American Hartford Gold Review 2023: Pros, Cons, Fees, & More

Based out of Los Angeles in California, American Hartford Gold is a company operated and owned by members of the same family. If you have been looking for someone to set up a gold IRA with, you’ve no doubt come across American Hartford Gold Group reviews.

I’ve been covering this space since 2012 and there are only a handful of gold IRA companies I recommend – (only 5 of over 100, in fact!) This is one of those companies, and they are perhaps the most prestigious and longest tenured of all precious metals IRA companies, having done over $2 billion in sales.

American Hartford Gold

AmericanHartford company focuses their efforts on purchasing physical gold for a TSP, 401(k), or gold IRA account. But they also sell non-IRA approved precious metals that they will deliver to you at home or at the office if you’d like to make other types of gold investments.

They do also have an IRA program, which I detail in this review. 

This company has a wide array of clientele, and they focus on helping them create a portfolio filled with diversified investments. People working with them as investors acquire precious metals of the highest quality including silver and gold coins. They tend to experience complete satisfaction and appreciate their competitive prices.

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An Overview of American Hartford Gold

  • Customer Service – 4.9 out of 5 stars
  • Competitive Price Valuation – 4.7 out of 5 stars
  • Dependability – 4.6 out of 5 stars
  • Simplified Purchasing Practices – 4.2 out of 5 stars
  • Overall Rating – 4.6 out of 5 stars

This company focuses on providing customers with help funding and investing in a precious metals IRA.

They also focus on silver and gold purchases outside of the IRA structure. They use a process that takes three steps to purchase gold and silver to be delivered directly to your door. This same three-step process works for gold IRA investing as well.

American Hartford Gold Review

Opening up a precious metals IRA is the smart way to diversify your retirement portfolio. And you can do so within a tax-free or tax-deferred IRA account. The specialists at American Hartford Gold help customers during the buying or selling process when purchasing precious metals. This company takes customer service very seriously and offers the highest quality help. And they employ industry experts and use historical data to tackle their market research.

All in all, their three-step procedure makes the gold IRA buying process simple and easy to get started.

Positives About American Hartford Gold

  • Delivering top-notch customer service and compliance is their highest priority
  • Lower liquidation fees through their buyback program
  • All costs are fully disclosed before making your final purchase
  • Free Insured Shipping

Negatives about American Hartford Gold

  • They do not share prices with their customers online.

If you are looking for a company that will be very upfront about their fees, I suggest you read this review: Noble Gold Investments Review.

#1 Ranked in 2023

5/5

Best Service

  • Fees Waived with Minimum IRA
  • Get 10% Back in FREE Silver

Goldco Review

Opening a Gold IRA Account with America Hartford Gold

Are you ready to open up a precious metals IRA account through American Hartford Gold? Get started by filling out the form on their website or calling the phone number that they’ve provided their customers.

While opening a self-directed IRA account, you’ll get help from a product specialist that will walk you through the process. The self-directed IRA is the type of retirement account that you need to open in order to purchase gold and silver as part of your retirement investments.

Next, it’s time to begin to transfer funds or to start a gold IRA rollover. It’s possible to transfer funds from numerous retirement accounts like 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, and 403(b) accounts, among varying types.

After you’ve successfully funded the account, talk to an American Hartford Gold account specialist. They will help you choose the gold, silver, platinum, or palladium metals for your investments.

You can begin taking distributions from your gold IRA account at 59 ½ years of age. At that point, you can sell out for cash or take-home your physical precious metals if you prefer.

Recommended Precious Metals IRA Investments from American Hartford Gold

  • 1 oz Gold Bar
  • 10 oz. Silver Bar
  • American Buffalo Gold Coin
  • American Eagle Gold Coin
  • American Eagle Silver Coin
  • Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coin
  • Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin
  • Valcambi CombiBar Gold or Silver Bar

Pricing from American Hartford Gold

Believe it or not, you do not have to pay any fees directly to American Hartford Gold for the privilege to get them to set up your gold IRA account or rollover from a different account. And besides that, their shipping is free 100% of the time along with free tracking and insurance.

As far as account maintenance fees go, they do not openly share specific pricing info regarding this aspect. Depending on the size of your account, you can get your storage fees waived for 1-3 years. Then you’ll have to pay the requisite fees charged by your dedicated storage company. Lastly, there is no minimum contribution amount for your precious metals IRA set forth by American Hartford Gold.

On their website, they offer the occasional promotion like paying no maintenance fees on your account for three years or receiving $1500 worth of free silver.

