Anyone else find navigating Gold IRA custodians a total headache?

• •Based out here in Dublin, OH, and after the initial rush of cashing out, the whole "preserving wealth" thing became my new obsession.
• •The physical gold part is great, feels tangible, not like lines of code on a screen.
• •But honestly, the custodian side of things has been...

Okay, so I've been in the gold game for a few years now, having put a good chunk of my tech company exit money (think mid-seven figures) into a Gold IRA. Based out here in Dublin, OH, and after the initial rush of cashing out, the whole "preserving wealth" thing became my new obsession. The physical gold part is great, feels tangible, not like lines of code on a screen. But honestly, the custodian side of things has been... an experience.

Initially, I went with who my broker recommended, figuring they knew their stuff. And they're fine, I guess. But the fees feel a little opaque, and getting clear answers on storage options or even just simple account statements can sometimes feel like pulling teeth. Like, I’m investing millions here, I expect top-tier service. And considering how volatile the market is with all the inflation scares and geopolitical instability, I want to know my assets are truly secure and easily accessible (if needed). I’m starting to think about diversifying custodians, or at least finding one that feels a bit more aligned with my expectations as someone who built a business on efficiency and transparency.

So, I'm genuinely curious – what have other folks’ experiences been like? Are there any custodians you've had particularly good (or bad!) experiences with? What should I be looking for that I might be missing? I'm talking about things beyond just the annual fees – what about customer service responsiveness, clarity on storage arrangements, or even easy integration with other financial planning tools? I've been poking around online, even tried looking at the Retirement Planner tool over at Gold IRA Blueprint, which has given me some good insights on the big picture, but not so much on granular custodian reviews.

Any insights from the community would be super helpful. Are there any red flags I should be watching out for when evaluating a new custodian? Or maybe some best practices for managing multiple Gold IRA accounts? Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share!