Printer Friendly

eMail Article

April 10, 2008

Gold and Silver for Retirement
by David Morgan

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can be funded with physical gold and silver, yet very few investors are aware of this fact. They are exempt from all capital gains taxes, so if your investments perform well over a long period of time, it can result in huge savings.

Diversifying your retirement portfolio with precious metals is fundamentally required if you properly understand asset allocation (see the Ibbotson study). Additionally precious metals normally rise during periods of unsettling events such as wars, terrorism, inflation, deflation, downturns in the stock market and the US dollar. Precious metals usually yield large profits in these circumstances.

What is unique about this plan is that you can take physical possession of the actual gold or silver when you make your withdrawals. That's correct! You can cash out in real honest-to-goodness gold and silver instead of fiat dollars. This is the most important feature of all. Down the road, in this generational bull market in gold and silver, the odds are in your favor that you will want and need the physicals when it's time to access your investment.

Once you decide that you want to include precious metals in your retirement planning, you need to determine how much you want to invest. How much depends on your annual contribution, your personal goals and your individual investment philosophy. Factors to consider are your age, total assets and risk tolerance.

Very few institutions are set up to handle the precious metals component of retirement plans. One of the leaders in the field is GoldStar Trust Company. GoldStar Trust Company for investors who want IRAs that will accept precious metals. GoldStar serves as custodian for approximately 20,000 self-directed IRAs with assets in excess of $700 million.

GoldStar is not a coin dealer, but it will work with dealers who buy and sell precious metal coins and bullion for your IRA on your instructions.

Establishing an IRA with GoldStar Trust Company

Setting up a self-directed IRA with GoldStar is easy. I will be discussing this at the Money Show in Las Vegas in May. Afterwards there are only three steps to follow.

1. Submit the paperwork.
2. Fund the account.
3. Direct your broker which precious metals to buy.

The metals are stored at HSBC Bank USA's New York precious metals depository, which is one of the world's largest and is used by COMEX and other major commodities exchanges. Annual storage fees are charged at a flat fee of $90 per year regardless of the size of the account.

Steps #1 and #2 involves completing the proper forms to transfer the funds to GoldStar. Normally, the funds are transferred directly from an existing IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan.

In Step #3, the IRA investor directs a dealer which precious metals to buy.

In my next issue I will be covering the IRA distribution and which coins and metal qualify.

David Morgan
Silver-Investor.com

Mr. Morgan has followed the silver market daily for over thirty years. Much of this Web site, www.silver-investor.com, is devoted to education about the precious metals.

Mr. Morgan has been published in The Herald Tribune, Futures magazine, The Gold Newsletter, Resource Consultants, Resource World, Investment Rarities, The Idaho Observer, Barron's, and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Morgan does weekly Money, Metals and Mining Review for Kitco. He is hosted monthly on Financial Sense with Jim Puplava. Mr. Morgan was published in the Global Investor regarding Ten Rules of Silver Investing, which you can receive for free. His book Get the Skinny on Silver Investing is available on Amazon or the link provided. His private Internet-only newsletter, The Morgan Report, is $129.99 annually. To suscribe to the Morgan Report click here.

Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there is no guarantee as to completeness or accuracy. Because individual investment objectives vary, this Summary should not be construed as advice to meet the particular needs of the reader. Any opinions expressed herein are statements of our judgment as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Any action taken as a result of reading this independent market research is solely the responsibility of the reader. Stone Investment Group is not and does not profess to be a professional investment advisor, and strongly encourages all readers to consult with their own personal financial advisors, attorneys, and accountants before making any investment decision. Stone Investment Group and/or independent consultants or members of their families may have a position in the securities mentioned. Investing and speculation are inherently risky and should not be taken without professional advice. By your act of reading this independent market research letter, you fully and explicitly agree that Stone Investment Group will not be held liable or responsible for any decisions you make regarding any information discussed herein.

Copyright © Silver Investor 2006-2008 All rights are reserved.

Image rendition and html coding Copyright © 2000-2008 SafeHaven.com

« BullionVault.com -- Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices »
« Honest Money: A History of U.S. Gold & Silver Currency -- by Douglas V. Gnazzo »

« Opinions expressed at SafeHaven are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of SafeHaven or its management. Articles are available via RSS/XML. Please visit RSSHelp for instructions. »