SDIRA for Silver – Dealing with Custodians, and Anyone Else in Hawaii?

Frank Rivera

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SDIRA for Silver – Dealing with Custodians, and Anyone Else in Hawaii?

frank_rivera💎Premium (500k-1m)

about 2 hours ago

Key Takeaways

•Been thinking a lot about the self-directed IRA path, specifically for silver coins.
•My current custodian for the traditional IRA is… fine, I guess.
•I’ve got about $700k diversified across different accounts, with probably a good $150k I'd like to get into physical precious metals.

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Been thinking a lot about the self-directed IRA path, specifically for silver coins. My current custodian for the traditional IRA is… fine, I guess. They handle the basic ETF stuff easily enough, but trying to get them to wrap their heads around physical silver, even allocated, feels like pulling teeth with pliers. Every time I ask about buying specific coins for an SDIRA, their eyes glaze over, and I get the "we'll have to look into that" treatment that invariably leads to a canned response about approved products.

I’ve got about $700k diversified across different accounts, with probably a good $150k I'd like to get into physical precious metals. After 25 years in the Navy, mostly out in the Pacific, it just makes sense to me to have something tangible that isn't reliant on some digital ledger. The thought of having to liquidate some of my equity holdings just to sit on cash and wait for their approved channels is a real pain. It's almost enough to make me just buy the coins outright and store them myself, but then I lose the tax advantages, at least for a portion.

So, for those of you who’ve gone the SDIRA route for physical silver, how was your experience with custodians? Did you find one that was genuinely knowledgeable about specific coins and reputable storage facilities, or is it more about finding one that just processes the paperwork and lets you handle the rest? I'm honestly leaning towards a custodian that just facilitates the transactions and lets me pick the dealer and vault, rather than one trying to upsell me on their "preferred" choices.

Anyone in Hawaii, especially on Oahu, have a good local lead or even just a general recommendation for a custodian they trust with this kind of thing? The mainland options seem vast, but sometimes it's nice to know someone else in the same time zone who's dealt with shipping and the quirks of island life. Appreciate any insights you all have.

5 comments

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Best Answer▲ 10 upvotes

ruth_perez📊Growing (50-100k)

Dude, I feel you on the custodian front. I was trying to roll over an old 401k into a SDIRA for some physical gold, and my old provider acted like I was asking them to personally mine the stuff for me. Took forever to get the paperwork sorted and then finding a new custodian that actually understood precious metals and wasn't charging an arm and a leg in storage fees was a whole other saga. Hope you find someone good for your silver!

Comments (5)

michael_anderson🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Interesting! So your current custodian is giving you grief about silver, even though they're fine with ETFs? That's a bit odd. Are they saying they *can't* hold physical silver, or just that they make it difficult/expensive?

ruth_perez📊Growing (50-100k)•less than a minute ago

joshua_phillips🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

SDIRA for silver is an interesting path, but have you considered the storage fees and the bid-ask spread on physical silver through an SDIRA custodian? Depending on your investment horizon and the amount you're looking to allocate, those costs can really eat into your returns compared to just holding physical silver yourself or even a silver ETF in a regular IRA. Just something to weigh up!

michelle_collins🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Hey, cool to see someone looking into SDIRAs for silver! When you're talking to custodians, definitely ask about their storage options. Some have preferred depositories, and you'll want to make sure those are IRS-approved and secure. Also, don't be afraid to ask about their fee structure for physical metals – it can vary quite a bit.

For more details on what to look for in a custodian for physical precious metals, you might find this article helpful: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/self-directed-ira-rules/ - It covers some good ground on the rules and things to consider. Good luck with the search!

diane_bailey💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Yeah, I feel this. My existing Traditional IRA custodian was a total pain when I started looking into SDIRA for gold. They just didn't seem to have their act together for anything beyond plain vanilla stocks and bonds. Ended up going with a different firm entirely for my SDIRA, and it's been night and day. Much smoother process for getting physical metals into the account.

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