Trusting an organization with your hard-earned investment is a big decision. Many gold IRA companies offer various advantages and disadvantages, depending on your financial goals.
Advantage Gold is a leading gold IRA company known for its convenient precious metals IRA rollovers from traditional accounts and wide selection of standard bullion coins. Whether you’re interested in physical precious metals or gold IRAs, many recommend Advantage Gold.
At Learn About Gold, we want to help you find the best IRA partner for your investment goals. In this Advantage Gold review, we will discuss the company’s background, legitimacy, security, products, services, fees, requirements, customer reviews, and complaints so you can understand what makes Advantage Gold unique.
Brief History of Advantage Gold
Adam Baratta and Kirill Zagalsky founded Advantage Gold in June 2014 after working as senior account executives. In the following years, the Los Angeles-based company quickly became an industry leader in providing convenient and secure precious metals IRAs.
Advantage Gold believes all clients should receive the support and education they need to make intelligent investment decisions. Because of this passion, Advantage Gold offers assistance throughout the entire process of setting up precious metal IRAs, rolling over accounts, and more. With a full-service and fully staffed IRA department, clients receive one-on-one advice from the Advantage Gold management team with step-by-step support.
Advantage Gold partners with STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company as its precious metals IRA custodians. The company works with two storage providers, Brinks Global Services and Delaware Depository, for vaulting and insuring your investments.
Is Advantage Gold a Legit Company?
Advantage Gold is a legitimate company with positive rankings from many renowned organizations. Advantage Gold has an AAA rating from the Business Consumer Alliance with no filed complaints and accreditation with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2014. The company boasts the following scores from customer reviews:
- 4.81 out of 5 stars on the BBB website
- 5 out of 5 stars from 462 reviews on the TrustLink website
- 4.9 out of 5 stars from 747 reviews on the Trustpilot website
- 4.7 out of 5 stars on Facebook reviews
Advantage Gold is a verified American Numismatic Association member and a U.S. Mint-listed dealer.
Given the strong Advantage Gold reviews, ample company partnerships with industry-leading organizations, and attentive support channels, you can feel secure investing with Advantage Gold. If you have any questions or concerns, an Advantage Gold account representative will help you with anything you need.
Are Your Investments Secured With Advantage Gold?
Advantage Gold offers partnerships with different storage facilities that will secure and insure your investments in case anything happens to your precious metals while in the storage facility. If you choose to store the premium coins at home with direct delivery, you must purchase your own insurance or assume the risks.
When you invest in precious metals with any investment firm, you will not receive appreciation guarantees. Advantage Gold cannot guarantee your retirement funds or tell you how much your gold investments will be worth in the future. Instead, the company offers fair market value in its Buyback Program whenever you decide to sell.
How To Open an Account With Advantage Gold
Opening an account with Advantage Gold is simple. Advantage Gold’s sign-up process includes support and educational materials along each step.
You have two options for precious metals IRAs: STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust. When you visit Advantage Gold’s website, you’ll find links for creating a gold IRA with either of these organizations. After following the link, you’ll find an Adobe Sign sign-up page where you can fill out the prompting fields to complete the process.
You can contact Advantage Gold support if you’d prefer to speak with someone while applying for an Advantage Gold IRA. A self-directed IRA custodian will walk you through the process.
After opening your IRA, you can fund it by transferring, contributing, or rolling over from another retirement account. When you transfer or roll over, you will essentially add cash funds to the account that you can use to purchase standard bullion coins, bars, or other types of precious metals.
Advantage Gold Products
From Royal Canadian Mint coins to American, Australian, and Mexican precious metals, Advantage Gold offers a wide variety of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium IRS-approved coins that you can use to contribute to your IRA.
