It takes real in-depth editorial research to learn about a precious metals dealer, and Orion Metal Exchange is one of them. This full-service company offers an in-house IRA department, competitive pricing, real-time lists, and incentives to provide reimbursement for insurance, custodial fees, and precious metal storage.
Overall, Orion Metals Exchange is a big part of the precious metals industry. Those who want legal tender coins or numismatic coins that can be showcased at home or want to plan for retirement living have their own personal circumstances to consider. However, owning a gold individual retirement account can be highly beneficial. It’s time to learn about the different metals and financial services this company offers:
IMPORTANT – before we get too far in this review, we’d like you to know we’ve vetted quite a few companies in this space.
We know that selecting a company to work with is a major financial decision and something not to take lightly. InvestingInGold.com has put in extensive research spanning many years in order to compile a list of the 5 highest recommended companies for this year.
==> See our #1 recommended company for precious metals investing
We urge you to view the links to see where Orion Metal Exchange stacks up against the competition.
The Overview of Orion Metal Exchange for a Precious Metals IRA
The easiest way to learn about Orion Metal Exchange is to speak with its company representatives and ask about rolling an existing account into a precious metals IRA. The reason is that the site doesn’t list much information about the services or products offered online.
Overall, the company representative was very polite and knowledgeable. They were able to answer questions, explain the fees and pricing carefully, and provide options for tax benefits without being pushy or rude.
Here are some pros and cons of Orion Metal Exchange:
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free promotions when opening an IRA
- Access to a depository vault
- Residential safe storage options available
- No transfer fees or setup fees for the IRA
Cons
- Can’t purchase gold or palladium products online
- Confusion about what Orion coins are available
Orion Metal Exchange Products and Services
What does Orion Metal Exchange offer? Overall, the company is knowledgeable about various precious metals, including gold coins, silver, and bullion bars. There are many investment options. However, this company primarily sells silver, platinum, gold, and palladium. Its website includes information about the real-time pricing for precious metals and the current prices for the coins.
With that, Orion includes three storage options for investors – secure vault storage, home storage, or a gold IRA.
Secure storage is the ideal option, and it should be in an off-site depository. With that, people get free storage, though there’s the possibility to lose money. Any investment can carry risk, including individual retirement accounts and the stock market.
There’s no need to sign up with a valid email address as one might with other companies. Instead of buying directly from the company website, people must call about their own investment of gold or silver into an approved depository. Though there are various coins and metals available, an experienced account representative walks investors through the process.
Here is more information about each storage option:
Home Storage
Orion Metal Exchange allows customers to keep their precious metals (gold and silver) at home. A representative can assist with finding the right type of safe to secure the assets. It’s up to the investor to figure out how to add their gold and silver losses/gains to their federal income taxes. Therefore, it might be wise to speak with a tax advisor.
Secure Vault
Generally, reliable vault storage services are the best option for those who don’t want to keep their precious metals at home. Orion Metal Exchange recommends appropriate options, and this is a free service. For example, Brinks is great for international and domestic needs and offers security. Overall, this is the safest choice.
Precious Metal IRA
People who want to invest their gold, silver, or palladium in the IRA may do that through Orion Metal Exchange. It can help investors get an IRA account for precious metals or handle the rollover from their existing IRA. Remember that future performance results can’t be based on what happened during a past performance.
Orion Metal Exchange Reviews – What Others Say
Overall, customers appear happy with Orion. Because it’s a customer-oriented service and has knowledgeable representatives, this makes sense. Generally, Orion Metal Exchange reviews come from people who enjoyed how easy the company made it to transfer their traditional IRA account to a precious metal IRA.
Five-star reviews claim that this company isn’t pushy and explains the things people inquire about fully. Plus, it’s possible to get a free investor kit.
Though it doesn’t have a BBB rating, Google reviews rave about the ease of creating a retirement account and investing in precious metals.
Complaints about Orion Metal Exchange
Even though there’s no BBB rating and most people are satisfied with Orion Metal Exchange, there are a few negative reviews. Most of them focus on the daily updates on commodity spot pricing. Though the charts show real-time updates for silver, platinum, and palladium coins, the market price is only a reflection of the cycle. While it offers information on precious metals, it’s best to call a representative with questions.
Most people want to know how precious metals work and if there’s little risk involved. That way, they can make an investment based on things that matter to them and get valuable information.
Precious Metals IRAs from Orion Metal Exchange
With precious metal IRAs from Orion Metal Exchange, customers may put the precious metals into a tax-deferred account. The metals can include bullion coins, but some people choose silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bars.
