When gold investing in a self directed IRA, federal law stipulates that Investors may not to make investments that “benefit themselves”. The transaction to purchase gold bullion must not be made through a personal check, and in some cases, must be made through a trustee to trustee transfer. IRA owners should have an IRS approved depository ready to receive the physical bullion before making any payments and consider the fees that this depository will charge. Once an invoice is sent from the gold seller, a gold IRA owner must authorize payment through the custodian. Delivery of the physical gold can take up to three weeks in some cases. Some rare firms promise delivery within 7 days for investors who wish to purchase physical gold bullion coins or bars through their IRA. Some self directed IRA owners also choose to invest in gold mining stocks or exchange-traded-funds. Most self directed IRA custodians allow their customers to take this route.

Note: Gold investing through ETFs and gold mining stocks does NOT give you the same advantages as owning physical gold. If you want to take full advantage of gold investing and protect your overall IRA in case of another systemic collapse, it is a better idea to open a separate precious metals IRA and buy physical gold bullion coins and bars through it. Your precious metals can either be stored securely by an accredited custodian, or can be shipped to you (There are some pros and cons to each option). If you need to learn more about physical gold investing, contact a gold IRA company that specializes in a precious metals IRA.

Self Directed IRA Allowed Gold

An investor can hold gold bullion, gold coins and gold bars as long as they meet two basic standards.

The gold must be official currency of a recognized public entity and it must meet a certain purity standard. In the United States, the purity must be 0.995. This standard is different for different countries, so research is necessary to determine the exact purity level that is necessary. The types of gold you can hold in your self directed IRA in America include: