The SAFE way to buy Gold in an IRA

TRANSCRIPTION

That is a good question. What is the safest way to hold gold or silver in

your IRA? We have seen a huge increase in the number of new clients that

want to take physical delivery of the metals that they just bought with an

IRA, and until they called us, they did not seem to know that they could do

exactly that. We covered in-depth the ways not to hold gold in your IRA, in

a previous video, it was entitled 'How Not to Buy Gold in Your IRA.' Let us

just briefly recap, in case you have not seen that video.

You can buy gold at the Comex Market, first of all, but all you get are

receipts. They say you own the metals and it is probably the easiest way to

do it in your IRA, but it is hardly the safest, because we heard in that

video, Jeffrey Christian, explain to a committee that not just once, but

twice, that for every physical asset of gold or silver, there were

multiples of 100 pieces of paper basically floating around, claiming the

right to the same single asset. Then we looked at buying specific gold or

silver, bars or coin, that gold or that silver bar, from a dealer, through

a custodian, and then storing it at a depository. The financial fiasco of

MF Global has really opened people's eyes that that may not be the safest

either; they basically stole the client's money. That brings us full-circle

to the taking of physical delivery of actual physical gold that they give

it to you, into your hands. Many people do not know that it can be done.

Who would tell them, the self-directed custodian? It is not only possible,

it has been legal for 16 years, and it is very easy to do. All you need is

a Checkbook IRA.

What is a Checkbook IRA? The concept appeared 16 years ago, after the

famous court case called Swanson v. the Commissioner. The IRS challenged

the setup as being prohibited but then dropped the accusations before even

the end of the case, and the tax court found in favor of Mr. Swanson, and

he was awarded reimbursement for his legal fees. This case established the

legality of the Checkbook IRA, if it is setup correctly and, basically, it

is that your IRA owns an investment entity, a corporation, in our case we

use an LLC, and you are named the manager. The funds are earned with the

LLC, they go flow through into your IRA, and ultimately, you are the

beneficiary, as the beneficiary of the IRA; but as manager, you make

business decisions. You have instant access to the funds and as long as you

stay within certain guidelines and have no prohibited transactions, no self-

dealing, then it is perfectly acceptable. Whenever you want to make an

investment, you have a new vehicle with which to invest: the entity

Checkbook IRA, LLC., which is owned by the IRA. Buying approved coins is

simple as picking a coin dealer, striking a bargain, wire them the funds,

all done in the name of the LLC, and have them ship the coins where you, as

the manager, decide; take physical delivery, if you would.

The coins you receive must be American Eagles. For years, all gold bullion

and foreign coins had to be held by a custodian, and all US Gold coins were

considered collectibles. However, starting in 1997, gold, silver, and

platinum American Eagles were no longer considered collectibles. All other

coins and bars of precious metals, meeting the purity requirements, are

considered bullion, and they must be held by a custodian; the American

Eagles are an exception. They are not collectibles, there is an exception

made in the code. You will save on storage fees but, more importantly, you

will have the peace of mind knowing that your metals are safe and you will

save a lot of money in custodial fees. Our custodian does not charge based

upon the value of your assets, and he has no investments to sell you nor do

they ever partner with anyone who has investments to sell you.

You can imagine that since they do not charge asset fees and there are no

transaction fees, because the transactions are in the LLC., the custodian

is not involved, so he does not have to charge for that, not all self-

directed custodians are pleased with this, since they used to pocket the

fees that you will be saving. After your initial setup, the annual cost for

the Checkbook IRA runs about 20% of what most custodians are charging.

If you would like more information, just visit our website or give us a

call; we will be happy to discuss any questions that you have. We have a

great website, a very informative website: CheckbookIRA.com. We have

articles, videos like this one, helpful links, and an excellent blog. If

you are interested in holding your gold in your IRA in a very safe way,

where you know where it is, where no Madoffs or MF Globals can get a hold

of it, just give us a call. Until next time, this is Retirement Guy. Invest

wisely.