There’s no need to bring in legal advisers, but people may speak with an account representative about moving through the process of opening their IRA. The company IRA follows traditional tax rules. Therefore, contributions made are deductible from taxes, and people only pay taxes when they withdraw (unless this is a Roth account). With that, there are penalties involved for withdrawing before 59.5 years of age.
As with other traditional IRAs, there are mandatory minimums and taxable withdrawals when the person reaches 70.5 years old.
Right now, the company is offering monthly incentives. Visit its website or call a representative to learn more about the precious metal investing options and home-safe storage features available.
A precious metal IRA can contain gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and this is appealing to many investors because it hedges against inflation. Metal prices tend to move opposite of cash, bonds, and stocks. Therefore, investors can avoid issues when they diversify their funds without having to do all the work of finding a depository and custodian/broker. Orion simplifies the process for fewer hassles. Interested clients should contact the sales department.
Orion Metal Exchange Costs
It is best to contact a representative at Orion Metal Exchange to discuss costs. Annual fees for storage can range from $75 to $100 each year, but that depends on where the metals are stored. The cost is competitive compared to other companies and may have lower-than-average prices. Insurance is also included in the fee.
Though the minimum investment is $5,000 for a precious metals IRA, the company recommends that a person invest $30,000 or more to take advantage of the many promotional offers. At the time of the inquiry, that investment amount includes the custodian fee, insurance, and storage.
Orion doesn’t charge annual agreement fees and includes more metal options than other companies.
FAQs on Orion Metal Exchange
Orion Metal Exchange products use the same tax-deferment benefits as the other IRAs. There are also the same penalties for early withdrawal of the gold IRA, such as taxes and fees.
Unfortunately, all coins aren’t acceptable from Orion Metal Exchange. The IRS establishes which options are approved. For example, the Silver Eagle and American Gold Eagle coins are IRA-eligible but must be a minimum of .995 pure for gold. Silver coins need to be .999 fine.
Home storage might result in burglary or theft and isn’t an IRS-approved option for precious metals IRAs. Unlike stock certificates that can be replaced with the payment of an administrative fee, physical metals are much different. Once they are stolen or lost, it’s impossible to recover the investment.
Though some investors believe it’s convenient to keep their bars and coins at home, most people don’t have the storage facilities and options necessary for this. Orion Metal Exchange does allow people to purchase gold, silver, platinum, and other metals and ships them to the home, but it’s at the buyer’s risk.
It’s possible to store precious metals in a safety deposit box, but it incurs extra costs and has its own problems. Orion Metal Exchange agrees that storing a few coins isn’t a bad thing, but it gets much harder when there are thousands of dollars in gold, silver, platinum, and more.
Another issue is securely moving the items when it’s time to cash out. Plus, the rental fee for a box is expensive, especially when renting them for a long period.
There could be disadvantages if the depository account isn’t set up properly, but Orion Metal Exchange takes care of that for the client.
For example, the assets should be held separately from the company’s. If they aren’t and it files bankruptcy, it could take longer for the assets to be released to the investor.
Orion Metal Exchange has partnered with custodians that offer online access for clients. When a client wants real-time pricing on metals for trade, it’s best to contact Orion.
Most brokerage companies handle mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and traditional investments and don’t deal with physical gold. Customers may choose to create a self-directed IRA with a company that uses IRS-approved storage facilities.
The Futures Trading Commission (US) warns of scams where people make fraudulent sales pitches through email, phone calls, online ads, and television/radio advertisements. People should be wary of limited supply and time-limited offers for precious metals.
When investing in precious metals, make sure to ask questions and get things in writing before deciding what’s best for the portfolio.
Rates at Orion Metal Exchange
Overall, the price for precious metals can change constantly. The company guarantees real-time pricing on the Orion Metal Exchange website when visiting the “coins” page. Plus, investors may go to the “chart” page to get information about historical price fluctuations.
Those who visit the website and click on “charts” can see prices from up to six months ago or the last calendar year. The interactive tool works to see gold, silver, platinum, and palladium pricing.
Conclusion
Before investing in precious metals, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the industry and business. Companies should help clients build a portfolio that’s diversified and strong. Precious metals are physical things, and Orion Metal Exchange scores high in the categories listed above.
In fact, it’s considered an all-purpose dealer that offers the option to sell or buy. People may also create a gold IRA account to diversify their investment and protect the money they already have.
With that, Orion Metal offers minimal fees and is an affordable choice. Its real-time market updates on its website help people stay informed about their investment performance. Generally, it is a legitimate and safe company to work with, though investing money into anything can be risky, and there is no guarantee.
About Tim Schmidt
Tim Schmidt is an Entrepreneur who has covered retirement investing since 2012. He's also a published author, and his views on investing have been featured in USA Today, Tech Times, The Huffington Post, Nasdaq, and many more.