American Hartford Gold Storage Options

Because you’re purchasing physical precious metals like coins and bars for your silver IRA, they must be safely stored within a depository approved by the IRS to qualify. According to the information provided on American Hartford Gold’s website, their storage facility recommendations include Delaware Depository Service Company, International Depository Services, and Brinks Global Services. Your storage options include co-mingled or segregated storage.  Read more about gold storage here.

Gold depository storage is mandatory and the storage companies charge a yearly fee. Typically, you’ll spend roughly $75-$110 per year for this service.

Buyback Program from American Hartford Gold

Many of the top precious metals companies have a buyback program in place, and American Hartford Gold is one of them. They have made a commitment to their customers to buy back their precious metals at the going rate. And they do not charge additional fees, which is a nice bonus.

The buyback takes place as follows:

  • Call American Hartford Gold and let them know which precious metals you’re selling back
  • AHG will contact the depository and arrange shipment to their office
  • Once the shipment is received, they will issue your payment

That’s about the gist of it. Pretty simple, right?

Customer Service from American Hartford Gold

Their customer service is on point and filled with expert information and they provide great additional help to their precious metals customers. On the website, they share lots of general information about gold IRAs. Many people coming to their website are brand-new to this investment strategy, so they provide their new customers with great resources that include:

  • Gold and silver fact sheets and expert analysis
  • Regularly published new articles pertaining to the gold market
  • Price charts for platinum, silver, and gold
  • Gold, silver, and platinum real-time pricing

Customers are always welcomed and encouraged to chat online or speak directly with a representative on the phone to ask questions. If you fill out the form on their website, they’ll also send you an investment guide for free. This guide will answer a wide array of the most common precious metals IRA investing questions.

American Hartford Gold Complaints

As a leader in the precious metals IRA investing space, the Better Business Bureau has given this company an “A+” for their efforts. The Business Consumer Alliance has also given the company a very high “A” mark. And Trustpilot rates the company with 9.6 out of 10 stars and Consumer Affairs rates them with 4.7 out of 5 stars, which is also excellent.

American Hartford Gold has received complaints throughout the years. The bulk of them have nothing to do with negativity toward the company. They are mostly from people complaining about how precious metals prices fluctuate, which is something American Hartford Gold has no control over.

American Hartford Gold FAQ

  • Do I physically own the precious metals purchased within my gold IRA account? Everything purchased within a gold IRA account is considered physical gold, and you will actually own the bars, coins, and bullion that you purchase in physical form.
  • Can I make direct contributions to my gold IRA like a traditional or Roth IRA? Yes, you have the ability to buy other precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, or palladium at any time. Just make a contribution, talk to your account specialist, and move forward with the process from there.
  • How can I discover the status of my gold IRA performance as a customer of American Hartford Gold? Periodically, you will speak with your account specialist to receive accurate information about your gold IRA performance. They also provide access to real time price charts and they regularly send account statements as well.
  • Does a gold IRA account provide tax advantages like a traditional IRA? Yes, you will receive tax advantages in the form of tax-deferred or tax-free investing. You can grow your IRA account tax-free, and begin withdrawing at 59 ½ years old. Then and only then are you required to begin paying your taxes on the withdrawals. If you fund your account with previously taxed dollars, all of your withdrawals are tax-free since the taxes were already paid before the contribution was made.
  • Do I have to follow specific gold IRA distribution timeframes? According to the IRS, there are minimum distribution rules that apply to every precious metals IRA. From 70 ½ years of age, you’ll have to withdraw a minimum amount set forth by the IRS. You can find out the proper estimate using easy tools provided by American Hartford Gold.

Final Thoughts

To lead a happy and healthy life in your golden years, you must focus on creating a sound plan for your retirement now before it’s too late. American Hartford Gold focuses on providing a diverse portfolio of assets through precious metals investing.

However, for transparency, I chose to use Goldco for mine and I’m happy with that investment. But you won’t go wrong with either company.  Just request a kit from each and see who your best fit is.

This company is well known and highly respected. This means they can provide their customers with the wonderful benefits of precious metals investing. They have top-notch customer support and many of the leading experts in the industry on their staff.  It wasn’t the company I did my gold IRA with, but I’d recommend them to anyone whole heartedly.

Tim Schmidt

About 

Tim Schmidt is an Entrepreneur who has covered retirement investing since 2012. He started IRA Investing to share his expertise in using his Self-Directed IRA for alternative investments. His views on retirement investing have been highlighted in USA Today, Business Insider, Tech Times, and more. He invested with Goldco.