Methodology & Editorial Standards
How we review gold IRA companies
Every company on Liberty Gold USA is scored against the same five weighted criteria, using publicly available information. Here is exactly how we do it — and how we keep ourselves honest.
The five criteria
What we score, and how much it counts
Fees & pricing
Setup, annual custodian and storage fees, and — most importantly — the transparency of metal spreads. Undisclosed markups are the most common complaint in this space, so we weight clarity heavily.
Transparency & credentials
BBB rating and accreditation, complaint history, operating track record, and any regulatory or legal history. We reward firms that publish fees and disclose partners openly.
Storage & custody
The quality of IRS-approved depository partners (e.g. Delaware Depository, Brink's, IDS), segregated-storage options, and the strength of custodian relationships.
Account minimum & accessibility
The stated entry point and who it fits. A high minimum is not a negative in itself — it changes who a company is right for — so we score accessibility relative to the audience a firm serves.
Buyback & support
Buyback commitments and liquidation terms, plus the depth and quality of onboarding, education and ongoing account support.
Weights are applied consistently across every company to produce a single editorial score out of 5.
Editorial standards
The principles we hold ourselves to
Ratings are editorial opinion
Every score on this site is our independent editorial judgment, expressed out of 5. They are opinions — not user reviews, not guarantees, and not personalized investment advice. We publish no fabricated testimonials, customer quotes, or aggregate user ratings.
Facts come from public sources only
Company facts — founding year, headquarters, BBB rating, minimums, fees, metals, custodians and depositories — are drawn from official company materials, BBB.org and reputable finance publications. Where a fact is not publicly verifiable, we mark it "Not publicly disclosed" rather than inventing it. Each review lists the sources we consulted and a last-updated date.
Competitor coverage stays neutral
We cover companies we do not have a paid relationship with, and we keep that coverage accurate and balanced — including fair pros and honest watch-outs. A company is never penalized for not being our partner, and our partner's shortcomings are still disclosed.
Our advertiser relationship is disclosed
We earn referral compensation from some companies we feature, including our top-rated featured partner, Newmont Capital Group. That relationship is disclosed on every page that ranks, compares or recommends. Compensation can influence which companies we feature and how prominently — but not the editorial scores themselves.
Staying current
How we keep facts updated
Fees, minimums and ratings in this industry change. We review each company profile against its public sources on a recurring basis and stamp every review with a last-updated date so you can see how current it is. When facts move, the profile and its score move with them. We still encourage every reader to confirm the latest figures — rating, minimum, fees and spreads — directly with the company in writing before opening an account.
Who writes these
The editorial team
LibertyGold Editorial Team
Reviews and rankings on this site are produced by the LibertyGold Editorial Team, a group of researchers and writers who specialize in precious-metals IRAs. We compile facts from primary public sources, apply our weighted criteria consistently, and edit every review for fairness and accuracy. We do not attribute our work to fictitious named experts or invented credentials.
Advertiser disclosure
We are an independent publisher that earns referral compensation from some of the companies featured on this site, including our top-rated partner. This compensation may influence which companies we list, where they appear, and how prominently. Our ratings reflect our own editorial judgment based on publicly available information; they are opinions, not guarantees, and are not personalized investment advice. Always do your own research and verify a company's credentials (e.g., BBB rating, registrations, depository partners) before investing.
Ratings are our independent editorial opinion, not user reviews.