Gold IRA Pros & Cons

A Gold IRA can provide physical precious-metals exposure inside a retirement account, but that exposure comes with volatility, custody requirements and costs.

Potential advantages

• Different asset exposure from stocks and bonds.
• Direct ownership by the IRA of qualifying physical metal rather than shares of a fund.
• Can be funded through eligible retirement-account rollovers or transfers.

Potential disadvantages

• Gold and silver prices can fall.
• Physical metals do not generate dividends or interest.
• Custodian and storage fees can be recurring.
• Dealer spreads can make buying and selling more expensive than the headline spot price suggests.
• Concentration in one asset class can increase portfolio risk.

Whether the tradeoff is worthwhile is personal. See Is a Gold IRA worth it?