I recently opened a precious metals IRA with Sterling Trust. They seem to be ok. However, I used APMEX to make my first purchase, and had several issues. I felt like they had some lame excuses, and didn't exactly instill confidence in me... Has anybody used Sterling Trust and purchased through someone other than APMEX? I don't know who to trust..
I guess it would depend on what the issues and excuses were as to whether or not that is a reason to not trust them. I'm not saying that you should trust them, but it's possible that what you think were issues really weren't issues at all. There are several hoops to jump through when it comes to IRAs. So if you can be more specific, perhaps we can help. But without more info, it's hard to voice an opinion.
If a person doesn't know who to trust, gold in an IRA is not such a good idea. The investor doesn't have the gold. If the something happens to the trustee the settlement may end up in court, and may be paid in something other than gold. Isn't that kind of the entire point of physical gold, taking physical possession of something tangible? The whole physical gold in an IRA thing seems overly complicated for little to no benefit, but maybe that's just me. If a person had asked before setting it up, I would say stay away, put the gold in non-IRA assets, where a person can take possession and not have so many issues. As for the question, maybe a wider Internet search can turn up more useful results as to actually getting gold into the IRA.
I set up an account with Sterling about a year ago and so far I'm happy with their service. I funded the account via purchases from APMEX. At the time, they were very helpful and I never felt like they were not providing me with anything but the best service. As the other members have stated, yes we're taking a chance in not holding possession of the coins ourselves. However, if you read up on Sterling, as I did before diving in, they hold a massive amount of PM and are not by any means a fly by night operation.
FWIW, I have purchased many thousands of dollars of bullion (gold/platinum) through APMEX over the past six years and could not be happier.
p.s. a second company to try is SilverTowne. Been very happy with them too (primarily when I sell, as my purchasing experiences with them have been limited).
I've had a 6-year history with APMEX, too, and I am very satisfied with their service. As a matter of fact, on a couple of occasions, I have made them offers below their stated price and they have been accepted. Chris
I'm curious, what sort of items have they sold you for a price lower than their stated price? This is good info for the rest of us members just in case.
If I told you, then I might not be so fortunate the next time. I should have kept my mouth shut. Chris
No big deal. I thought this might be something other members could also take advantage of. Besides, APMEX is making plenty of money, they're not going to care one way or the other.
I know this thread is a bit old but I wanted to chime and and mention that the service at Sterling Trust has really gone down hill. They got too big and don't maintain staff long enough to provide decent service. I know this because I work with a large nationwide network of dealers and the stories are consistently the same. Just chiming in...
