When Gold Is Included In An IRA

There is an ongoing debate among investors about whether gold should be included in an investment portfolio. This column discusses what people should know if they are thinking about including gold in an IRA. “Holding physical gold in an IRA is not as simple as buying a mutual fund or an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) via a standard custodian like Charles Schwab Corp. or Fidelity Investments.” People are going to need to find a custodian who specializes in handling self-directed IRA accounts that permit the account holder to invest in non-standard assets like gold. The investor will need to avoid having the gold be classified as a “collectible” under the Tax Code because then it would not be permitted to be included in an IRA account. It is important to think this decision through carefully and to speak with an experienced planner that specializes in purchasing gold for an IRA account.

See Roger Wohlner, Gold in an IRA: What You Need to Know, Investopedia, January 25, 2016.