Your Retirement. Backed by Something Real.
A precious metals IRA lets you hold physical gold and silver inside a tax-advantaged retirement account. We help you initiate the rollover and coordinate with your custodian and the depository at every step, so you can focus on what matters.
Your Retirement Account Should Hold More Than Promises.
Most retirement plans are built entirely on paper: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and the institutions behind them. A precious metals IRA adds something different. Physical gold and silver, held in the name of your IRA, inside a tax-advantaged structure designed to protect what you have spent a lifetime building.
Whether you are rolling over a 401(k), transferring an existing IRA, or opening a new self-directed account, this page walks you through how the process works, what to expect at each step, and why tens of thousands of clients trust KEPM to guide them through it.
Tax-advantaged growth for your metals
With a Traditional IRA, your metals grow tax-deferred. With a Roth, qualified distributions are tax-free. Both structures let your wealth compound inside a framework designed to preserve more of what you build.
Physical gold and silver in your IRA
This is not a paper claim or an ETF share. Your IRA holds real bullion at an IRS-approved depository. Real metal, not a market promise.
Diversification beyond paper assets
Most retirement accounts hold stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Adding physical metals introduces a tangible asset that has historically served as a hedge against inflation and against political and geopolitical risk, balancing a portfolio built mostly on paper.
One flat rate, published plainly
You pay a flat 8% over wholesale when you buy. Current KEPM clients pay no commission when they liquidate through KEPM. The pricing is the same inside or outside an IRA. Strata Trust and the depository bill their custodial and storage fees separately, at rates those providers set.¹
¹ Custodial fees are set by Strata Trust Company and storage fees are set by the Texas Precious Metals Depository. These fees are payable to those providers, may change without notice, and are not controlled by KEPM. Confirm current rates with the provider or your KEPM consultant. 8% above wholesale when you buy; 0% seller's commission for KEPM clients when you sell through KEPM. Third-party custodian, storage, and shipping fees may apply. See kepm.com/pricing for full pricing terms.
Understand the Case Before You Make a Decision
Moving retirement savings into physical metals is not a reaction to fear. It is a clear-eyed strategy built on evidence, history, and sound financial reasoning. Here is what the data shows and why it matters for people protecting long-term wealth.
A Different Kind of Retirement Asset
Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds all rise and fall with market performance and institutional confidence. Gold is different: a finite, universally recognized asset that families have relied on for generations as a hedge against inflation and against political and geopolitical risk. Inside an IRA, it anchors a portion of your retirement savings to something you own outright.
Build a Larger Position Inside a Tax-Advantaged Account
Silver's lower price point lets you accumulate more physical metal with each contribution or rollover, and steady accumulation is the heart of a retirement strategy. Global silver supply has also run a structural deficit for years, with industrial demand outpacing mine production. The metal is being consumed, not just traded, a dynamic the paper assets in the same account cannot offer.
What Most Retirement Accounts Are Actually Holding
A typical 401(k) or IRA holds funds: paper instruments managed by third parties, with fees due whether they perform or not. A self-directed precious metals IRA changes that equation. You own real bullion, held in the name of your IRA at an IRS-approved depository, with no fund manager and no expense ratio between you and the asset.
The Retirement Risk Nobody Talks About
Financial professionals talk about market risk, interest rate risk, and inflation risk. One rarely enters the conversation: sequence-of-returns risk, when a downturn near retirement permanently reduces a portfolio that is already being drawn down. Physical metals offer a hedge against the inflation and the political and geopolitical pressures behind many of those moments, adding balance where a portfolio needs it.*
* Trading commodities and precious metals involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all individuals. Physical precious metals spot prices fluctuate and carry risk of loss. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results.
Your Path to Owning Physical Metals
No complexity. No pressure.
Just a clear, straightforward process built around your needs.
A conversation about your goals, not a sales pitch
You share what matters to you, your retirement timeline, your concerns, and what you are hoping to protect. Your KEPM consultant listens, explains how a precious metals IRA works, and answers every question before anything moves forward. There is no obligation and no pressure.
We help coordinate your rollover
KEPM works directly with Strata Trust, our custodial partner, to prepare the paperwork for your IRA transfer or 401(k) rollover. You initiate the transfer with your current custodian; most transfers are tax-free when handled properly and complete within a few business days once submitted. Your consultant and our Asset Transfer team guide you through every step.
Select your metals
Once your funds are available, you work with your consultant to choose your metals. KEPM deals exclusively in investment-grade bullion: gold and silver bars, no collectible coins. You pay a flat 8% over wholesale, the same rate every KEPM client pays, whether buying inside an IRA or outside of one.
Your metals are stored separately, not commingled
Federal regulations require IRA metals to be held at an IRS-approved depository. Your bullion is stored at the Texas Precious Metals Depository, a purpose-built facility designed specifically for the secure storage of precious metals and insured through the underwriters at Lloyd's of London. Every ounce is held for your benefit, fully segregated. KEPM coordinates storage logistics with Strata Trust so you do not have to manage a thing.
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Questions?
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No, per IRS regulations (specifically, Internal Revenue Code Section 4975), metals held within an IRA must be stored in an approved third-party depository like the Texas Precious Metals Depository. Taking personal possession of IRA metals is considered a "distribution" and would trigger immediate taxes and potential penalties. We coordinate the logistics to ensure your metals are safely moved to the secure vault, keeping the process compliant from end to end.
When you reach the age for Required Minimum Distributions, you generally have two options. An "in-kind" distribution allows you to have the physical metals shipped from the depository to your home or moved to a non-IRA storage account; the fair market value of the metals at the time of distribution is reported to the IRS to meet your RMD. Alternatively, we can help facilitate the liquidation of the portion of metal needed to meet the requirement, and Strata will work with you to distribute the cash directly to your bank account.
A precious metals IRA is a self-directed account that allows you to hold physical assets like gold and silver. While it offers the same tax-advantages as a standard IRA, it allows you to diversify your holdings with tangible commodities you actually own and provides an alternative to traditional paper-based assets.
We prepare the paperwork and coordinate directly with Strata Trust, our preferred custodian. Once your new self-directed account is ready, we'll help you initiate a rollover or transfer from your current provider; handled as a direct custodian-to-custodian transfer, this generally avoids a taxable event. Your tax professional can confirm how the rules apply to you. When your funds arrive at Strata, you give us the green light to secure the specific gold and silver products you want.
Get a Clear Picture of How a Precious Metals IRA Works
Talk with a KEPM consultant and get straight answers about the structure, the fees, and the process. No pressure. No obligation.
David H.
Consultant
KEPM Since 2023
