Monetary Gold Review: Fees, Minimums, Custodians, Complaints

Is Monetary Gold legitimate, and what does it charge?

This page is part of our Gold IRA Companies Compared library and follows our company research methodology.

We do not give verdicts on companies. We show what Monetary Gold says about itself, what independent records we could open, and what we could not check.

On fees, Monetary Gold's own website gives very little. We found no setup fee, annual fee, storage fee or dealer premium stated on the pages we opened. Its Delivery & Storage page does give a $30 flat delivery fee and says the company "covers up to a lifetime of IRA custodial and storage fees for qualified applicants." It does not say who qualifies. Two third-party review sites describe a $100 a year storage figure, but those are not the company's own pages, and we explain the gap below.

On the minimum, the company's FAQ says "The minimum amount to open a Gold IRA is $5000 to $10000, depending on the custodian's requirements." It names a depository, Delaware Depository Service Company, but we found no named IRA custodian on any page we opened. One page does say the company "does not give recommendations for selecting custodians."

A second thing sets this review apart. In March 2020 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) publicly demanded that Monetary Gold stop an advertising campaign the agency called false. We describe it in the records section. It is the FDIC's statement, and we found no ruling or final outcome.

Who is Monetary Gold?

Monetary Gold's pages call it "a precious metals dealer." They say it is not "a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, IRA custodian or tax professional." Its address is 21800 Oxnard St #1120, Woodland Hills, California 91367. Its privacy policy refers to "Monetary Gold," and its footer reads "MONETARY GOLD, IRA Services & Sales." We found no legal entity name on the pages we opened.

The company's own pages disagree with each other about its history. The "Why Monetary Gold" page says "Founded in July of 2000." The Due Diligence page says "Founded in August 2000." BBB's profile, as described below, lists the business as started on 7/13/2000, and shows a different date for incorporation: 7/13/2014. The pages also give different counts of "combined" experience: "over 100 years" on the home page, "over 50 years" on the "Why" page, and "more than a century" on the Due Diligence page.

Who runs it? The company's own pages we opened do not name its owners. BBB's profile lists Miro Darakjian as President. BBB says it does not verify information from third parties. A February 2026 press release issued by Monetary Gold and reprinted by Mining Stock Education describes it as a family-operated firm in Woodland Hills. That is the company's own wording.

Quick facts at a glance

How does a Gold IRA with Monetary Gold work?

A Gold IRA is a self-directed IRA that holds physical metal. Usually three companies play three roles, and the dealer is only one of them.

• The dealer sells you the metal. Here, that is Monetary Gold.
• The custodian legally holds your IRA, keeps the records and sends the tax forms.
• The depository is the secure vault where the metal is kept.

See the custodian, the dealer and the depository.

Monetary Gold's home page describes three steps: contact a specialist, complete the Gold IRA forms, then fund the account and choose metals. It says "Once submitted, your account will take 48 to 72 hours to open after processing begins." It says you can add a contribution or move money from an existing qualified IRA or 401(k), and that metals are sent to "the selected depository."

The FAQ page says transfers or rollovers "can be completed without triggering taxes or penalties," subject to IRS rules. That is the company's summary, not our statement of tax law. Rollover rules have strict timing and reporting steps. Our guide on how a Gold IRA works and our page on rolling a 401(k) into a Gold IRA cover them, and a tax professional can confirm how they apply to you.

What does Monetary Gold say the fees are?

The short answer is that the company's pages do not give a fee schedule. The home page says it offers metals "without high commissions" and at "fair and competitive prices," with no figures. The Gold IRA FAQ says purchases are "subject to availability, premiums, storage considerations, and liquidity conditions" without amounts.

Here is everything we found, by source. The second and third columns are outside websites, listed to show that the numbers differ, not because they are authoritative.

Retirement Living's page says "We may earn money when you click a partner link." ConsumerAffairs says "Companies displayed may pay us to be Authorized." We do not know whether Monetary Gold pays either site. Neither page is a fee schedule from Monetary Gold, a custodian or a depository, so treat their figures as unconfirmed.

The promised fee waiver deserves a direct question. "Up to a lifetime" could mean one year, ten years or the life of the account. "Qualified applicants" could mean a minimum purchase, a type of metal, or something else. The company's pages say free storage and free silver "are subject to minimums, eligibility requirements and written terms, and may change or end at any time." Ask for those written terms. Our guides to custodian fees, storage fees and hidden fees explain each charge.

What is the minimum, and who does it leave out?

The company's FAQ says: "The minimum amount to open a Gold IRA is $5000 to $10000, depending on the custodian's requirements." Notice what that says. The minimum is tied to the custodian, and the page does not name the custodian. So a reader cannot tell from the page which figure applies.

