In 1986, gold owners were allowed for the first time to place their precious metals in IRAs, or Individual Retirement Accounts. Since then, the trend has remained popular among investors, since gold is one of the few types of money which aren’t the liability of someone else. Here is how to store your IRA gold offshore.

Selecting The Right Jurisdiction

Many countries today are insolvent, so finding the right one for offshore storage can be challenging. The greatest danger of placing your gold IRA in an insolvent nation is that the government might enact regulatory controls in order to seize it. This could include higher taxes, currency controls, or even direct confiscation of one’s proceeds.

The best jurisdictions are those that do not have direct taxation, especially those related to the ownership or storage of precious metals, and are also devoid of inheritance tax. The financial system must be highly regarded, with the provision of multiple auxiliary services. Most important of all, the government must be stable, displaying a consistent track record of fiscal stability which rewards global investors. Any red tape involving transfers, purchases, or shipments of precious metals should be kept at a minimum. Some of the most popular destinations today are Zurich, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.

In the past, most American citizens were comfortable keeping their gold in USA based IRAs. Today, a growing number of investors are moving their assets offshore. This is possible if one has metals which are contained inside IRAs that are self-directed.

How Do Self Directed IRAs Work?

Self-directed IRAs are issued by certain financial institutions, which enable alternative investments that can be used for retirement savings. Some of these things include limited partnerships in gas or oil, real estate, intellectual property and precious metals. The account owner for the IRA will select any investment options which are authorized by the custodian. For standard IRAs these would be things such as mutual funds, bonds or stocks, but the benefit of using a self-directed IRA is that they are much broader in scope.

Selecting The Right Facility

Once you’ve selected a quality jurisdiction, you must next select a good facility. It obviously needs to be one that supports IRAs which are self-directed, but aside from that, it should have an impeccable reputation with an established track record of protecting the assets of its clientele. The best facilities are those that allow clients to purchase precious metals from them directly, as this reduces the time and expense of shipping while creating a solution that is completely integrated.

Furthermore, a quality facility will be one that does not have minimum requirements of purchase. Their storage rates should also be comparable to those in the USA, and the facility where you store your gold IRA should be 100 percent insured, through a reputable institution such as the Lloyds of London.