Advantage Gold can hold precious metals for you in secure and insured vault locations, so you don’t have to worry about the risks of transporting and storing physical gold and other precious metals. Here are the types of precious metal products you can purchase through this company:
Gold IRA-approved Coins
Advantage Gold offers 12 physical gold coins you can choose from. Each coin comes in different weights, and you may use them to contribute to your IRA. The selection includes the following:
- Gold Canadian Woodland Caribou
- Gold Canadian Great-Horned Owl
- Gold American Eagle
- American Buffalo
- Gold Canadian Maple Leaf
- Gold Canadian Wolverine
- Gold Canadian Wild Horse
- Gold Canadian Polar Bear and Cub
- Gold Canadian Bighorn Sheep
- Gold Austrian Philharmonic
- Gold American Eagle Proofs
- American Buffalo Proofs
Silver IRA-approved Coins
If you’re interested in silver IRAs, Advantage Gold also offers nine different IRA-approved silver coins in varying weights, including the following:
- Silver Canadian Great-Horned Owl
- Silver Canadian Wild Horse
- Silver Canadian Woodland Caribou
- Silver Canadian Wolverine
- Silver Canadian Maple Leaf
- Silver Canadian Bighorn Sheep
- Silver Canadian Polar Bear and Cub
- Silver Austrian Philharmonic
- Silver American Eagle Proofs
- Silver American Eagle
- Mexican Libertad
Platinum IRA-approved Coins
Gold and silver bars may be some of the most popular precious metal IRA options, though a few other metals also offer advantages. If you chose Advantage Gold, you have six options for platinum IRA-approved coins, including the following:
- Platinum American Eagle
- Platinum American Eagle Proofs
- Platinum Australian Leopard Seal
- Platinum Australian Humpback Whale
- Platinum Australian Emperor Penguin
- Platinum Canadian Maple Leaf
Palladium IRA-approved Coins
If you aren’t interested in gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals, you may want to consider palladium coins. Advantage Gold offers the Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf for approved contributions to IRAs.
Services Offered by Advantage Gold
Learning about the stock market, paper assets, and precious metal IRA rollovers isn’t easy. Advantage Gold works to ensure that all clients receive the education and resources necessary to make intelligent and informed investment decisions.
The company also offers various services, like the Buyback Program, to make the entire process easier for each client.
Education and Training
Beginning investors interested in gold IRAs will find that converting an existing IRA into a precious metals account involves careful research.
Advantage Gold provides a first-time gold investor program with a free gold IRA guide to teach you all the ins and outs of gold IRA rollover processes, investing in precious metals IRAs, purchasing premium coins, and more. For example, understanding how federal income taxes and deductions vary based on different retirement account types can help you pick the right self-directed IRA for your financial goals.
The Advantage Gold pros have ample training and decades of experience working as account executives, so they can help you make informed decisions. Your representative will present you with pros, cons, challenges, and advantages so you can understand all the potential investment risks and benefits before diving in.
Buyback Program
One notable Advantage Gold offer we discovered is the Buyback Program. After opening a gold IRA and purchasing precious metals, you may wonder how you’ll receive your funds when you retire.
You may withdraw the precious metals and sell them how you please, though Advantage Gold’s Buyback Program makes the sale process quick, convenient, and worthwhile.
When you’re ready to sell, Advantage Gold will offer you the fair market value for your precious metals. Occasionally, the organization may even provide increased offers on specific high-demand coins.
Precious Metals Storage
The IRS does not allow you to store precious metals for IRAs in your own home. You must use IRS-approved storage facilities for any IRA investments.
The company provides IRS-approved storage through two separate providers. Brinks Global Services and Delaware Depository offer state-of-the-art vaulting services with top-notch security measures, insurance, and storage options. You can choose between segregated and non-segregated vaults, with prices ranging from $100 to $150 per year.
Precious Metals Delivery
Advantage Gold also offers direct bullion sales, not for IRA purposes. You can purchase various coins to add to your portfolio or collection. If you choose to do so, the company will ship the products for free with included insurance and expedient deliveries.
You can expect to receive your package within two to three business days. You may need to meet various criteria to receive these perks.
Advantage Gold IRA
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are investment accounts that secure your funds with tax incentives until you retire. You can fund IRAs with fiat money (cash), gold, silver, or other assets and precious metals.
Advantage Gold’s gold IRA department walks you through each step to ensure that you understand exactly how the investment will work. You can work with self-directed IRA custodians from either STRATA Trust Company or Equity Trust Company for all your support needs.
Many types of retirement accounts exist with varying advantages and tax deduction requirements. You can convert most existing retirement plans, including Traditional and Roth IRA, SEP, Simple IRA, 401(k), 403(b), and Tax Sheltered Annuity plans, into a gold IRA using Advantage Gold’s rollover process, which we’ll discuss next.
How To Rollover Your Existing IRA to an Advantage Gold Precious Metals IRA
If you already have an existing IRA that you wish to transfer to a precious metals IRA, you’ll need to conduct a rollover. Luckily, the Advantage Gold IRA rollover process is fairly simple, as the representatives will handle most of the complex steps for you.
