Seriously weighing physical gold vs "paper" for my IRA - anyone been through this? (Memphis here)

• •Okay, diving back into the gold IRA rabbit hole and trying to finalize my decision between holding actual physical gold in my IRA vs.
• •these "paper gold" options some advisors keep pushing.
• •My current setup is mostly in a regular IRA, roughly $750k, but I’m ready to roll a good chunk of that into a precious metals IRA.

Okay, diving back into the gold IRA rabbit hole and trying to finalize my decision between holding actual physical gold in my IRA vs. these "paper gold" options some advisors keep pushing. My current setup is mostly in a regular IRA, roughly $750k, but I’m ready to roll a good chunk of that into a precious metals IRA. I run a logistics company here in Memphis, and I’m slowly but surely prepping for succession in the next 5-7 years, so capital preservation is huge for me. I’ve been stacking a little physical outside my retirement accounts for a while, just some Eagles and Maples, but for the IRA, it feels like a bigger decision.

My main hang-up with the paper stuff – ETFs, mining stocks, etc. – is the counterparty risk. Call me old-fashioned, but at the end of the day, I want to know that what I own is gold, not a promise that someone else owns gold. I’ve seen enough economic wobbles in my lifetime to make me wary of anything that isn't tangible. On the flip side, the storage costs and getting a good custodian for physical gold in an IRA setup can look a bit daunting at first glance. Has anyone here run the numbers extensively on the cost differences long-term? I’m talking storage fees for segregated vs. commingled, any transport costs if I ever decided to take an in-kind distribution, etc. I’m thinking mostly gold, maybe a little silver, but definitely not palladium or platinum for this rollout, not yet anyway.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading, specifically on the Learning Center over at goldirablueprint.com – it's actually been a pretty solid resource for breaking down the jargon. But I'm looking for real-world experience. For those of you who've gone with physical gold in your IRA, what were the biggest hurdles? And for those who opted for paper investments, what convinced you it was the better route, especially knowing the inherent risks? Did anyone here switch from paper to physical later on and regret it, or vice-versa?

Just trying to make the most informed decision for my family’s future. Appreciate any insights you all have!