Gold IRA Custodians: What They Do

A self-directed IRA custodian or trustee administers the retirement account. The precious-metals dealer is not automatically the IRA custodian.

Custodian responsibilities to understand

• Account administration and reporting.
• Executing authorized purchases and sales.
• Coordinating required custody/storage arrangements.
• Processing eligible distributions and transfers.

Questions to ask

• What are all setup and annual fees?
• Which depositories are available?
• How are transactions and distributions processed?
• What service standards and account access are provided?

Compare the custodian separately from the dealer that markets the metals.