When establishing a precious metals-backed self-directed individual retirement account, investors can choose to include a significant — or considerably smaller — amount of gold, silver, and other physical precious metal assets, says Kevin DeMeritt, president and founder of Los Angeles-based Lear Capital.
“They can purchase whatever amount that they would like,” Kevin DeMeritt says. “We have a $5,000 minimum to get started. But you don’t have to do your whole IRA; you can do any portion you feel comfortable with and begin there.”
While investors can opt to sell their precious metals to take advantage of market price increases, a number of Lear Capital customers have retained their assets for some time.
“We don’t see a lot of trading back and forth typically,” Kevin DeMeritt says. “At some point, if the market goes up and you need to sell some to get your ratios back in line, you’re going to do that. Things come up in life for people — college education, or some emergency — but we’ve got clients that have been holding [them] for 10 and 15 years and have done very, very well.”
What Investors Are Saying
Lear Capital has helped a number of investors make moderately sized precious metal purchases — such as Len K., who, in one of the Lear Capital reviews shared on the Trustpilot platform, said the company helped him obtain $5,000 worth of silver assets.
Lear Capital also, according to another Trustpilot review, made it “very simple” for self-described small investor Bob J. to start building a precious metals portfolio.
Additional Lear Capital customers have said they initially bought a smaller amount of precious metals.
Brandon K., for instance, said the process involved in his transaction unfolded exactly as Lear Capital described it on its website.
“Although my first transaction with Lear was fairly small, I will no doubt do larger and more frequent transactions with them going forward,” Brandon said in one of the Lear Capital reviews on Trustpilot. “I would be happy to recommend Lear to anyone looking to augment their investment portfolio.”
As a small business owner, Lyn S. said she doesn’t have too much extra cash on hand to invest — but wanted to diversify her portfolio.
“Debbie Kasper at Lear treated me as if I was a big-time investor and helped steer me to an investment that I’m not only comfortable with, but one that in time I think will yield a great return!” Lyn wrote in one of the Lear Capital reviews on Trustpilot.
Kenny A., in a Lear Capital review posted on Google, says as a novice investor, he found an account executive’s explanation of the strategies behind investing in precious metals helpful.
“Money is always a sensitive issue for any of us,” Kenny said. “When it comes to buying precious metals, it’s predominantly about the trust I have in the company and the person advising me based on my personal portfolio.”
Forrest W. called Lear Capital a “great company to deal with” in a Lear Capital review shared on Trustpilot.
“Whether large purchases or small, the employees are polite and straightforward,” he wrote. “They take any necessary time to explain options.”
In one of the Lear Capital reviews on Google, Mark W. says he researched a lot of companies before reaching out to Lear; he felt the company provided great responses to his questions.
“Being new to gold investing, I was pleased with the attention I received,” Mark said. “I have no qualms recommending Lear to anyone who would like to invest in gold or silver.”
In a Trustpilot review he titled “Expert attention to the small investor,” Robert F. says he enjoyed working with Lear Capital.
“They [have] listened to my needs and suggested products that fit my needs,” Robert said. “I am not a large purchaser of gold and silver, but I feel they give their full attention to my purchases.”
An Informational Resource
Investor Jim D. has posted two Lear Capital reviews on Trustpilot. One mentions that the representative he spoke with from the company helped explain his options for purchasing silver.
“I appreciate Lear Capital showing me and assisting me, even though my purchase was I am sure smaller than who they normally deal with,” Jim said in one of his Lear Capital reviews.
Kenneth E. said the Lear Capital executive he’s worked with is generally able to pull up all the records and information about his interactions with the company when he calls.
“He is careful and precise in his explanations and walks us through the process seamlessly,” Kenneth said in a Lear Capital review shared on Trustpilot. “Even as small [investors], we are treated professionally and warmly.”
Richard S. also felt his communication with the company was a positive experience, according to one of the Lear Capital reviews on Trustpilot.
“As a small investor, I felt I was treated as a multimillion investor,” Richard said.
That approach, according to Kevin DeMeritt, is part of Lear Capital’s commitment to both earning and retaining customers’ business by providing superior service.
“Our customers appreciate that we help them through the process,” Kevin DeMeritt says. “We try to move as quickly as possible to get people the metals that they want. If people get educated about precious metals, I think they’ll find it’s a great time to add at least some portion of their portfolio into this asset category.”
