(This review was updated in December 2024)
Having been in business since 1997, Lear Capital has stood by its promise to help customers diversify their portfolio with rare coins, bullion, gold, silver, and the palladium-backed IRA accounts. Other than establishing precious metal IRA accounts for its clients, Lear Capital also directly retails precious metals and buys gold and silver from retail sellers. They claim to help both experienced investors and ordinary people in diversifying their retirement against global volatility. However, before you decide to invest with this company, you have to consider a few things as well as understand how the company operates. This review provides you with a good picture of Lear Capital and its operations.
About Lear Capital Precious Metals-Backed IRAs
Think of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) as a tax-advantaged savings account. You will have the chance of investing your money regularly and you will not have to pay any taxes. Or the company will defer them if you do not withdraw the money before retirement. IRAs exist in three types:
- Traditional IRAs: primarily, this is an account that allows you to add your earnings before the taxation.
- Roth: This type of account allows you to add your contributions after you have paid all the taxes.
- Rollover: the account involves rolling over of contributions from the other retirement plans such as the 401(k).
Even though people fund most IRAs with paper money, you can also fund them with gold or other metals such as platinum, silver, gold and palladium. That is where Lear Capital comes in. According to the website of Lear Capital, their team members will guide you through the application process, which takes roughly 10 minutes. After the application processing, the account will be live in less than 24 hours.
From that point, the company will request your IRA keeper to roll over a portion or all the money they hold in their account. The process will end within five days. That is when you will become the owner of various metals. Lear Capital will store the metals securely in insured private storage facilities. When the time comes, you will be able to withdraw the metals in physical form or liquidate them to get money. In between, the new IRA custodian will allow you to track the performance of your portfolio online and they will send you a statement throughout your email after every 3 months.
The Lear Capital Investor Tools
Lear Capital has been in business since 1997 and within the time, the company has been in business, it has promised to help people diversify their portfolios with rare coins and bullions in addition to silver, gold, palladium and platinum-backed IRA accounts. Whether you are a seasoned pro or a first-time investor, Lear Capital will help you diversify your investment and hedge it against the world volatility.
After opening the Lear Capital account, a personal account representative will outline the costs and provide an on-going investment relationship before you purchase. That way, you will receive the best market insights, data and the breaking news that affect your investment. That is the reason Lear Capital has always claimed to be the leading precious metals investment dealer within the United States. You will also have access to the personalized coin search feature and price notification applications through email.
The Lear Capital Website
The website provides investors with a good amount of resources and information to help them make the right decisions about precious metals investments. The information and resources are available in the form of precious metal guides, concise articles, RMD calculator tool and retirement account guide. Moreover, the website provides a Smart Tools Suite that consists of premium coin analyser, news blog, portfolio comparison calculator, historical chart center and live spot prices of the precious metals. After opening an account, you will find yourself checking the website regularly for updates.
Key features of Lear Capital Website include:
▶ Buy Gold and Silver Coins Tab
If you are a real-time pricing investor, you will need the popular precious metals. Lear Capital’s store offers all metal products both day and night. You will, therefore, find what you need at any time.
▶ Gold and Precious Metals IRA’s Tab
This deals with many questions relating to plan requirements, retirement accounts and various strategies to maximize your retirement income with the offered precious metals.
▶ News and Investor Resources Tab
The News and Investor Resources Tab is the primary education section on the website. it offers free real-time silver and gold spot prices, 24 hour silver, gold, platinum and palladium charts that dates back to 30 days in addition to a news blog and download section. The tab also offers Lear Capital’s policies, which you should read carefully before investing. That way, you will clear up the potential misunderstandings.
Other helpful resources:
▶ Precious Metals Portfolio Encyclopaedia
This encyclopaedia will provide you with detailed information relating to the popular American coins and their photos.
▶ Lear Learning Centre Tab
The Lear Learning Centre Tab is more like a FAQ section focused on the investment of precious metals. The sections provide many helpful articles. The topics include storage, risk management, concepts and terminology to expect in precious metals world and disaster preparedness.
▶ Keeping You Informed Video Series
The many video series delves into history and facts about precious metals investment. They cover topics like the 1933 Gold Recall.
Lear Capital Commercials
Lear Capital is among the financial companies that are widely known for their aggressive advertising to the potential clients about the various benefits of choosing gold IRAs. Studies show that the number of commercials aired on televisions is over 200 every 30 days. The commercials promote Lear Capital and the several precious metal IRAs it provides to the customers.
In general, these commercials have portrayed investment in precious metals as the sure thing; however, that’s is not the whole truth. Just like any other investment, these metals also experience their form of volatility. And if the predictions come true, in the next 15 or so months, gold will hit a record high. This shows that even though precious metals are not tied to the stock market, in a couple of years, they can undergo significant price fluctuations and you will have to think about entering the precious metals market at the right time.
Lear Capital Gold and Silver Prices
- Gold coins costs $455-$1,353
- Silver coins costs $18 – $14,000
- Premium coins have varying costs
To buy these, Lear Capital accepts:
- Cash Personal
- Checks
- Money orders
- Credit cards
- Cashier’s checks
- Wire transfer
Once the payment is received, shipment is guaranteed within 15-17 business days. Any gold orders above $10,000 get free shipping. Lear Capital has no minimum investment requirement, though every customer is required to pay a $160 annually for storing the precious metals, insurance and for financial statements. Apart from this fee, the transaction fees vary depending on factors like quantity purchased, rarity, uniqueness, the size of the coins among other factors.
Lear Capital Ratings on Consumer Review Sites
Lear Capital has great customer service. With 38 closed customer complaints on the Better Business Bureau site, the company is showing positive customer support. Most of these referenced difficulties reaching a support staff, but all these were responded to satisfactorily. Seemingly, most of the complaints Lear Capital receives would never happen if the investors took their time to read the policies of the company.
The bottom line
Having been in business for more than two decades, Lear Capital has proven its tenacity in the market in dealing in precious metals. With more than $2 billion in trusted transactions so far, Lear Capital boasts as being America’s most popular metal investment dealer due to its several benefits to the customer and how easy it is to open and manage an account. Even though many gold IRA companies offer the same services as Lear Capital, this company is the most popular gold IRA provider for a reason.
More Gold IRA Companies Reviewed:
Lear Capital
$5,000
Pros
- In business since the year 1997
- Highly rated precious metal dealer
- Great customer service
- $3 Billion in Trusted Transactions
- US Mint Approved gold dealer
Cons
- The Lear Commercials may not tell the risk of precious metals investing