The custodian of your gold IRA is who actually physically holds and manages your gold. There are many custodians in the industry, but not every gold IRA provider lets you choose your own.
Even the gold IRA companies that allow you to pick your own custodian strongly encourage you to go with their preferred partner.
Gold IRA companies charge relatively low fees in part because they receive commissions from the custodian they work with. This can create a perverse incentive for companies to work with custodians on the basis of who pays them the most, not who is the best option for you.
Choosing Your Own Gold IRA Custodian
You have the right to choose your own custodian, so we discourage you from choosing a gold IRA company that doesn’t allow you at least a few custodian options.
Each custodian charges their own fees, which are most often hidden and can add up to significant annual cost.
The best way to know which gold IRA company and which custodian charges the lowest fees is not by looking at their rate tables but by looking at the price per ounce across multiple companies compared to the COMEX price of gold.
This requires a bit more legwork on your part, but it is worth it. For someone investing $50,000 in their gold IRA, picking the company with the cheapest markup would get them 26 ounces of gold, while picking the company with the highest markup would get them only 20 ounces of gold, based on the pricing we saw in March 2023.