Outside sites give other numbers. Retirement Living says "You'll need to invest at least $5,000 to $10,000 to open an account, depending on your IRA custodian," which matches the company's FAQ. ConsumerAffairs says "Monetary Gold requires a $10,000 minimum investment."

A small account still faces the question of flat fees. Our page on minimum investment and our guide to allocation and concentration risk explain why size matters.

Monetary Gold's Risk Disclosure says the company "recommends a portfolio balance of approximately 15% – 25% in precious metals." That is the company's recommendation, not ours. We make no recommendation about how much of your savings belongs in any asset. The right share depends on your age, income, other holdings and goals, and a fee-only financial planner can help you work it out.

What do you pay for the metal itself?

The spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of the metal. A dealer sells above spot (the added amount is the premium, or markup) and buys back below spot. The difference between the selling price and the buyback price is the spread. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) puts it this way in its customer advisory on buying physical metals: "A dealer will always sell metal above the spot price and buy it back below the spot price." The advisory also says, "If fees are not available in writing before your purchase, that is a red flag," and suggests you "Ask how much you would receive if you had to sell back the metal tomorrow."

What does Monetary Gold say? Its pages do not list a premium, markup or spread for any product. The Products page lists many coins by name and weight with no prices. The Risk Disclosure says "Coin and bar prices include a premium over the spot price of the metal" and that "the price you receive when you sell will generally be lower than the price you paid." The company's "Why Monetary Gold" page says it acquires metals "WITHOUT an added MARKUP associated with third-party distributors." That statement describes where the company buys, not what it charges you. We could not check it. Our guide to how dealer premiums work explains the usual pieces.

The home page offers "a wide range of Semi-Numismatic U.S. Coins & Foreign Coins." The Products page does not define the term, and it marks only some products as "IRA approved." That matters because an IRA's rules on collectibles are strict. The IRS says an IRA's purchase of a collectible is treated as a distribution, and describes the exception for bullion "of a certain fineness if a bank or approved non-bank trustee keeps physical possession of it" (IRS). So for each coin you are quoted, ask in writing whether the custodian accepts it in an IRA, what the premium over spot is, and what the buyback price would be today.

A simple made-up example shows why the spread matters. This is not Monetary Gold's spread. Suppose you buy $20,000 of coins and, on the day you sell, the buyback price for the same coins is 8% lower, with the market price of gold unchanged. You would receive $18,400.

What does Monetary Gold say about buying back your metals?

We found no buyback program described on any Monetary Gold page we opened. The home page, FAQ and Risk Disclosure say a sale price "will generally be lower than the price you paid." Retirement Living describes the company as helping people "buy and sell gold and silver," but no company page we read states how a sale works, who sets the buyback price, how quickly you are paid or whether any fee applies.

The Risk Disclosure also says precious metals "should be considered a long-term asset," with a holding period of "preferably five to ten years." Our guide on buyback policies and liquidation costs explains what to ask, and our page on liquidity risk covers the case where you need cash quickly.

The same page says: "all sales are final and precious metals cannot be exchanged or returned for a refund." It then describes one limited exception: if you report dissatisfaction within fifteen days after delivery, and the holder is unopened and undamaged, the company will swap the metal for one of the same type and grade. We did not see the actual sales agreement, which may differ.

Who is the custodian, and where is the metal stored?

Custodian. None of the Monetary Gold pages we opened names the IRA custodian. The Private Storage IRA page says "Monetary Gold does not give recommendations for selecting custodians," and it repeats that the company is not an IRA custodian. The FAQ says the minimum depends on "the custodian's requirements." Retirement Living's page says the company "works with several trusted custodians" and names five. We do not repeat the names as fact, because we found no matching company statement. Ask Monetary Gold which custodian would hold your account and get that custodian's fee schedule directly.

IRA assets must be held by a bank or an approved nonbank trustee. The IRS publishes a list of approved nonbank trustees and custodians, which it dates April 1, 2026. We did not look anyone up, because we could not identify a custodian from the company's own pages. See custodian requirements.

Depository. The Delivery & Storage page says: "Delaware Depository Service Company (DDSC) is located in Wilmington, Delaware." It describes the depository as "insured by Lloyds of London." The page does not say whether storage is segregated or commingled, and gives no storage fee schedule. Our guide on segregated and commingled storage explains why that difference matters.

We opened the depository's own IRA services page. It says "Delaware Depository is qualified to store IRA assets" and "Insured through Lloyd's of London and not reliant on the U.S. government," and that "All bullion is fully allocated to the account holder and held off-balance sheet." Those are the depository's statements about itself. The page lists no fee schedule, and we did not see the coverage amount or the policy. Ask for insurance details in writing. Our guides to IRA metals insurance and to how to verify your metals list what to request.

