My 5-year Gold IRA experience - pretty good, but still have questions

Richard Garcia

Back to forum

📊 Economy

My 5-year Gold IRA experience - pretty good, but still have questions

richard_garcia👑Elite (1m-5m)

7 minutes ago

Key Takeaways

•Hard to believe it's been five years since I rolled a good chunk of my old 401k into a Gold IRA.
•When I retired from Schlumberger back in '18, the stock market felt like it was getting a little too frothy for my comfort.
•Saw a few too many cycles in the energy sector to trust everything was always going to go up.

Download the free rollover checklist

Hard to believe it's been five years since I rolled a good chunk of my old 401k into a Gold IRA. When I retired from Schlumberger back in '18, the stock market felt like it was getting a little too frothy for my comfort. Saw a few too many cycles in the energy sector to trust everything was always going to go up. Had about $1.8 million in the 401k at the time, and decided to allocate about $700k into physical gold and silver through a reputable custodian. Felt like a big leap at the time, honestly, my wife was a bit skeptical, but I had a gut feeling that diversification was key.

Fast forward to today, and I'm pretty pleased with how it's performed. That initial $700k is sitting north of $1.1 million now, all things considered. That's a roughly 57% return in five years, which isn't blowing the doors off the Nasdaq, but it's consistent, rock-solid, and frankly, it helps me sleep better at night. Especially with all the talk of inflation and geopolitical instability lately. My paper assets have had their ups and downs, but the gold has been a steady anchor. It's not about making a million overnight for me, it's about preserving wealth for my kids and grandkids.

My main holdings are American Gold Eagles and Canadian Gold Maples, with a small portion in silver rounds. Storage fees haven't been outrageous, but it's definitely an ongoing cost to factor in. The big question I still grapple with is, what’s the right percentage to hold? I’m currently around 25-30% of my total portfolio in precious metals. Should I be looking to increase that, especially if the dollar weakens further? Part of me wants to allocate even more, but then I think about diversification again.

Another thing I've been pondering is the exit strategy. If I needed to liquidate a portion, how smooth is that process really? My custodian assures me it’s straightforward, but I haven’t actually tested it. For those of you who've held gold IRAs for longer, have you ever sold off some of your holdings? What was your experience like? Just curious to hear from others who have been in this game longer than my five years.

5 comments

Your purchasing power dropped 25% since 2020

Gold outpaced inflation every decade for 50 years. See what it could do for your IRA.

Under $100k? Compare options →

54 people viewed this today6 members requested a free kit this week10 investors bookmarked this

Best Answer▲ 16 upvotes

michael_anderson🏆Advanced (250-500k)

Glad to hear your experience has been positive! I'm in Chicago, got into a Gold IRA about 4 years ago after feeling pretty exposed with my 401k during some market jitters. Started with about 300k, now it's closer to 400k despite some volatility. The Gold vs Stocks 10-year comparison on this site really puts things in perspective when I start feeling antsy about my allocation. It's a great gut-check.

Comments (5)

dorothy_lopez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor•7 minutes ago

Totally get this. I did something similar with my old 401k from Lockheed Martin around the same time. The market was feeling super wobbly, and I just wanted some stability. It's been pretty solid for me too, definitely glad I made the move. Still, always good to hear other people's experiences!

paul_hill🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•7 minutes ago

Interesting! Glad to hear it's been a mostly positive experience for you. You mentioned feeling the stock market was "frothy" back in '18. I'm curious, what were some of the specific indicators or feelings you had at the time that made you decide to move into a Gold IRA?

barbara_white🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•7 minutes ago

Sounds like a pretty solid move for you, especially with that energy sector experience. I get the appeal of gold as a hedge, but I sometimes wonder if people give up a bit too much upside potential by going all-in on it. Like, even with the market "frothy," there are still growth opportunities in other sectors that gold just won't touch. Glad it worked out for you, though!

paul_hill🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•3 minutes ago

It's interesting to hear about your positive 5-year run with your gold IRA. I'm in Salt Lake City, and while I definitely see the appeal long-term, my experience with gold as a primary hedge has been a bit more nuanced. I allocated about 15% of my portfolio, roughly $60k, to physical gold within my IRA five years ago, and while it's certainly held its value, it hasn't outperformed my managed tech stocks or real estate investments in the same period. I'm starting to wonder if the opportunity cost of having that much capital sitting in a non-appreciating asset (beyond inflation hedge) is becoming a bigger factor for me.