The Best Self-Directed IRA Custodians for Precious Metals Compared

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Last updated: August 5, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial

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Most "best custodian" pages hand you a ranking without a table you can verify. This page inverts that. Below is the eight-custodian pricing and structural comparison, with every figure sourced from the custodian's own live fee schedule or public site. Where a firm does not publish, the cell says so and the workaround is named.

What this comparison actually measures

A precious metals IRA runs on three separate businesses: the custodian holds legal title and files the tax paperwork, a dealer sells the coins and bars, and an approved depository takes physical possession of the metal. This page compares only the first business. See custodian vs dealer for the split and why bundling the three under one brand is where fee opacity usually starts.

The comparison uses six columns you can verify on paper. Setup fee is the one-time account establishment charge at inception. Annual admin is the flat administration fee the trustee bills each year for maintaining the IRA. Precious-metals surcharge is any additional line the custodian adds when the account holds physical metal instead of paper assets.

Portal quality captures whether a modern online client portal exists and how much of the account you can service digitally. Transfer speed is the custodian's own published or reported turnaround for a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer of cash and metals. Regulatory home is the state or federal supervisory body under which the trustee operates, since a state-chartered trust is examined by that state's banking regulator, not the IRS.

The trade-off: published fees look transparent, but a low admin line paired with a wide dealer network can cost more than a higher admin line paired with a plainer bullion desk. Price the whole account, not the fee-schedule column.

The eight-custodian comparison table

Each row below reflects the custodian's own published disclosures, cross-checked against its fee schedule PDF where one exists. Figures are precious-metals-tier where the trustee segments its book by asset type. Storage is billed by the depository, not the custodian, so storage lines are excluded from admin.

Sources: Equity Trust, STRATA Trust Company fee schedule, Digital Trust, GoldStar Trust fee schedule, Madison Trust, NDTCO fee schedule, IRA Financial Trust, Preferred Trust Company fee schedule. Checked July 2026.

Two patterns jump off the table. First, only four of the eight custodians publish complete fee schedules that a saver can download without calling. That is a screening signal in itself. Second, the annual admin line spans a factor of five, from about $90 at GoldStar to $495 at IRA Financial Trust, before any storage cost from the depository.

Row-by-row notes on each custodian

The table gives the shape. The notes below add the caveats each row carries, because a bare number rarely tells the whole story on a trust company.

Equity Trust

Equity Trust is a South Dakota trust company and the largest self-directed IRA custodian by account count. Setup and annual admin are not on its main marketing pages; you receive the current fee schedule after an intake call or written request. The all-in cost on a metals account typically sits in the $200 to $400 annual range on a small to mid-size balance, but confirm your quote in writing. See the full Equity Trust review.

STRATA Trust

STRATA is a Texas trust company and one of the few in this group that publishes every line. Its Precious Metals Tier charges $125 per year, $50 setup (often waived on electronic openings), and $40 per precious metals purchase transaction. Storage runs $100 commingled or $175 segregated at the Delaware Depository or the Texas Precious Metals Depository. See the full STRATA Trust review.

Kingdom Trust (now Digital Trust)

Kingdom Trust Company was acquired by Digital Trust in 2023 and no longer opens new accounts under the Kingdom brand. Legacy accounts route through the Digital Trust client portal. Digital Trust does not publish a fee schedule on its public site as of the last check, so both new and legacy account holders should request a current schedule in writing. See the full Kingdom Trust review.

GoldStar Trust

GoldStar is a division of Happy State Bank, itself now part of Centennial Bank, and is Texas-chartered. Its published metals fee schedule shows $50 setup, $90 annual account maintenance, and storage billed by the depository. Storage runs about $125 commingled or $225 and up segregated. GoldStar leaves the depository choice with you. See the full GoldStar Trust review.

Madison Trust

Madison Trust is a South Dakota trust company that markets a "flat rate" structure without publishing the dollar figures on public pages. You get the current fee schedule after a written request or intake call. Its online portal is modern and its account opening is largely digital. See the full Madison Trust review.

New Direction Trust (NDTCO)

NDTCO is a Colorado state-chartered trust company supervised by the Colorado Division of Banking. Its published metals-account structure charges $30 to open and $220 annually as a flat metals-account fee; storage is billed separately by whichever depository you choose. NDTCO leaves the depository decision to you and runs a modern myDirection portal. See the full New Direction Trust review.

IRA Financial Trust

IRA Financial Trust is a South Dakota trust company. Its Self-Directed IRA charges $0 setup and a flat $495 annual custodian fee, with no separate metals tier and no per-transaction charge on the standard account. On a small balance the flat fee is high in percentage terms; on a $200,000 account it is a quarter of a percent. See the full IRA Financial Trust review.

