It may seem strange, but I’ve always kind of admired Auric Goldfinger. For those who aren’t familiar with him, Goldfinger was the titular villain of the 1963 James Bond Film, Goldfinger. For all that he was a megalomaniacal supervillain; Goldfinger had a pretty decent plan to increase his personal wealth. Goldfinger’s plan involved buying up lots of gold, and then irradiating the U.S. gold reserve at Fort Knox in order to increase the value of the gold he had purchased. While destroying a national economy is not something I would ever do, even if I had the power, I respect that Goldfinger knew that gold is one of the only substances that has always increased in value. This factor alone sets him apart from any other supervillains I’ve seen in movies and television. While I am sadly lacking in henchmen (or Goldfinger’s squadron of attractive female fighter pilots), I can do something to increase my own personal wealth in a way that would please Goldfinger: I can invest in a gold IRA rollover .

If the term, ‘gold IRA rollover’ isn’t familiar to you, I’m not surprised. I know that for me, I wasn’t fully aware of how important gold was until I watched this video.

Video Recap

According to those statistics, the future is a scary place. It’s almost enough to drive a person to supervillainy. I say, ‘almost’ because the truth is that the future does not need to be like that for everyone. There is a way for every individual to protect themselves from the ravages of inflation and economic turmoil.

Taking Charge of the Future

Savvy individuals looking toward the future are the reason that IRA’s were created in the first place. For those who are not aware, an IRA is a special account designed to help you provide for your retirement years. Rather than relying on Social Security to be around in several decades, (yikes!) or spending your money building a lair inside of a volcano, you can invest money now in an IRA, where it will become an investment in the future. There are a number of different IRAs available, from the traditional IRA to the Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, and self-directed IRA. (You may notice that I’m leaving out the gold IRA rollover. That’s because it’s a unique kind of self-directed IRA.)

Traditional and Roth IRAs

• Traditional and Roth IRAs are very similar to each other in that both are created and controlled by the individual. There are, however, ‘custodians,’ banks and other financial institutions that hold the accounts.
• Custodians are in charge of keeping track of investments, tax records, statements and any other documents. They also offer advice to the account owner in terms of how to make better investments.
• I doubt that Goldfinger was overly interested in paying taxes, and one of the benefits of either a traditional or Roth IRA is that they provide generous tax breaks. Traditional IRAs allow tax breaks for interest and other gains that come from the IRA account. It should be noted, however, that you will be subject to taxes once you take money out of the IRA.
• This is not the case with a Roth IRA, as the investment uses money that has already been taxed, so any money withdrawn is not subject to tax.

SEP And SIMPLE IRAs

SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are accounts set up by an employer. The employees (or henchmen) are empowered to make contributions in order to prepare for retirement. (Although with the high mortality rate of most henchmen, I can’t see retirement as a major concern.)

Self-Directed IRAs

For the most part, a self-directed IRA is much like any other IRA. You can invest money into your account, where it is regulated by the custodian and the IRS. The big difference between a self-directed IRA and all other IRA options is that you can choose to invest your money in several different options such as: private equity, real estate, stocks, and (here’s the important part) precious metals!

Unleashing the Gold IRA Rollover!

The ability of a self-directed IRA to allow you to invest in precious metals makes them incredibly versatile. Not only can you simply direct your account’s custodian to simply write a check to a precious metals custodian, you can actually select the kind of metal you want to buy for your account. This means that you can put your money into silver or platinum, too. (While I acknowledge that silver and platinum are wonderful metals worth a lot of money, you don’t get a catchy Shirley Bassey theme song if you invest in them. GOOOOLDFINGAH!)

Why Should You Do This?

If you watched the video, you know that gold has been a stable investment for longer than most nations have been around. If you didn’t watch the video, you still probably have a general understanding that gold is a big deal and is worth a lot of money. This means that you can avoid inflation by investing in gold. Any IRA, regardless of where the money is invested, is subject to the whims and fluctuations found in the free market. Inflation can make a once mighty IRA into virtually nothing in a very short period of time. We’ve all heard the stories from Germany after the First World War. A wheelbarrow filled with cash was worth as much as a wheelbarrow filled with nothing. This same thing could happen in any nation at any time. (And James Bond isn’t going to save us.)

Gold is Incorruptible

Were you aware that gold does not tarnish, like silver? Nor does it rust, like iron? Even platinum will react with oxygen. Gold coins found in shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea can be cleaned and polished until they look like new. The reason for this is that gold is chemically stable and does not react well with other elements. (Even making it radioactive doesnt change it in a fundamental way.) In a similar way, gold is economically stable. While the value of a certain type of currency can go up or down, gold usually stays stable. For the most part, gold prices only go up, even as currency values go down and economies collapse.

Retirement Planning Tips: Consider A Self-Directed IRA

A self-directed IRA is the only way to invest IRA funds into gold and other precious metals. Not only is this a powerful way to make a stable investment, it is also possible to massively increase your investment. The key to this, however, is finding the right custodian for your IRA. Not all custodians have experience with self-directed IRAs. Even fewer have experience with setting up a silver or  gold backed IRA  and fewer still can help you physically acquire precious metals.

Finding monetary stability is an unreliable world is a great way to find peace of mind. A good way to make this happen is to look for an account specialist who has a proven ability to invest in in precious metals and has managed rolling over into gold or other precious metal IRA accounts in the past. This takes dedication, training, and experience. Most account custodians are familiar with some specialists who can help make the transition from a 401k, traditional IRA, or even a Roth IRA into a physical gold IRA much easier. You don’t have to be a supervillain to see the power of gold. Gold could be the investment that changes your life.

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