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The current economic landscape presents a unique and compelling opportunity for investing in precious metals. For independent investors, however, navigating the path to starting this investment journey can be challenging.
Which company should you trust? Who can provide the guidance needed to align precious metal investments with your portfolio and retirement goals?
American Hartford Gold stands out as a company dedicated to helping individual investors safeguard their wealth by incorporating gold and other precious metals into their retirement savings.
Endorsed by prominent figures like Bill O’Reilly, Rudy Giuliani, and Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars, American Hartford Gold has garnered a reputation as a reliable choice for investors aiming to shield their retirement funds from rampant inflation.
In this review, we will conduct an in-depth analysis of American Hartford Gold’s offerings to determine whether they meet the expectations set by their endorsements.
Before we get started:
Inflation and rising interest rates has destroyed many people's savings. Many investors feel defeated and helpless, but you can fight back.
Gold and other precious metals have been used to protect against inflation for thousands of years. And when you hold physical in a tax-protected savings account, it gets even better.
Opening a gold IRA can sound complicated, but it's really not.
That is why we created a list of our most trustworthy investment companies, to make comparing and choosing the company best suited to your needs as easy as possible.
Look to see if American Hartford Gold was selected to our "highest recommendation" list this year!
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American Hartford Gold Background
American Hartford Gold is a family-owned business which is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. They specialize in assisting families and individuals invest in precious metals.
The company is a market leader having sold over $1 billion worth of gold and silver. To serve their clients better they have expanded to just over 100 employees and have in 2021 were named to Inc. 5000’s list of America’s fastest-growing private companies.
They say that their success is in part due to goals of educating their clients on how precious metals investments work, with total transparency, fair pricing, in an overall commitment to customer service.
In addition to celebrity endorsements American Hartford Gold also is a long-time sponsor of NASCAR. Their lesser known achievements include giving back to local and national organizations with donations and through volunteer work.
The company has helped organization such as The Claire Foundation, The Midnight Mission, the Wounded Warrior Project, Our House, A Place Called Home and No Kill Los Angeles, just to name a few.
American Hartford Gold Leadership Team
American Hartford Gold is led by two veterans of the precious metals industry that have guided many investors in the ways they can protect their retirement savings by investing in precious metals.
Mr Mann built A.H.G with the simple idea that his family raised him with which was to provide the best customer service, educate your clients, and provide a fair deal.
Sanford majored in Economics at Connecticut State University then went on to various senior financial management positions on Wall Street in New York City before moving out to California to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.
Mr. Gerlis was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father got him interesting in coin collecting at a young age and also taught him about history, economics, and community.
He believes that an investor can’t have real wealth without owning physical precious metals.
Scott’s main responsibilities are the company’s operations and back office as well as building and leading the company’s team of precious metals experts.
Products and Services
American Hartford Gold offers gold and silver to investors that are looking to protect their wealth and they do this primarily through two method, cash sales to clients and creating Precious Metals IRAs for investors that want to invest in gold and silver in the most tax efficient manner.
The entire staff is experienced in the precious metals industry and they can help investigators that are new hard assets all the way to investors that have been collecting precious metals for decades.
On their website you will find both a mix of gold and silver coins that are approved for IRA accounts and coins that are not.
Some of their gold products are:
They do not list prices on the website due to the spot price constantly moving. The encourage you to call the company to confirm the price.
They also have much information about bar and also encourage you to call the company to learn about their selection of both gold and silver bars.
Fees
American Hartford Gold has a reasonable fee structure. There are a few options.
For cash buyers, they have a minimum investment of $2,500. For investors interested in a precious metals IRA, the minimum investment is $10,000.
With cash purchases, investors can have the metals delivered to their home or whatever place they choose.
For IRA investors, investors must have their metals stored with at IRA approved depositories. For this storage fee there is not a fee from American Hartford Gold, but rather from the custodian, and that fee varies upon which facility is chosen.
Also, for IRA investors, the standard $180 fee from American Hartford Gold is waived for the first 3 years.
Commitment to Clients
The folks at American Hartford Gold pride themselves on their Commitment to Clients. The commitment shows itself in a variety of ways.
Pricing: They have transparent and up to the minute pricing and try to get investors the best deals they can.
Customer Service: The entire staff is dedicated to support their clients and answer any questions that might arise. Their goal is to make purchasing gold, silver, and rolling over 401k’s and IRAs as seamless as possible.
Market Insights: American Hartford Gold has decades of experience in the precious metals markets that is helpful to understand the big picture in a broader historical aspect, when the market makes big moves.
Buyback Commitment: AHG reminds clients to contact them first if they are looking to sell their metals. They don’t guarantee they will buy the metals back, but they do offer no unnecessary fees and they have a quick and effect three step process to liquidate the client’s metals, arrange shipping, and issue prompt payment.
Benefits of a Gold IRA
Uncertainty has never been greater in the financial markets and inflation is simply out of control.
A Gold IRA helps to combat inflation by allowing you to upgrade your retirement plan by placing physical gold and silver in a tax advantaged savings account. A Gold IRA has the same qualities of regular IRA in addition to the added benefits of critical to long term wealth: asset diversification and wealth protection.
If you are the type of investor that prefers to have more control over your retirement account, than simply being able to choose from a handful of mutual funds, and if you have a strong desire to protect your retirement nest egg, then a Precious Metals IRA may be an ideal fit for you.
