Advantage Gold is an IRA-focused precious metals dealer that has been operating since 2014. Their main headquarters is in Los Angeles, California. Since being founded, the company has grown to encompass thousands of customers. But what kind of feedback are they getting? How do they actually compare to the top competitors on the market?
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About Advantage Gold
When you look up Advantage Gold, you'll probably find their marketing and promotional materials first. According to their website, they are the top company for precious metals IRAs and IRA rollovers. While they might not eclipse some of the stiffest competition, they do have some strong reasoning.
Many precious metals dealers provide only the most basic IRA services. They use IRAs as one piece of their larger business model. But Advantage Gold is built entirely around IRAs. That's the whole focus of the business. In fact, they have an in-house IRA department staffed exclusively by IRA experts.
These experts are the ones who will walk you through the IRA setup and rollover process. That way, you can fund your IRA with your existing retirement funds. Then you can use those funds to buy precious metals. When the time comes to take distributions, you can remove the precious metals themselves, or you can sell them back to Advantage Gold.
One of the biggest principles that Advantage Gold operates by is education. They are highly focused on working with clients who know what they want. If you're not sure what you want, their training materials can help. In addition, their employees are happy to talk with you and answer your questions about precious metals investment.
Customers have highly praised the educational aspects of the company. They say that when they want to learn by themselves, there are tons of articles and pages available. But when they want to be taught, all they have to do is pick up the phone. The representatives are kind, knowledgeable, and thorough in their answers.
In addition to the helpful and honest employees, Advantage Gold prides itself on having solid pricing and quick service. They'll ship your items out soon after you order, and they try not to price high above the spot price.
There is also a Gold Investor Program for new investors who have never invested in gold before. You don't have to be an expert to get started. When you use this program, an account representative will work with you through the whole purchase process. They'll talk with you about what you want, what kind of portfolio structure is best for you, and what items will best fit your account.
This process also involves setting up the IRA itself. They will take you step by step through the paperwork to establish your account and fund it. If your initial purchase is more than $50,000, you'll have the storage and maintenance fees for your first year waived entirely.
There is also a delivery discount for people who create an account for the first time. As long as you use $25,000 in your initial purchase, you can join. This bonus works for people who want their items to be delivered instead of stored in an IRA. You'll receive fully insured packaging that ships quickly for free.
Your item will be shipped soon after your payment clears. Usually the package arrives within two or three business days after being shipped. This is significantly faster than the average speed of precious metals delivery.
Advantage Gold Management
There are a few different management members who work as a team to run the company. Each one is in charge of a different aspect of company operations.
Larry Levin
Larry Levin is listed as the CEO of Advantage Gold. Prior to being CEO, he worked for over twenty years trading stocks for a major Fortune 500 company. Over the course of his career, he's interviewed for media outlets like Fox Business News and Bloomberg. He has also provided financial consultations regarding the stock market and its outlook.
Kirill Zagalsky
Kirill Zagalsky co-founded Advantage Gold and has a strong background in precious metals. When he first started out, he worked in a dealer affiliated with the US Mint. While working there, his specialty was precious metals IRAs.
Over the course of his career, Zagalsky has turned 401(k)s and traditional IRAs into self-directed IRAs funded with precious metals. He has also coordinated the purchase of massive amounts of precious metals for high net worth clients.
In addition to the precious metals experience, Zagalsky has worked for industry brokers. He was the vice president of a top brokerage company for a time. When he worked there, he was the top financial performer and regularly coached the other employees.
Zagalsky has provided precious metals IRA expertise to a variety of different individuals. He has spoken to correspondents on NBC and other national media outlets.
Adam Baratta
Adam Baratta is another co-founder of the company. Prior to this venture, Baratta's career involved specializing in gold IRAs with a dealer affiliated with the US Mint. He became a Senior Account Executive and was in charge of setting up and maintaining the accounts for their client relationships.
Baratta says that his biggest strength is his ability to work individually with every customer. He learns about exactly what they want and need from their portfolio, and he makes suggestions that help it work. Baratta has worked directly with multiple high net worth people to diversify their portfolios and secure their wealth.
In addition to Advantage Gold, Adam Baratta has developed a variety of other ventures. He has several entertainment companies, has written books, and has worked as a director and producer. His film production company has a partnership with NBC. Though he's often busy with film these days, he still plays a big part in the Board of Directors for Advantage Gold.
Available Products
Advantage Gold focuses exclusively on precious metals that can be held in an IRA. If you're shopping for your retirement account, this takes a lot of the hassle out of finding items. There are strict IRS regulations regarding what is and isn't allowed to be held in an IRA. Bars must meet certain purity standards, and only certain kinds of coins are allowed.
The company mostly focuses on coins. You have a selection of gold, silver, palladium, and platinum available to you. Silver is the cheapest precious metal to invest in for an IRA, but it also has the greatest real world application. Platinum and palladium are pricey, which means that the available selection is relatively limited.
One note is that most of the listed coins appear to come from the United States and Canada. Advantage Gold doesn't offer very many coins from overseas mints like the London Mint or the Perth Mint in Australia. But many of these overseas coins are in fact eligible to be stored in an IRA.