Delivery. The Delivery & Storage page says shipments go by "FedEx, USPS or UPS," require a signature, and may include insurance for a flat $30.

Home storage. The company's Private Storage IRA page says "The IRS has not explicitly endorsed private or home storage for IRA-owned metals" and "We do not recommend nor advertise private storage of precious metals." The page also warns that "Improper storage of IRA assets can result in tax penalties." Per the IRS page cited above, the bullion exception depends on a bank or approved nonbank trustee keeping physical possession. Our guide on home storage covers that question.

What does Monetary Gold say about awards, endorsers and ratings?

We report these as the company's claims.

• The home page says "Monetary Gold is a BBB accredited business with a consistent A+ rating." It shows logos for Inc. 5000, Consumer Affairs, "Top 5 Retirement Living" and Google reviews, with no details.
• The Why Monetary Gold page calls the company the "#1 Gold IRA Company in the US" and gives no source for that. We cannot verify it and do not rank companies.
• The Due Diligence page says "We have a 5.0 rating out of 5 stars" on Consumer Affairs and that it holds a "Top 5" place in a Retirement Living listing.

We did not open the Inc. 5000 list. On 2026-10-16 our reader did open Trustpilot, which displayed a TrustScore of 4.8 out of 5 from 67 reviews, and noted that the company has a claimed profile with a paid Trustpilot subscription and invites customers to review. The ConsumerAffairs page showed "5.0" from 246 reviews (its star breakdown lists 212 five-star, 26 four-star, 5 three-star and 3 two-star ratings, so the 5.0 is rounded) and says companies "may pay us to be Authorized." These are ratings by site users, not ours. See how review sites make money.

Paid endorsers. The company's Risk Disclosure says "Mark Levin, Stephen Gardner, and other personalities are paid endorsers," and that "Monetary Gold compensates them for their endorsements and for the use of their names, likenesses and statements." The February 2026 press release announced that journalist Lara Logan joined as a "media partner." The version we read did not say whether she is paid, and we do not state that she is. A familiar voice is not a review of the company.

The Risk Disclosure and Private Storage IRA pages say Monetary Gold does not give legal, financial or tax advice.

What does Monetary Gold's BBB profile show?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) publishes business profiles, customer reviews and complaint records. We could not open BBB's website. Everything below comes from screenshots of Monetary Gold's BBB pages supplied by the site owner on 2026-10-16. The profile address is on the BBB site; we found that link through a web search and did not open it. Treat these figures as unverified by us.

The profile's "About This Business" text reads: "Monetary Gold provides precious metals products and IRA rollover services, including gold, silver, and platinum government bullion, as well as semi-numismatic U.S. and foreign coins." We treat it as the company's wording.

How to read the BBB figures

The A+ is BBB's letter grade. The 4.93 is something different: an average of star ratings that customers wrote, a measure that is not BBB's rating. The two should not be mixed up. The screenshots showed the first page of 10 reviews out of 57, dated 07/28/2026 to 10/07/2026, and all 10 were five stars, with no business replies visible on that page. One of those ten says in its own text that the reviewer had not used Monetary Gold for a purchase, so a review score may include comments about other experiences. We draw no conclusion from ten reviews out of 57.

BBB's page says it does not verify information from third parties, does not endorse any business, and that the nature of complaints and responses can matter more than the number of complaints.

The BBB complaint counts

BBB's complaints page shows 3 total complaints in the last 3 years and 0 complaints filed in the last 12 months. The page showed "There are no matching results," and says published complaint details may be unavailable, because some may not be published due to the submitter's preference, BBB's publication standards, or volume. So no complaint text was displayed to the site owner, and we state nothing about what the three complaints were about, their status or any company response. Complaints are always allegations.

What do the website terms say?

When you use a website, you agree to its terms. These are not the same as the sales agreement you sign to buy metal. We did not see Monetary Gold's sales agreement or account application, so we cannot describe those.

The company's Terms and Conditions page was last modified, according to its page data, on January 14, 2025. As our reader summarized it, the terms say the agreement is "governed by the laws of the Texas, U.S.A." and that most disputes go to arbitration run by JAMS, with three arbitrators, in Dallas, Texas. Court claims that are not arbitrated go to courts in Dallas County. We did not find a class action waiver on that page. The terms also say "Payments are not refundable," and allow the company to change fees on 30 days' written notice.

Much of that wording talks about "Upgrades," subscriptions and "Services," which suggests it was written for website services. We cannot tell whether it governs a metals purchase or an IRA account. The Privacy Policy contains no arbitration or governing-law language that we could find.

Arbitration clauses and class action waivers are often in the agreement you sign. Ask for the sales agreement and account documents, and read the dispute section before you send money. This is not legal advice; a lawyer can review a contract before you sign.

