So I finally rolled over part of my old 401k into a Gold

• •Okay, so after getting laid off last year from the tech bubble burst (fun times, right?), I was seriously rethinking my whole investment strategy.
• •My 401k from the old company was just sitting there, mostly in mutual funds that felt way too exposed to the latest market whims.
• •I'm sitting on about $400k across various accounts, and decided a significant chunk needed to be in something tangible.

Okay, so after getting laid off last year from the tech bubble burst (fun times, right?), I was seriously rethinking my whole investment strategy. My 401k from the old company was just sitting there, mostly in mutual funds that felt way too exposed to the latest market whims. Living here in SF, you see firsthand how quickly things can shift, and honestly, the thought of having all my eggs in the stock market basket was starting to give me stress headaches. I'm sitting on about $400k across various accounts, and decided a significant chunk needed to be in something tangible.

I’d been hearing about Gold IRAs for a while, but always dismissed it as something for the boomer generation. But after some serious research, especially about inflation hedging and portfolio stability when everything else is going sideways, it started to make a lot of sense. The rollover process itself was surprisingly straightforward, way less of a headache than I anticipated. I ended up calling a few different custodians and found one that was really clear about fees and storage options. Chose segregated storage, even though it's a bit pricier, just for the extra peace of mind. Felt like a no-brainer given the amount I was moving.

Ultimately, I moved about $150k out of the old 401k – roughly 35% of that specific account, which feels like a good initial diversification. My goal wasn't to get rich quick, but rather to preserve capital and act as a hedge against future economic uncertainty. The whole process took about three weeks from the initial call to confirmation of purchase. It's a weird feeling, knowing a significant portion of my retirement savings is now in physical gold, but also kinda reassuring. It’s not going to zero overnight the way some speculative stocks can.

Anyone else here go through a similar rollover recently? What was your experience like? Did you go for coins or bars, and what percentage of your total retirement did you allocate? Curious to hear if my allocation seems reasonable to others who've taken the plunge.