Woohoo! I’m excited you are here! Why don’t you subscribe to my free newsletter so you can have access to even more goods? It’s full of information on personal finance that you won’t want to miss!

Recently I went through the process of converting one of my traditional IRAs (Individual Retirement Account) to a gold and silver backed IRA.  With the state of the economy today, I felt it was important to diversify my portfolio so I took the plunge and did it! I was a little nervous at first, since after all I had no clue what I was doing! But the process was pretty simple an straightforward. If you are looking to diversify your portfolio, take a look at a gold and/or silver backed IRA.

Lets first talk about what a gold / silver backed IRA is and isnt. A typical IRA usually consists of stocks, bonds or mutual funds that you have invested in. A gold or silver backed IRA is basically your IRA that consists of actual physical gold or silver (or both). You dont actually take possession of the gold or silver, that is stored for you by the company who you buy the gold or silver from.

I had one IRA account that I managed on my own. (If you have your IRA with a broker, you will need to contact them about doing this.) I contacted Goldline to start the process but there are other companies like GoldSilver.com or Lear Capital that do the same thing. Goldline then got me started on opening my IRA with GoldStar Trust (who they recommend).  Once that was opened, the money from my previous IRA was transferred to my Goldstar Trust IRA account. After that was complete, Goldline contacted me to purchase my gold and silver.

That was really it. It was actually a pretty simple process and Goldline was very good to work with. The process took about 3 weeks to complete because I had to wait for the company I had my original IRA with to complete their paperwork.

Final Thoughts

I really do think investing in physical gold and silver are a great way to diversify your portfolio. Here are some things to consider in the process:

• The recommended holding period of precious metals is 3-5 years
• The recommended amount to invest in gold/silver is 5-20% of your portfolio
• The ratio of gold to silver is recommended at 60% gold 40% silver
• Make sure you dont put all your eggs in one basket and that you have other backup funds
• If you dont understand the fees, ask! There are fees for storing the gold and silver and transaction fees so make sure you understand that up front. Goldline was very good about explaining the fees and what I was buying and I had to verify it with 3 different people before it was complete.

Investing in gold and silver can be a great way to diversify your portfolio. Dont be afraid to try it on your own if this is something you are interested in. If I can do it, you can to!

Sponsored Link: DiscountDiscount.co.uk