Contributor, Benzinga
September 19, 2023
Preserve Gold
Overall Rating:
securely through Preserve Gold's website

Investing in precious metals like gold and silver can be an excellent way to diversify your investment portfolio, hedge against market uncertainties and reduce your portfolio’s risk exposure to market volatility. Gold serves as a reliable store of value, safeguarding your portfolio during economic downturns such as inflation and offering a protective cushion, making it a possible choice for long-term retirement investing. Suppose you’re interested in buying gold or opening a precious metal investment account, such as a Gold IRA. In that case, you’ll need a reliable and trustworthy company to facilitate your investments and provide expert guidance. 

Preserve Gold stands out as a reputable partner catering to beginners and experienced precious metal investors, helping them set up a gold IRA or buy precious metals for personal ownership. As one of North America’s leading precious metals firms, Preserve Gold leverages its 30+ years of expertise to provide a personalized or concierge-level investment experience for diverse precious metal investors via competitive pricing, no-fee commitment buyback policy and exclusive access to market research and analysis. Preserve Gold will price-match or beat its competitor’s pricing.

In addition to its wide selection of core precious metals such as gold and silver, Preserve Gold also allows investors to acquire platinum and palladium coins and bars. Clients enjoy lifetime account support from a professional and dedicated precious metals specialist. As a reflection of its commitment to transparency, Preserve Gold is a founding and pioneering member of the Precious Metals Association, a trade association comprising leading precious metal companies dedicated to promoting ethical and integrity-driven business practices. Read on for a comprehensive review of the company, including its pros, cons and core offerings.

Best For
  • Retirement investors seeking reputable and knowledgeable dealers for setting up Gold IRAs to safeguard their retirement savings
  • Individual investors looking for a trusted and reliable precious metals source to diversify their portfolios and protect from inflationary pressures
  • Experienced precious metal investors interested in expanding their catalogs and turbocharging their portfolio with a wide range of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium
  • Novice investors seeking transparent and integrity-driven precious metal dealers to provide them with the guidance and support needed to understand the world of precious metals investing
  • Those interested in acquiring precious metals for collections or decorative purposes may also benefit from the price appreciation
Pros
  • Zero-pressure sales tactics, excellent Trustpilot reviews and no BBB complaints
  • 24-hour satisfaction guarantee — cancel your purchase within 24 hours of completing the transaction and receive your money without penalty, regardless of the reason
  • Competitive pricing — they can price-match or beat the price of their competitors
  • Excellent buyback policy — zero liquidation fees for existing clients
  • Lifetime account support from a dedicated precious metals specialist
  • Extensive catalog of major precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium
  • Excellent educational resources, including ebooks, informational kits and market outlook
  • Reputable company whose executive team has 30+ years of combined experience streamlining precious metal investment
  • Free, insured and fast shipping within one week of payment clearance
Cons
  • Limited fee information online — investors must call or fill out a form to get metal pricing
  • US customers only

Preserve Gold Ratings at a Glance

Customer Service
Security
Minimum Investment and Pricing
User Experience
Overall

Preserve Gold Product Offering

Preserve Gold is a full-service precious metals dealer helping investors diversify and protect their portfolios with real and tangible precious metal assets. Thanks to its decades of experience, the company simplifies the process of precious metal investing, especially for beginners, making it hassle-free. Preserve Gold offers an extensive catalog of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium. For investors looking to enter the world of precious metals, Preserve Gold offers two essential services — the option to gain exposure through a precious metal IRA and the ability to purchase precious metals directly. Here's a constructive review of these services.

Precious Metal IRAs or Retirement Investing

A precious metal IRA offers a tax-advantaged means of investing in physical precious metals like gold and silver and potentially hedging against economic uncertainties. It allows you to diversify your retirement portfolios and safeguard your savings with tangible assets while potentially benefiting from long-term price appreciation. To open a precious metal retirement investment account, you need a self-directed IRA (SDIRA). The reason is that precious metals like gold and silver are alternative investment assets. 

Unlike conventional IRAs (traditional and Roth) that only support investment in assets like stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds, an SDIRA supports various alternative asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, real estate and private equity. Despite being administered by a custodian, SDIRAs offer investors complete control over their assets. The IRS enforces strict regulations on SDIRAs, especially when they involve precious metals, because of their unique nature. The applicable rules are outlined in the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act

For instance, you must choose an IRS-approved custodian to manage your investments, and the precious metals must be stored in an approved depository or a safe deposit box in an FDIC-insured bank. Preserve Gold partners with third-party IRS-approved IRA custodians with an established track record in the precious metals industry and a commitment to accessible customer service for investors. For storage of precious metals, Preserve Gold offers clients the option to choose between three state-of-the-art depositories, including Texas Precious Metal Depository, International Depository Services and Delaware Depository.  