Preferred Trust Company

Preferred Trust Company is a Nevada trust company, License Number TR10025, supervised by the Financial Institutions Division of Nevada. The Precious Metal Exclusive tier charges $50 to open, $300 in annual administration, and $50 per purchase and $200 per sale or in-kind transaction. Approved depositories include Delaware Depository, IDS of Delaware, and Strategic Wealth Preservation. See the full Preferred Trust review.

How to read each column

Each column in the table is a specific screening question, and each answer moves a candidate custodian on or off your shortlist. Take them one at a time.

Setup fee

The setup fee is a one-time charge at account opening. Setup ranges from $0 at IRA Financial Trust to $50 at STRATA, GoldStar, and Preferred Trust. STRATA waives its $50 setup on electronic openings. On any 10-year holding period, spreading a $50 setup across a decade is $5 per year, a rounding error against the annual admin line.

Annual admin

The annual admin fee is the flat administration charge the trustee bills each year for holding the IRA and filing its tax paperwork. This line is the biggest year-to-year cost you can directly compare across custodians. Structures vary: GoldStar and STRATA charge flat metals-tier fees; Preferred Trust charges a metals-only $300; IRA Financial Trust charges a flat $495 across all asset types.

Precious-metals surcharge

Some custodians bill a separate transaction fee each time you buy or sell metal inside the IRA. STRATA charges $40 per purchase. Preferred Trust charges $50 per purchase and $200 per sale or in-kind transaction. On a buy-and-hold account these charges hit twice, at entry and at eventual exit or distribution.

Portal quality

A modern client portal shortens every transaction after the account is open. NDTCO's myDirection, Equity Trust's myEQUITY, and IRA Financial Trust's portal all run largely paperless workflows. GoldStar and Preferred Trust rely more on paper forms during account setup, though both provide digital statements later. Portal quality is not a compliance question, it is a service-quality one.

Transfer speed

Transfer speed is the elapsed time from your signed transfer form to funds landing at the new trustee. Most direct transfers clear within 5 to 15 business days once the delivering custodian receives complete paperwork. STRATA and NDTCO publicly state 3 to 5 and 5 business day targets. Others do not publish, so ask for a current turnaround estimate in writing.

Regulatory home

State-chartered trust companies are supervised by their home-state banking regulator. That regulator examines the trust for capital adequacy, safety and soundness, and IRA-specific practice. South Dakota, Texas, Nevada, and Colorado all host active trust charters in this group. IRS approval alone does not substitute for a state charter; it complements it.

Regulatory home and why it matters

Federal law recognizes only two categories of IRA custodian. A bank or trust company chartered under state or federal banking law is the first. A non-bank trustee approved by the Internal Revenue Service under Treasury Regulation 1.408-2(e) is the second (source: 26 U.S.C. Section 408). Every custodian on this comparison holds a trust charter.

South Dakota hosts three of the eight (Equity Trust, Madison, IRA Financial Trust, and Digital Trust). Texas hosts two (STRATA, GoldStar as a division of a chartered bank). Colorado hosts NDTCO. Nevada hosts Preferred Trust. Trust charter states have historically differed on capital minimums, examination cadence, and fee-cap policy, so the home state matters when you check the record.

If you want to check a custodian's regulator record, start with the state's Division of Banking or Department of Financial Institutions. Colorado's records sit at the Division of Banking. Nevada's sit at the Financial Institutions Division. South Dakota's are at the Division of Banking. Texas records go through the Department of Banking. See what a self-directed IRA custodian does for the operational detail underneath.

A worked example on a $75,000 account

Suppose a saver plans to move $75,000 from a former-employer 401(k) into a precious metals IRA and hold it for 10 years. Two published-fee custodians work well as a compare set: STRATA and NDTCO. The point is to see how the same balance reads at different structures.

What the table does not show

Every comparison table hides at least three variables that matter. Name them so you can price them.

First, storage cost sits with the depository, not the trustee, and depends on the metal, the vault, and commingled versus segregated. See silver IRA depositories explained for the storage line by facility.

Second, the dealer spread on your coins runs 4 to 10 percent on typical retail deals. That single line usually costs more than every custodian fee combined over the life of the account. See custodian fees vs dealer markups.

Third, transfer speed depends on the delivering custodian as much as the receiving one. A fast trustee at the receiving end cannot rescue a slow delivering custodian's queue. Ask both trustees for a current transfer estimate before you sign paperwork.

Worth knowing: a published fee schedule is the strongest predictor of straightforward billing later. A trustee that hides the schedule at intake is telling you something about how it will handle the schedule at renewal.

When the comparison is a bad use of your time

An honest guide has to name when the effort backfires. For several savers, spending a weekend on custodian shopping is the wrong move.

