Given the difficult times the economy has seen recently
, many Americans are asking how they can diversify their IRA portfolio. One excellent choice that is often overlooked is to add gold bullion to your IRA. This article discusses a few important points that you should know when considering this.
Adding Gold Bars to an IRA
The Tax Payer Relief Act of 1997, allowed Americans to add certain gold coins and bars to their IRAs. Gold bars have the advantage over coins in that they are generally cheaper to buy but this is certainly not due to any difference in quality. In fact most minted gold bars are 9999 fineness. The difference in price mainly stems from production and market costs. The net effect is that bars are the most economical way to add gold bullion to your IRA.
There are a couple of IRA requirements to bear in mind when buying gold bars :
# 1 - Purity
Gold bullion bars for IRA must have a minimum purity of 99.50% or what is also know as 9950 fineness. Credit Suisse gold bars fit the bill perfectly as they are 99.99% pure/ 9999 fineness (also known in the industry as 'Four 9's Gold').
# 2 - Accreditation
The bars must be hallmarked by assayers approved by NYMEX, the biggest bullion exchange in the US. One such approved assayer is Valcambi. Based in Switzerland, Valcambi is one of the largest and most famous refineries in the world. Exclusively manufacturing Credit Suisse gold bars for over 40 years, their hallmark 'CHI Essayeur Fondeur' decorates every single bar.
So how do you actually go about adding gold bullion to your IRA? Two companies with a proven track record in precious metal IRAs are Goldstar Trust and Entrust.
Hopefully you now have a better idea how to add Credit Suisse gold bars to your IRA and why it makes sense. Remember you can also invest in gold directly if you do not want to change your IRA.