Seriously considering a Palladium IRA - self-directed vs. traditional custodian?

• •My gold portfolio is sitting pretty at around $60k, and with the way things are going, I'm thinking of dedicating another $10k-$15k to palladium.
• •My *actual* question now is about the best setup for a palladium IRA.
• •My gold IRA is with a traditional custodian, pretty straightforward, they handle everything.

Okay, so I've been lurking for a while, and ever since I got my gold IRA set up last year (thanks to a lot of good advice here!), I've been eyeing palladium. My gold portfolio is sitting pretty at around $60k, and with the way things are going, I'm thinking of dedicating another $10k-$15k to palladium. I’m a sound engineer here in Nashville, and I’ve seen enough financial ups and downs in this industry to know that diversifying out of just stocks and bonds is the smart move.

My actual question now is about the best setup for a palladium IRA. My gold IRA is with a traditional custodian, pretty straightforward, they handle everything. But I've been reading a lot about self-directed IRAs and how they give you more control, potentially lower fees, and more options beyond just the standard bullion coins. Part of me likes the idea of picking out specific palladium bars or coins myself, rather than just having a custodian make all the choices for me within their pre-approved list. I’m thinking about things like specific mints or even some of the slightly less common bar sizes.

For those of you with palladium in your IRA, did you go the traditional custodian route or self-directed? What were the main pros and cons you ran into? I'm trying to weigh the convenience of a traditional custodian against the apparent flexibility of a self-directed one. Are the fees really that much better with self-directed, or does it just mean more paperwork and headaches on my end? I'm not afraid of doing a little extra legwork if it means a better long-term return or more secure assets, but my time is also valuable – especially during tour season.

Any insights, especially from folks who've had experience with both types for precious metals, would be super helpful. I'm looking to pull the trigger on this within the next month or two, so I'm trying to gather as much real-world data as possible before I commit. Thanks in advance!