deposit box isn't as secure, and if you have more than just some bullion coins, a safe deposit box isn't large enough to hold all of your items. Some banks do actually have depositories, so check with both the bank and United Gold Group to see if that particular bank is affiliated and can fulfill your storage needs.
Precious metals in this kind of IRA are a good safety net against inflation and the possible erosion of your retirement assets over the long haul.
Still, most experts say that only about 10% of your portfolio should be in precious metals because they cannot provide income nor do they appreciate at a strong rate. The very thing that makes them good protection makes them unsuitable for above-average long-term growth.
All precious metals that you put into your self-directed IRA must be purchased specifically for that purpose, and you're not allowed to use any precious metals that you already have in any capacity even if you "bought them yesterday to put into your self-directed IRA tomorrow."
One way that you can use the precious metals that you have, however, is either to sell them elsewhere and use the proceeds of that sale to buy new precious metals or to sell them directly to United Gold Group and then buy new ones from the company.
Of course, you won't get the spot price and will have to pay a fee, but as they say, "That's the cost of doing business." In either case, United Gold Group will work with both you and any applicable custodians to get the deal done.
United Gold Group Advantages and Disadvantages
United Gold Group doesn't have most of its pricing on its website. For example, the "pricing" webpage says only that the company seeks between a 2% and a 25% profit on any one transaction and bases which percentage it seeks upon several factors.
However, United Gold Group says that if you talk with it on the phone, then you will find out everything. The company strives not to hide any of its fees.
The company's line of products has something for everyone, and you have options for both depository storage and home storage, depending on which kind of account you have with United Gold Group.
The chief disadvantage is the $1,500 minimum for each purchase you make. For some folks, that might be steep while others might treat it as pocket change. The company also doesn't provide many payment options. You can pay by wire transfer, electronic bill pay, or personal check.
That's it. And, if you pay by personal check, the limit is just $10,000. Obviously, a personal check will slow down the shipment process because the check must clear before United Gold Group sends your items. That's neither wholly unreasonable nor unexpected, however.
Even though the process, seems slightly anachronistic in the 21st century, it should be noted that United Gold Group has this payment policy in place as part of an anti-money laundering initiative implemented by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Under the initiative, those kinds of payments are the only kinds of payments even allowed.
The company provides a free consultation regarding anything you need or want to ask regarding the sale of, purchase of, storage of, and transfer of precious metals themselves or other forms of currency that you wish to turn into tangible assets for yourself.
Other companies might also offer this service, but unlike those companies, United Gold Group shows extra conscientiousness by outlining both that and all of its other services on its website.
Online Reviews
There aren't many reviews on the Better Business Bureau website, but the ones that are there are all 5-star. Similarly, there aren't many complaints. Of the three that are listed, one was a convoluted scenario that United Gold Group seemed to handle with aplomb.
The other two were normal complaints, and United Gold Group worked with the complainants, documenting everything it did to try to rectify the issues.
There are some puzzling reviews on TrustLink, however. United Gold Group has only been in existence, at least according to the Better Business Bureau, since 2019, but TrustLink has reviews going back a dozen years.
Web searches yielded many more reviews for United Gold Direct, but despite the similarity of the two names, the two companies are actually mutually exclusive. Be careful reading reviews of United Gold Direct when searching for information about United Gold Group.
Interestingly, the company's website has a domain name of "United Asset Group." Perhaps the similarity of the name with United Gold Direct prompted this change? At this time, it's impossible to know. Just be aware that the company might rebrand shortly.
The Policies
Some companies have rudimentary outlines of their privacy policies, risk assessments, and terms and conditions. United Gold Group is the opposite. Each of these pages on the company's website is fully comprehensive, and the company urges every client to read and acknowledge these policies so that there is no confusion at a later date. As with anything that includes "legalese," it's a good idea to contact an attorney for help in understanding if you have any confusion.
Additionally, United Gold Group reports both sides of every transaction: the "buy" and the "sale." That way, there is a traceable record of every transaction for both the company's safety and yours. The Internal Revenue Service is just one entity that the company notifies. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, other organizations receive notice of these transactions.
The "Offer"
On the company's website, on the page marked "offer," there is a link to call the company to see if you qualify for "$2,500 of free gold." This reviewer is skeptical that a company would just hand over $2,500 as a "free gift" to anyone, let alone the number of customers that would call for a free 1.25 troy ounces of gold.
Still, giving United Gold Group the benefit of the doubt, you lose nothing by calling up the company to ask about the free 1.25 troy ounces of gold. On the same page, the company offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Remember, if the company buys back your gold or other precious metal, then it will be at the current spot price minus applicable fees and surcharges and not the price you paid for the items.
In some cases, depending on the applicable federal, state, and local laws in your area, the company might not be allowed to provide a straight-up refund. Both of these are standard practices in the precious metals marketplace.
The United Gold Group Newsfeed
Despite all of the demonstrably great things on the rest of the company's website, the company's newsfeed is incredibly troubling. United Gold Group features only articles and videos supporting InfoWars conspiracy theories.
By linking to these articles and videos, the United Gold Group shows tacit approval of, among other things, vigilantism, hateful speech, and other extreme right-wing ideology.
That a company that is responsible for what amounts to, in many cases, people's life savings publicly supports, however tacitly or tangentially, such conspiracy theories and opinions designed to inflame tensions is baffling in the extreme.
Such support calls into question the company's integrity and credibility to do business. For this reason, we here at Digital Financing Task Force cannot recommend United Gold Group in any way.There are much better options available to precious metals investors.
Remember to read out list of the Top Gold Companies to see if United Gold Group made the cut.
>> Click HERE to read our Best Precious Metals Investment Companies list <<
Or, if you like what you read about United Gold Group, 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.