Preserve Gold's catalog of precious metals, including gold and silver, beats the IRS-mandated minimum percentage for IRA-eligible gold and precious metals. SDIRAs are available as either traditional or Roth SDIRA, which determines your contribution limit, the timing of the tax advantages and distribution. Liquidating your precious metals for cash or taking physical possession of them is considered a distribution, and if done before the age of 59.5, you may incur fines. Under IRS regulations, you cannot also hold collectibles in your precious metal IRA. You can also roll over your pre-existing retirement accounts into precious metal or gold IRAs. 

Setting up a precious metal IRA with Preserve Gold is hassle-free, requiring three simple steps. First, you contact one of the company's specialists to help you complete the paperwork. Then you fund your account — your funds get automatically transferred to your new IRA account within 3 days. Subsequently, you can select the precious metals of your choice — gold, silver or both. Preserve Gold will oversee the transportation to and storage in the approved vault. 

Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) 

Preserve Gold also offers a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Calculator to assist IRA investors in determining the minimum amount they must withdraw from their IRA accounts each year in compliance with IRS regulations. This tool ensures they meet their distribution obligations, helping them avoid penalties for not taking the correct amount. It clarifies financial planning and allows retirees to manage their retirement income more effectively.

Buying Gold and Silver for Personal Ownership 

Buying gold and silver for personal ownership offers you numerous benefits. Historically, precious metals have acted as a store of value, often retaining their worth during economic uncertainties and currency devaluations. They can provide diversification in an investment portfolio, reducing overall risk exposure. Gold and silver are tangible assets that you can physically possess, which can be reassuring during financial turmoil. Besides protecting your portfolio, they can help you mitigate risk exposure to institutions holding your money and shield you against possible liquidity and credit risk, financial cybercrime and other third-party risks. 

Additionally, they hedge against inflation, helping preserve your purchasing power over time. These metals also offer flexibility, allowing you to easily buy and sell them in various forms, such as coins or bars. They are not tied to the performance of traditional financial markets, making them a valuable addition for risk management and long-term wealth preservation, serving as a possible option for those looking to safeguard and grow their investments beyond traditional assets. 

Unlike electronic-managed assets, which carry geopolitical, inflationary, currency and interest rate risks, owning physical precious metals removes digital exchanges and counterparty risks, shielding you from hacking and digital theft. Preserve Gold offers a comprehensive collection of these precious metals, including platinum and palladium, for diverse precious metal investors who want to maintain possession of it for personal ownership and potentially profit from higher valuation in the future. Preserve Gold helps you acquire personal ownership of precious metals in three straightforward steps. 

First, you contact one of the company's specialists via phone to discuss your personal goals and needs. Based on the conversation, the agent will custom-build a precious metals portfolio for you with all requisite transaction details, including quantities and weight of bars or coins, cost per item and transaction fees. They'll send you an invoice, and once you agree to the details, your dedicated specialist will provide payment instructions to enable you to fund your Preserve Gold account. Your specialist will alert you to confirm the recipient once you make payment. 

You can then choose to either take personal delivery of your precious metals at home or have it stored at an insured and privately owned depository. Once everything is finalized, your specialist will inform you when your metals are shipping and provide tracking numbers via email for your records. Preserve Gold ships metals via UPS with full insurance coverage and discreet labeling to ensure only you are aware of the box's contents. The company remains fully responsible for the metals until you receive and sign for them. Your specialist will contact you the next day after delivery to ensure you are satisfied with the service. 

Educational and Market Research Services 

Whether you're a novice or an experienced precious metal investor, Preserve Gold offers a range of downloadable resources on its website, including e-books, informational kits and market outlooks, to help you explore the gold market and its investment potential. You can obtain the information kit or precious metals guides for free by providing your details at the bottom of the website. The company will then send them to your email without any cost. Preserve Gold specialists can also recommend customized educational materials based on your product preferences, risk tolerance and objectives. The company newsfeed offers information-rich updates on precious metals and significant economic matters in the U.S. and worldwide. It is regularly updated to reflect the latest economic trends.

Preserve Gold Customer Service

Preserve Gold offers customer service via phone and email. There's no live chat channel. You can easily schedule a call with one of the company's specialists at your convenience to inquire about the offerings and ask any questions you may have. This phone channel streamlines faster response and immediate assistance. Alternatively, you can contact the company via email for less time-sensitive inquiries or complaints requiring detailed explanations. You can also access relevant and insightful information regarding precious metals or Gold IRAs in the FAQ section at the bottom of the company's website's precious metal IRA page. 

The company is currently growing it’s social media presence; you can check it out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Preserve Gold boasts impressive ratings on various independent review platforms: 4.8/5 on Trustpilot, 4.8/5 on Google Reviews, 5/5 on Consumer Affairs and 4.9/5 on Better Business Bureau (BBB). Customers' comments in each independent review platform were overwhelmingly positive, reflecting an impressive service experience and excellent product offerings. It is one of the few precious metal firms with no complaints on the BBB. 

Preserve Gold Security

Preserve Gold prioritizes user privacy protection and takes adequate measures to protect it. Like many online services, the company might utilize some personal information gathered during registration for personalized service delivery and marketing purposes. However, such information is stored in a well-secured online environment behind firewalls and with secure, cloud-based service providers where it is protected from unauthorized access or malicious cyber actors. The data is encrypted during transmission using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. 

