Self-Directed Gold IRA vs. Traditional Custodian for Rounds? Asking for a friend, obviously.

• •Been thinking a lot lately about how my "friend" has his gold rounds held within his IRA.
• •He’s got about $2 million in metals, mostly rounds and some smaller bars, sitting in a traditional custodian account right now.
• •Gets all the regular statements, never really *seen* the gold, but hey, the numbers are there on the paper.

Been thinking a lot lately about how my "friend" has his gold rounds held within his IRA. He’s got about $2 million in metals, mostly rounds and some smaller bars, sitting in a traditional custodian account right now. Gets all the regular statements, never really seen the gold, but hey, the numbers are there on the paper. The question that keeps nagging at him – and by ‘him’ I mean me, let’s be honest – is whether he’s truly maximizing his control and potential gains this way, especially with the way the market’s been acting.

I left Wall Street a while back, got out before the real craziness started, and poured a significant chunk of my portfolio into physical assets. Always been a believer in tangible wealth, especially with all the digital funny money flying around these days. My allocation to metals is probably higher than most financial advisors would recommend for someone my age (late 60s, retired, living comfortably in NYC), but it’s always given me peace of mind. That's why this whole idea of a "self-directed" IRA for gold keeps coming up. Is it really as good as it sounds for pure gold rounds? The thought of having that direct oversight, even if it adds a bit more administrative legwork on my end, is pretty appealing.

My concern with the traditional custodian always boils down to a lack of immediate liquidity or control if things ever went sideways. I know the arguments about insurance and security, but there’s something inherently reassuring about a direct relationship with the actual physical asset. I'm not talking about home storage here, that’s a whole other can of worms and frankly, not something I'm comfortable with in my Tribeca loft. More like, the ability to more easily direct a sale or a transfer without layers of bureaucracy. Has anyone here moved their gold rounds from a traditional IRA custodian to a truly self-directed setup? What were the real pros and cons you experienced? Were the fees significantly different?

I’ve heard stories, both good and bad, about various self-directed custodians. Some seem to have their act together, others sound like a headache waiting to happen. For someone with a significant allocation in gold rounds, what questions should I be asking a potential self-directed custodian that I might not consider with a traditional one? Really looking for insights beyond the marketing spiel here.