To convert your funds into a precious metals IRA with Advantage Gold, you can follow these steps:
- Apply for an IRA on the website: When you visit the Advantage Gold website, you’ll find the form to apply for the self-directed IRA. Be sure to carefully review and complete all form fields before submitting. You’ll also need to add a copy of your most recent retirement account statement.
- Receive an application approval: An Advantage Gold representative will review your viability and contact you to discuss some of your basic options, fees, and expectations.
- Process the rollover: To process the IRA rollover, your account representative will communicate with your current investment account organization on your behalf. You won’t need to worry about any paperwork or transfers, as the company will take care of this process.
- Receive funds in your account: After finalizing the transfer, you will receive your existing retirement funds in the new account. Your representative will set your account up and ensure that you know how everything works.
- Purchase precious metals: Once you have funds, you can purchase precious metals to contribute to your IRA.
How Much Are Advantage Gold Fees?
Most precious metal IRA providers charge fees for account management and custodial services. Fees will vary depending on the custodian you choose. However, each of the following can contribute to your overall costs:
Direct Investment Expenses
You’ll have to pay direct investment expenses when you initially set up your account. STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company charge $50 upon creating your account. You will not need to pay this fee again unless you create multiple accounts.
Portfolio Management Fees
Most custodial services also charge annual fees for account management. STRATA’s account maintenance annual fee is $95. The annual maintenance fee for Equity Trust Company depends on the amount in your account, though it typically starts at around $225. We recommend speaking with a custodial representative about more exact figures for your investment.
If you transfer over $50,000 from your existing retirement fund to a gold IRA or precious metals IRA, you won’t have to pay the account maintenance fee for your first year. You may receive a bonus perk if you deposit a minimum of $25,000.
Operating Expenses
You also must pay storage fees for your precious metals. The operating expenses typically cover any insurance and security provided with your precious metals investment. You typically have two options when selecting storage:
- Segregated: Segregated storage keeps your precious metals in a separate vault from other investors for top-tier security. Segregated storage costs $150 per year with both STRATA and Equity.
- Non-segregated: Non-segregated means your investment will sit in a vault with other investors’ precious metals. Non-segregated storage costs $100 per year with both STRATA and Equity.
Hidden Costs
Advantage Gold does not display explicit fee information on its website, as the costs can vary from investor to investor. Aside from the standard fees above, you may have to pay additional costs depending on your existing account or what you wish to purchase.
When you create your account and meet with your representative, they will disclose the exact fees to you. Your representative should understand your investment goals and will use this information to offer pricing transparency. Many customer reviews state that Advantage Gold provides some of the lowest fees and costs of all precious metal IRA providers.
Is There a Minimum Required Investment?
Advantage Gold does not have a minimum investment requirement, making it a suitable choice for first-timers or seasoned investors. Many recommend starting your IRA with at least $5,000 because of all the associated fees. We suggest speaking with your financial advisor about a reasonable initial investment and future contribution plan given your current income, debts, and retirement goals.
Advantage Gold may require a minimum rollover investment when transferring funds from an existing account. This minimum may be as high as $25,000, so we recommend speaking with a representative about requirements before beginning any transfers.
Is Advantage Gold Customer Support Reliable?
Advantage Gold has an excellent customer support team with reliable response times and expert help. All seasoned representatives have years of experience and training, so they can resolve any of your questions or issues. Many customer reviews discuss positive and helpful customer service experiences.
If you need to contact support or want to learn more about specific pricing details, review the Advantage Gold contact information, address, and website details below:
- Phone: (800) 341-8584
- Email: info@advantagegold.com
- Address: 12100 Wilshire Blvd. Suite #1450 Los Angeles, CA 90025
- Support hours: Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Website: www.advantagegold.com
Complaints About Advantage Gold
While conducting this Advantage Gold review, we only found one customer complaint on the BBB website from three years ago that the company quickly resolved. While we couldn’t find the complaint details, we know it was related to billing and collections. Given this small mark, it’s safe to say that most clients feel satisfied with their investment choice.
Final Thoughts
Investing in your future with precious metals allows you to secure your retirement. With so many options, selecting the right investment choice can feel overwhelming.
Advantage Gold provides many advantages for novice and advanced investors alike, including excellent customer ratings, dependable service channels, educational materials, convenient rollover processes, low fees, and much more.
If you enjoyed this Advantage Gold review, check out our other gold IRA reviews. At Learn About Gold, we aim to help you find the best investment provider for your unique needs. We offer a guided gold quiz that can match you with the right investment firm that aligns with your goals.
If you have questions, contact our team to speak with our Learn About Gold experts about your investment opportunities with different providers.