The company doesn't share or sell users' data to any third party except with consent or to comply with local legal requirements. Users have the right to rectify, restrict, revoke and erase their data and can request such by contacting the company. California residents may have separate privacy policies in line with California privacy laws. All precious metals bought for your IRA investing are stored in a depository in line with IRS guidelines. Investors can choose from three state-of-the-art depositories: Texas Precious Metal Depository, International Depository Services and Delaware Depository. 

These depositories are privately owned and exchange-approved by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Precious metals sent to these facilities are transported in armored vehicles and safeguarded by armed messengers for maximum protection. Upon arrival, your metals undergo thorough inspection inventorying and are subject to regular audits. These facilities assume full liability for all shipments to protect their customers and assets. 

For precious metals purchased for personal ownership, you can choose to have them delivered to your home or elect for Preserve Gold to handle the storage. If you opt for the first choice, the company will arrange for delivery to you, with full insurance coverage, until you receive the package and sign for it. If you choose the second option, the company will securely store it in one of its three robust depositories, just like the retirement accounts. Preserve Gold promotes the highest levels of security and customer satisfaction.

Preserve Gold Minimum Investment and Pricing

Pricing is not available online, which is not entirely surprising since the price of metals may vary daily. Therefore, investors must contact the company for pricing. The interactive price chart can provide you with insights into price fluctuations. Remember, the pricing here refers to the trade price of the metals, not the physical coins and bars, and other fees may be applicable. Preserve Gold charges an account fee of $200 per year and waives the set-up fees. Depending on the amount invested they will also waive those account fees - up to 5 years. Orders are accepted at a minimum spend of $10,000.

Once an order is finalized, investors receive an invoice that includes a breakdown of the percentage of the spread and any applicable taxes. Preserve Gold supports multiple payment options, including personal checks, bank wire, cashier's checks, money orders and credit cards. The company offers 24-hour no-penalty cancellation, meaning that upon completing your transaction, you have a 24-hour window during which you can cancel without incurring penalties. In addition, the company maintains a strict no-fee commitment buyback policies for existing clients. This means that the company does not impose liquidation fees when existing clients sell their precious metals back to the company. Preserve Gold currently offers up to $15,000 in free gold and silver, free shipping and insurance and IRA storage fees for new clients. 

Preserve Gold User Experience

Preserve Gold offers an outstanding user experience, enabling a diverse range of investors to access precious metal investing. It champions integrity-driven approaches in its operations, adhering to IRS guidelines for IRAs. Users can choose between personal delivery or storage in insured depositories. A comprehensive range of educational resources and market analysis materials are also available to facilitate learning and research. The company maintains a strong reputation with high ratings from trusted review platforms. 

Additionally, Preserve Gold offers a 24-hour satisfaction guarantee and a commitment to no-fee buyback policies for existing clients, enhancing the overall user experience. Whether you're buying gold and silver for personal ownership or retirement investing, account setup is hassle-free, involving three simple steps. A dedicated precious metal specialist is provided during the process to help you track your purchase and provide timely assistance. Preserve Gold offers an excellent user experience and is highly recommendable.

Preserve Gold vs. Competitors

Preserve Gold has many competitors like Birch Gold and Augusta Metals. All these firms streamline the process of precious metal investing for IRA investors and investors buying directly for personal ownership — however, Preserve Gold's no-fee buyback, 24-hour satisfaction guarantee and price-matching, offer it a competitive advantage. As a founding member of the Precious Metal Association (PMA), the company's commitment to transparent and ethical business practices is unparalleled, making it one of the best choices for precious metal investors. 

Overall

Preserve Gold offers a seamless user experience, catering to a diverse range of investors interested in precious metals. Its commitment to secure storage, including personal delivery or depository options, reflects its dedication to client satisfaction. High ratings on trusted review platforms underscore a strong reputation bolstered by a 24-hour satisfaction guarantee and a commitment to no-fee buyback policies. The company's transparency and adherence to IRS guidelines instill trust, while the availability of educational resources makes it an attractive platform for beginners and experienced investors. With a dedicated Precious Metals Specialist on hand for assistance, Preserve Gold ensures that clients receive valuable support throughout their investment journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

What is the best place to store gold and silver?

A

The best place to store gold and silver depends on individual preferences and circumstances. Some storage options include secure private vaults, bank safe deposit boxes or reputable precious metals depositories. Remember that for IRA investing, you must store these precious metals in IRS-approved third-party depositories per the requirements for precious metal IRAs.

 

Q

Is it worth storing gold?

A

Storing gold can be worthwhile as it offers a reliable store of value and a hedge against economic uncertainties, making it a prudent choice for many investors.

 

Q

Is Preserve Gold legit?

A

Preserve Gold is a renowned, reputed and legit precious metal firm. It is one of the major precious metal companies in North America.

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