Gold IRA newbie blunders? My 2 cents from Greenwich

• •Biggest one, hands down, is not doing your homework on the custodian and the dealer.
• •I've heard horror stories of people getting hosed on fees, or worse, not being able to easily access their holdings when they need to.
• •Don't just go with the first company that hits your inbox or pops up on a Google ad.

Just closed out my 2023 contributions and started thinking about all the folks probably just getting into this space for the first time with everything going on. Been doing this for a while – not just for myself but advising others on the side too – and there are definitely some dumb mistakes I see people make with Gold IRAs that are easily avoidable.

Biggest one, hands down, is not doing your homework on the custodian and the dealer. I've heard horror stories of people getting hosed on fees, or worse, not being able to easily access their holdings when they need to. For my own Gold IRA, which is a fairly sizable chunk of my alternative allocation (north of $500k, probably closer to $750k if I'm honest), I went with a well-established custodian that had transparent fee structures and a solid reputation. Don't just go with the first company that hits your inbox or pops up on a Google ad. Has anyone here had a nightmare experience with a specific custodian or dealer they'd warn others about?

Secondly, getting emotional with your allocations. Gold is a long-term play, not a day trade. I've got my core 5-7% hard allocation in my portfolio, and that's generally where it stays, regardless of the daily spot price. Trying to time the market with physical gold in an IRA is just asking for trouble and eating into your gains with transaction costs. I remember back in '08 when everyone was panicking, I actually increased my allocation by a few points, and it paid off handsomely. It’s about diversification and hedging against inflation/geopolitical risk, plain and simple.

Finally, and this might sound obvious, but understand the rules around distributions and required minimum distributions (RMDs) if you're getting close to that age. You don't want to get hit with penalties because you didn't plan ahead for how you'd liquidate or take possession of your gold. I'm a good decade or so out from RMDs myself, but it's something I already have on my radar with my tax attorney. Any other seasoned investors here have specific nuggets of wisdom they'd share about managing a Gold IRA as you approach retirement?