How To Get Started with American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold makes it simple to get started creating your Gold IRA. You can start by calling their specialists at 800-462-0071.
The next step is to fund your account. You can do this by sending a check, or the most popular way is to rollover an existing 401k or old IRA. American Hartford Gold can reach out to your current custodian to get this process started for you.
Once your account is funded, you get to choose which gold and silver products to place in your account. A specialist can help you with this process as well.
After you have purchased your IRA approved metals, then will be sent to a depository of your choosing located in Los Angeles, Delaware, New York, Salt Lake City, or Texas.
Benefits of Precious Metals Investing
Gold is money.
Investors will often forget this when the times are good, but when tensions rise, the economy tanks, and inflation destroys the average person’s standard of living, suddenly investors remember gold and rush to buy.
“The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Gold is one of the most stable assets you can buy because it is not a government’s liability. You cannot double the amount of gold in circulation by hitting a button on a computer. Cash is dependent on a government to issue it and for the government to remain stable.
Problem is governments always print away the value of cash and lose the trust of the people. As trust and confidence in government erodes investors flock to gold as a safe haven.
Gold is also experiencing a huge demand increase. Historically when gold enters a bull market it lasts for about a decade. Gold entered a bull market in 2020, but this bull run will be like no other.
With covid restrictions, lockdowns, shortages, inflation, and wild government overreach, there has never been a better scenario for gold. Gold benefits from what destroys the value of other assets.
Gold and silver are real assets, not some funny digit on a computer screen. These metals offer independence from the financial system that gets destroyed by the politicians.
Precious metals also offer balance to a retirement portfolio. The inherent stability in precious metals is like a financial life jacket when the markets started to tank.
There are many reasons to own gold but the important point as an investor is to get off zero and add gold to your retirement portfolio, and this is easy to do with a Gold IRA.
Will Government Debt Destroy Retirement Savings?
There are record levels of government debt. Government spending now makes up half of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), before the pandemic government spending was only about 35% of GDP.
The debt problem is global. In China, a real estate development company called Evergrande is the world’s most indebted company. The Chinese government had to step in to support Evergrande. And this is just one of a ton of Chinese companies with massive unsustainable debt loads.
How does this affect your retirement? Wall Street has crammed loads of Chinese stocks that are then sold to the American people. So most folks have no idea they have huge exposure to Chinese debt in their college funds, pensions, and retirement accounts.
And when one of these major dominoes goes down, the governments and central banks do everything they can to bail out the worst financial offenders.
Precious metals offer you a way out of this. There are few safe havens in the coming debt tsunami, but as has happened throughout history, gold remains one of the safest. Gold is known for maintaining it’s value, when flimsy paper financial instruments seem to light the world on fire.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the shipping charges for my Gold IRA?
All precious metals shipped for gold IRAs are complementary and they include full insurance coverage and tracking information at no cost to you. So, you can rest easy that you will no endure a loss due to damage in shipping
Is it as easy to make contributions to my Gold IRA as it is a traditional IRA?
Yes, in this regard your account operates the same as a regular IRA. You can add to your gold position over time or make other investments with your IRA.
Can I hold physical gold in my traditional IRA?
No. Traditional IRAs and 401ks are limited into what the custodian offers and it’s usually a handful of mutual funds that have stocks, bonds, and possible ETFs. You have very little control.
That is why you need a Self-Directed IRA so that you can acquire precious metals of your choosing, while still enjoying the tax benefits of an IRA account.
How do I move money from an existing retirement account into a Gold IRA?
There are two methods to choose to move money from an existing retirement account into a gold IRA without incurring a tax hit from the IRS.
The first option is a 60 Day rollover. This involves having your current IRA provider to mail a check to you, then you mail a check to American Hartford Gold. And you have to have this money in American Hartford Gold’s hands so they can deposit it in your account all within a 60 day window.
If you do this, there are no taxes. If you take longer than 60 days, the IRS takes a hefty chunk of your money.
The other option is a trustee to trustee transfer where your existing IRA provider mails a check directly to American Hartford Gold, this is the quickest method. This is also the most popular method as well.
Is American Hartford Gold a Scam?
No, American Hartford Gold is a legitimate gold dealer that has worked with many clients and has a reasonable track record.
They have mostly positive reviews on Consumer Affairs, Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, Yelp, as well as Google.
Conclusion
American Hartford Gold is a family owned business that is rapidly growing. They have helped many investors purchase gold and silver and educated a lot of folks about precious metals IRAs also.
With several celebrity endorsements on their roster and nearly 100 employees, they do a bunch of business and have grown into one of the larger companies in the precious metals industry.
American Hartford Gold is a family-owned business that has many satisfied clients, they are not a scam, but we do not recommend them.
They are not the best option for gold investors looking to make cash purchases or rollover a 401k or old IRA into a precious metals IRA, like the other companies we have written about on this website.
Remember to read our list of the Best Gold Investment Companies to work with, before investing your hard-earned savings!
>> CLICK HERE to read our list of the Top 5 Gold IRA Companies. <<
Or, if you like what you read about American Hartford Gold, continue to their website below.
Charles Turner
Hi, I'm Charles Turner, founder of Turner Investments. I created Turner Investments to provide education and guidance to individuals interested in personal finance.
My goal is to make Turner Investments a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn more about personal finance and make smarter investment decisions.
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