The Risk Disclosure says precious metals "are not suitable assets for anyone seeking current income." Nothing on this page is a forecast.

What public records did we check?

Our methodology lists the records we look for on every company. Here is what happened for Monetary Gold, as of October 16, 2026. We are as clear about what we could not do as about what we did.

The FDIC press release

On March 19, 2020, according to the St. Louis Fed's FRASER archive, the FDIC issued a press release titled "FDIC Demands Monetary Gold Cease False Advertising Campaign". The FDIC page itself shows no date. The release names Monetary Gold of Woodland Hills, California, and describes a sponsored ad on Newsmax.com titled "Wall Street's Worst Nightmare."

As the FDIC describes it, the ad claimed that federal law lets banks "take its depositors' funds (i.e. your checking, savings, CDs, IRA and 401(k) accounts)" and "use those funds when necessary to keep itself, the bank, afloat." The FDIC says the assertions are false and says insured deposits are "fully protected up to the $250,000 limit" if a bank fails. It demanded that the company stop and correct the advertising, and that Newsmax stop publishing it and issue a correction.

What we do not know matters as much. The release is the FDIC's position, not a court judgment or final order, and we found no record of a penalty. It does not say how Monetary Gold responded. A CNN report says a representative for the company "did not respond to a request for comment," and reports that the advertiser "had been suspended while the review takes place." It quotes Newsmax's chief executive as saying Newsmax would "take appropriate steps." We do not know whether the ads changed or what happened afterward, and we make no claim about the company's current advertising. Our precious metals enforcement database will list matters we can confirm.

What we did not check

We searched FINRA BrokerCheck by firm name and found nothing under the company's name. We could not get a result from the CFPB database. We did not search the SEC, NFA, state securities or consumer-protection agencies, PACER or state court dockets. We make no claim that Monetary Gold has, or has not, been the subject of any lawsuit, regulatory action or complaint outside the records above. A search that finds nothing is not proof that nothing exists. Our guide on how to verify a dealer walks through them.

What should you ask Monetary Gold before you sign anything?

Ask for answers in writing.

1. Which custodian and which depository would hold my account, and may I see each one's current fee schedule?
2. What are the setup, annual, storage and transfer or closing fees for my account? The pages give no amounts, and outside sites give different ones.
3. What does "up to a lifetime" of custodial and storage fees mean, who is a "qualified applicant," and who pays the fees?
4. What are the sale price, the spot price and the buyback price for each product I am quoted? Ask for all three at the same time.
5. If I want to sell, what is the process, who sets the price and how fast am I paid? We found no buyback terms.
6. Is each coin or bar I am offered eligible for my IRA, and how does the custodian confirm that?
7. If I receive free silver or free storage, what are the exact terms, and how is the silver valued?
8. How are your representatives and your paid endorsers compensated? The CFTC suggests asking this directly.
9. What are my cancellation and return rights, given the "all sales are final" wording?
10. May I see the sales agreement, including any arbitration terms, before I send any money? Ask which legal entity I would be contracting with.

See also how to evaluate a Gold IRA company.

What are the risks that apply no matter which company you pick?

Gold and silver prices go up and down (see price volatility), and counterparty risk means a company you depend on may fail to do its part. We do not predict prices.

How does this compare with other companies?

We publish every company review on the same set of fields so you can read them side by side, and we do not rank them. See, for example, our reviews of Oxford Gold Group, U.S. Gold Bureau and Goldco.

How was this page researched, and when will it be updated?

On October 16, 2026 we opened Monetary Gold's home page, FAQ, Delivery & Storage, Private Storage IRA, Risk Disclosure, Why Monetary Gold, Funding, Due Diligence, Products, Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy pages on www.monetarygold.com. Another page we tried, "Choosing the Right Company," returned no readable text. The domain monetary-gold.com, with a hyphen, and the BBB-listed monetarygoldgroup.com blocked our automated reader, so we did not read them. We also opened the FDIC press release, its FRASER record and a CNN report, the CFTC advisory, the IRS collectibles and nonbank trustee pages, the Delaware Depository IRA services page, the Retirement Living, ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot pages, and one press release reprint. We ran a BrokerCheck search and tried the CFPB database. We reviewed screenshots of the BBB profile, reviews and complaints pages. We could not open bbb.org. Anything that came only from Monetary Gold is written as the company's statement.

Our reader summarized some pages for us, so we quote only short, exact fragments and paraphrase the rest.

Fees, terms and company information are reviewed every three months under our update policy, and sooner if a regulator announces an action or a reader reports an error. If something here is out of date, please tell us through our corrections page.

This page is general information, not personalized advice. Decisions about your retirement savings depend on your own situation, so talk with a qualified financial planner, tax professional or attorney before you act.