• Your account will be small against fixed fees. Setup, annual admin, and storage are largely fixed. A $10,000 balance at a $300 annual all-in fee already pays 3.0 percent per year to the trustee. The trustee choice does not fix that; the balance does.
• You have not decided whether a precious metals IRA fits at all. The custodian is downstream. Answer the fit question first at are precious metals IRAs a good investment. If the answer is no, the custodian is moot.
• You will need the money within a few years. Short-horizon money is a poor fit for physical metals because the dealer spread has to be crossed twice. Before age 59.5 you also owe the 10 percent federal additional tax on top of ordinary income tax on non-qualifying distributions (source: IRS Publication 590-B).
• You are chasing a promised return. No custodian can protect you from a bad market call, and no custodian ranking measures that. A pitch that packages a "best custodian" with a promised gain is a warning sign, not a shortcut.

If one of these describes you, slow down and fix the upstream question first. There is no CTA in this section on purpose.

Self-directed IRA custodian comparison questions, answered

Which self-directed IRA custodian is best for precious metals?

No federal agency ranks IRA custodians, so "best" is editorial. The right trustee for your account is the one that publishes its fee schedule, names its approved depository, accepts the specific IRS-eligible coins or bars you plan to hold, and shows a clean state banking or IRS record. Match the trustee to your balance, holding horizon, and product plan.

Why do only some custodians publish their fees?

Publishing a full fee schedule is a policy choice, not a legal one. Firms that publish tend to compete on transparency. Firms that require a written request often personalize pricing by asset value or account complexity. Neither pattern is inherently better, but a published schedule is easier to compare and audit later.

Is Kingdom Trust still open for new precious metals IRAs?

Kingdom Trust Company was acquired by Digital Trust in 2023. New accounts now open at Digital Trust under a South Dakota trust charter, and legacy Kingdom Trust accounts route through the Digital Trust client portal. Request the current fee schedule in writing before opening or moving an account.

What is the cheapest custodian on this list?

On a mid-size metals-only account, GoldStar Trust and STRATA Trust sit at the low end of the published-fee tier: about $90 and $125 in annual admin, respectively, before storage. IRA Financial Trust's $495 flat is highest on published fees. But cheap depends on your balance and activity, not just the sticker line.

Do all custodians use the same depositories?

No. STRATA routes storage to Delaware Depository or the Texas Precious Metals Depository. Preferred Trust names Delaware Depository, IDS of Delaware, and Strategic Wealth Preservation. Equity Trust names four vaults including AMGL with Loomis and Brink's DDSC. GoldStar and NDTCO leave the depository choice with the account owner.

Can I switch custodians later if I change my mind?

Yes. A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer moves your account from one IRA custodian to another without a taxable event. It does not touch the 60-day rollover window and does not require withholding. See how to transfer a precious metals IRA for the paperwork and typical timing.

Does IRS approval mean a custodian is safer than a state-chartered trust?

No, they are two different regulatory paths. A state-chartered trust company is examined by its home-state banking regulator for capital and safety-and-soundness. An IRS-approved non-bank trustee has cleared a federal application under Treasury Regulation 1.408-2(e). Both are legally allowed to hold IRA assets. The IRS list is a floor for eligibility, not a quality ranking.

How long does a precious metals IRA transfer usually take?

Most direct trustee-to-trustee transfers clear in 5 to 15 business days once both custodians have complete paperwork. STRATA and NDTCO publicly state faster targets on the receiving side. Delays are usually caused by the delivering trustee's queue, not the receiving one. Ask both firms for a current turnaround estimate before you sign.

Sources

1. Cornell Legal Information Institute, 26 U.S.C. Section 408, Individual Retirement Accounts. Checked July 2026.
2. Internal Revenue Service, List of Approved Non-Bank Trustees and Non-Bank Custodians. Checked July 2026.
3. Internal Revenue Service, Investments in collectibles in individually directed qualified plan accounts (Issue Snapshot). Checked July 2026.
4. Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. Checked July 2026.
5. STRATA Trust Company, Precious Metals Fee Schedule. Checked July 2026.
6. GoldStar Trust Company, Precious Metals IRA fees. Checked July 2026.
7. New Direction Trust Company, Fee schedule. Checked July 2026.
8. Preferred Trust Company, Fee Schedule. Checked July 2026.
9. IRA Financial Trust, Self-Directed IRA. Checked July 2026.
10. Equity Trust Company. Checked July 2026.
11. Madison Trust Company. Checked July 2026.
12. Digital Trust (successor to Kingdom Trust). Checked July 2026.
13. Colorado Division of Banking. Checked July 2026.
14. Better Business Bureau, business search and complaint records. Checked July 2026.