That is to say, there are some limitations on inventory. But the limited selection can also be a blessing. You don't need to struggle to decide between a million different gold pieces. You have enough variety to pick something you really like -- or something that has a key price advantage. But you won't get lost in the weeds.
Advantage Gold has multiple accreditations, including:
All of their inventory has also been graded by one of the top grading organizations in the US. That way, you know that you're getting exactly the quality of coin that you paid for.
Advantages of the Company
There are several key advantages when you work with this company. While some of the top competition can compete with these advantages, it's a close race. Advantage Gold has received consistent praise for its setup and customer service. Clients can rest assured that they will receive a worthwhile purchase.
Education
Advantage Gold has strong principles of education. Whether you decide to buy from them or not, they want you to feel confident making a decision. They want you to be able to walk into any gold dealership and determine whether you're getting a good deal. They want you to be able to safeguard your retirement and feel secure in your portfolio.
If you do become a customer, the focus on education doesn't stop. Advantage Gold works hard to make sure that you understand every step of the process. They teach you about your options and about the different potential strategies for the future. When you have questions about different coins or market forces, their experts are available to patiently answer them.
The Learning Center on their website has a variety of different sections, including:
All of the materials are easy to digest, and they lay out exactly why precious metals are so important for a secure financial future.
Quality Customer Service
Advantage Gold wants to do right by its customers. In keeping with this, they have quality customer service.
This does seem to be the truth. There are hundreds of reviews online with third party websites, and they're almost universally positive. It's extremely difficult to find negative feedback. When there is negative feedback, the company resolves it immediately.
This indicates that the company is able to handle any potential issues before they turn into complaints. There are also no patterns of mismanagement. Advantage Gold promises to offer low prices and quick shipping, and then they deliver. Customers consistently praise their efficiency and kindness.
The sales representatives with the company have the intention of working with you for years. After you make your initial purchase, they want you to come back to keep adding to your IRA. While you can purchase from any dealer, they hope that they'll create the kind of consumer loyalty that will make you return.
To this end, none of the sales representatives engage in any pushy sales techniques. They don't want to sell you anything that you don't want. They also don't mislead you about the prices of different precious metals. With some other companies, the salespeople work on commission, so they're encouraged to make you spend more money than you're comfortable with on items you don't actually want.
IRA-Approved Products
While the catalogue of products isn't the most extensive in the industry, it is still very impressive. As mentioned, all of the available products are approved for use in an IRA. You don't have to waste time wading through different items to make sure that they check the eligibility requirements.
There are coins available in all four types of precious metal. In addition, there are multiple different American coins available that many other precious metals dealers don't have. The one tradeoff is that there aren't as many European, Asian, or Australian coins available for purchase.
Getting Started
Getting started is relatively simple. You just have to contact Advantage Gold and tell them that you want to open a precious metals IRA. They will walk you through the application and setup process.
Advantage Gold works with Strata Trust as a custodian. Strata Trust will be in charge of maintaining your IRA. The custodian of your current retirement account will approve a transfer of funds into the new IRA. These funds can then be used by Strata to purchase the items you've chosen with Advantage Gold.
There is an in house IRA team that will help you with the process, though it's not clear how much you'll have to interact with the custodian as well.
Is Advantage Gold a Scam?
Advantage Gold is definitely not a scam. The company has hugely positive reviews across a variety of third party websites. On the Consumer Affairs website, the company has 5 out of 5 stars based on 413 reviews, indicating universally positive feedback. On the Better Business Bureau website, the company has 4.64 out of 5 stars based on 22 reviews.
The company has also maintained a BBB accreditation since 2014, and they have an A+ with the organization. This is the highest rating and indicates that they make an effort to resolve issues with customers. Only one complaint has been filed in the past year. It seems to have been related to billing, but the complaint is no longer available to view on the website, indicating that it has probably been resolved.
Even though Advantage Gold has sold to thousands of people, it's difficult to find a poor review of the company. Their pricing, products, and customer service are consistently praised. People say that they feel respected and listened to throughout the buying process.
Pros & Cons of Advantage Gold
Pros
Cons
Final Thoughts
Advantage Gold is a legitimate company that focuses on providing precious metals IRAs. Though they haven't been in business for very long, they tend to dominate the market. They have garnered universally positive feedback from hundreds of past customers across multiple third party websites, and their IRA process is highly praised.
Unlike other companies, Advantage Gold focuses exclusively on IRAs. If you're looking for casual investments or numismatic collectibles, this won't be the company for you. They aim to act as your go-to gold dealer throughout the duration of your IRA, as well as to make it easy to take distributions.
Overall, we do recommend Advantage Gold. There's nothing about them that seems like a red flag. The positive feedback goes a long way, and the company seems to really care about its customers.
But there is a caveat. The IRA system might not be as streamlined with Advantage Gold as it is with some other providers. They don't offer a ton of information about who they work with or how the setup process works. You may need to communicate with your custodian yourself, which is something that's not necessary with a few of the competitors.
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