Annoyed with these custodian fees - any better Palladium

Brian Edwards

Back to forum

💠 Palladium IRA

Annoyed with these custodian fees - any better Palladium

brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)

2 months ago

Key Takeaways

•So I just got the quarterly statement for my Palladium IRA and it’s always a punch to the gut seeing those fees from Equity Trust.
•I mean, I get that they have to make money, but it just feels exorbitant sometimes, considering the size of the account.
•We're talking a decent chunk of change out of my roughly $2M in Palladium.

Download the free rollover checklist

So I just got the quarterly statement for my Palladium IRA and it’s always a punch to the gut seeing those fees from Equity Trust. I mean, I get that they have to make money, but it just feels exorbitant sometimes, considering the size of the account. We're talking a decent chunk of change out of my roughly $2M in Palladium. I'm based in Aspen, and honestly, between my real estate deals and managing the rest of my metal holdings, I don't always have the bandwidth to dive deep into every line item. But seeing these custodian fees mount up over the years is starting to really tick me off.

I set this up back in 2018 when palladium was really starting to pop, and honestly, the initial setup was pretty painless, but no one really talks about the ongoing costs until you're deep into it. My financial advisor at the time recommended Equity Trust and they seemed solid enough, but now I’m wondering if I just went with the easiest option rather than the most cost-effective one for someone with an account this size. Is there anyone out there who's got significant palladium holdings in an IRA that's found a particularly good deal on custodian fees? I'm talking flat fees, percentage-based, anything that isn't eating into my gains unnecessarily.

I'm exploring options to potentially move some of it, or at least understand what other players are offering for accounts north of $1M. Are there any smaller, more specialized custodians that focus on precious metals IRAs specifically that might have more competitive rates? Or are the big players like Equity Trust and Strata pretty much the standard for this kind of asset? Any insight would be hugely appreciated. Always open to learning from others' experiences here.

167

4 comments

The retirement loophole most advisors won't mention

You can move your 401(k) into physical gold — tax-free. Here's the step-by-step guide.

Under $100k? Compare options →

576 people viewed this today76 members requested a free kit this week114 investors bookmarked this

Best Answer▲ 10 upvotes

brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)

I hear you on the custodian fees, they can definitely feel like a drag. But honestly, for a Palladium IRA specifically, I'm not sure you're going to find a dramatically cheaper option that's also reputable. The niche nature of palladium combined with the specialized storage and reporting for an IRA means custodians often have less competition and higher overheads compared to, say, a plain vanilla stock IRA. Sometimes those higher fees are just part of the game for more specialized assets, unfortunately.

Comments (4)

janet_cook📊Growing (50-100k)•about 2 months ago

Ugh, I feel you on this one. I actually pulled some of my gold out of a different custodian for similar reasons last year. It wasn't Palladium, but the fees for storage and admin just felt like they were eating away at any gains. I ended up moving it to a different metals dealer who had better integrated storage, and the difference in fees was significant. Definitely worth shopping around!

sandra_green📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verified•about 2 months ago

Ugh, I feel you on the fee front. Equity Trust definitely isn't the cheapest. When you say "decent chunk of change," are we talking a percentage fee or more of a flat annual charge that's just feeling high for your account size?

brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)Real Investor✓ Verified•about 2 months ago

I hear you on the custodian fees, they can definitely feel like a drag. But honestly, for a Palladium IRA specifically, I'm not sure you're going to find a *dramatically* cheaper option that's also reputable. The niche nature of palladium combined with the specialized storage and reporting for an IRA means custodians often have less competition and higher overheads compared to, say, a plain vanilla stock IRA. Sometimes those higher fees are just part of the game for more specialized assets, unfortunately.

diane_bailey💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor•about 2 months ago

Ugh, I feel your pain on those custodian fees! They really can add up, especially with precious metals IRAs. One thing I found super helpful when I was shopping around was this Investopedia article comparing different Gold IRA companies. While it's focused on gold, most of these companies also handle palladium and other PGM IRAs, and it breaks down their fee structures pretty well. Might give you some new names to research!

Considering a Gold IRA for your retirement?

Get a free info kit from a top-rated company — trusted by thousands of investors.

Under $100k? Compare options →