Planning for your golden years with confidence starts today with First National Bullion — and more specifically, it begins with a precious metal Individual Retirement Account, or IRA. Precious metal IRA accounts can be excellent hedges against inflation, provide investment diversification, and preserve investors’ purchasing power long term.
We make it easy to get started with a precious metal investment account. Let’s explore how precious metal IRAs provide stability during times of economic uncertainty, how to set one up, and how they differ from gold mutual funds.
What Are Precious Metal IRA Accounts?
These types of accounts are self-directed accounts that allow the holding of physical palladium, platinum, silver bullion, and gold rather than paper assets. Unlike traditional brokerage IRAs, where you purchase mutual funds or stocks, precious metals accounts involve tangible metals you store in an IRS-approved depository.
At First National Bullion, we can help you choose IRA-eligible precious metals and coordinate with your custodian of choice to make sure these metals satisfy the Internal Revenue Service’s storage and purity rules. The precious metal IRA structure allows you to easily diversify your retirement savings using assets that traditionally protect wealth during seasons of market volatility and inflation.
Precious Metal IRA Accounts vs. Gold Mutual Funds
Investors often confuse precious metal IRAs and mutual funds. Precious metal IRAs are designed to hold physical bullion, like coins and bars, in a storage vault. A gold mutual fund, on the contrary, is designed to hold paper assets, like gold equities and mining stocks.
Precious metal IRA accounts require custodians, dealers, and depositories. A gold mutual fund, on the contrary, behaves like a stock investment and is purchased through a brokerage firm, not a bullion dealer. These two products are fundamentally different investment solutions with their own ownership structures.
The precious metal IRA is the better option if you aim to stabilize your investments long-term, protect your assets against inflation, and own tangible assets directly. Precious metals don’t rely on management decisions and corporate earnings to perform well, while a gold mutual fund’s performance is linked to business cycles and volatility in the equity market.
Custodians: Kingdom Trust and Equity Trust
Kingdom Trust and Equity Trust are custodians that administer self-directed precious metal IRAs. These entities can legally hold your IRA account, process transactions, coordinate with us and your storage facility, and ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Service.
Both Kingdom Trust and Equity Trust are strong custodian options, but they serve different priorities. Equity Trust, the United States’ largest self-directed IRA custodian, has a long track record of success. The smaller Kingdom Trust, however, offers lower fees and greater flexibility, strongly supporting alternative assets such as crypto. Our team at First National Bullion can help you decide which custodian is the best fit for your unique needs.
Precious Metal IRA Account Types
Several types of IRAs are available for both investors in stocks and investors in physical metals: Traditional, Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE), Simplified Employee Pension (SEP), and Roth.
Investors who choose traditional precious metal IRA accounts can take advantage of tax-deferred portfolio growth, while those with Roth precious metal IRAs can experience tax-free portfolio growth. An SEP precious metal IRA allows any small business owner or self-employed individual to contribute up to 25% of their compensation. In contrast, a SIMPLE precious metal IRA is designed for small businesses with no more than 100 employees and mirrors a SIMPLE 401(k).
At First National Bullion, we can work within whichever precious metal IRA account type you select. We’ll supply the metals you need, while your chosen custodian will handle your account’s tax structure.
How Precious Metal IRA Accounts Work
Setting up your precious metal IRA involves the following three steps:
- Open a custodian account.
- Fund your custodian account through a rollover (e.g., from your 401(k)), transfer from a different IRA, or contribution.
- Purchase metals from First National Bullion.
Your custodian will verify your account, the funds in the account, and the precious metals in accordance with Internal Revenue Service rules. They will then process your funds and authorize your purchase. Next, we’ll source IRA-approved bullion and ship it to your depository. You won’t have to handle any of the metals yourself, ensuring security, accuracy, and regulatory compliance. A depository helps protect metals from improper handling, loss, and theft.
What Metals Can Be Used for IRA Accounts
Not all silver and gold products qualify for use in precious metal IRA accounts. The Internal Revenue Service requires certain purity levels (e.g., .999 and .995 for silver and gold bars, respectively). They also approve only coins like American Gold Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs, as well as IRA-eligible bullion bars available through accredited refiners. These rules are enforced to ensure liquidity, authenticity, and uniformity in retirement accounts.
What Custodians Can Do for You Long Term
After investors have set up precious metal IRA accounts, their chosen custodians provide ongoing account maintenance, compliance oversight, and reporting. Kingdom Trust and Equity Trust offer digital dashboards, educational resources, and statements to help you monitor your account.
What First National Bullion Can Do for You
Our team at First National Bullion can help you buy extra metals for your IRA account anytime. We can also assist you in rebalancing your portfolio if market movements cause your target mix to get off track, and we can help you sell your holdings. Your custodian will simply need to authorize each transaction.
Partner with First National Bullion Today
At First National Bullion, we’re proud to be a leading provider of precious metals, services to help our customers invest their gold with precious metal IRA accounts, and Brinks secure storage. We’ll be glad to answer any questions you have about our products and services and to guide you through the purchase or bullion sales process. Contact us for support, explore our precious metal collection, and place an order today!