Your Advantage Gold custodian is STRATA Trust Company or Equity Trust Company, and Brink's Global Services USA (Los Angeles or Salt Lake City) or Delaware Depository (Wilmington, DE) stores the gold, so the dealer never holds your IRA or your metal itself. Commingled storage costs $100 a year and segregated storage costs $175, figures checked on September 29, 2026.
Four parties, four jobs
A gold IRA involves more than a dealer, and each of the four parties below has a separate role that the others cannot take over. The split is one of the strongest features of the structure, because no single company controls both your account and your metal.
| Party | Who | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer | Advantage Gold | Sells you the metal, packs it, insures it and ships it |
| Custodian | STRATA Trust Company or Equity Trust Company | Opens the IRA, holds the records, processes transactions and reports to the IRS |
| Depository | Brink’s Global Services USA or Delaware Depository | Stores the metal in an insured vault |
| You | The account owner | Choose the metal and the storage type |
The custodians
Federal rules require a qualified custodian for any IRA, and in a gold IRA that custodian is a regulated trust company that opens the account, keeps the records, files the required IRS reports and processes your instructions. The custodian carries out your choices and leaves the question of what to buy to you and your account executive.
Advantage Gold names STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company on its FAQ page, and having two established trust companies to choose from gives you a comparison point on service and fees before you sign anything. The custodian is also the party that contacts your old plan during a rollover, so the choice affects the rollover process.
Our custodian comparison tool shows how the trust companies in the industry stack up on fees and services.
The depositories
The depository is the vault, and Advantage Gold’s FAQ names two of them, Brink's Global Services USA (Los Angeles or Salt Lake City) and Delaware Depository (Wilmington, DE). Brink’s operates a vault in Los Angeles and another in Salt Lake City, and Delaware Depository operates in Wilmington.
The metal is insured while it sits in the vault, and it is kept in a facility built for that job, well away from the dealer’s office and from your home. You can choose the depository that suits your location, and your account executive can tell you what each offers.
Commingled versus segregated storage
Both options keep your metal at the same insured depository, and they differ only in how the depository tracks the coins and bars that belong to your account.
| Commingled | Segregated | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is stored | Pooled with other clients’ metal of the same type | Held apart under your name |
| What you receive on withdrawal | The same weight and type | The exact coins and bars you bought |
| Annual cost at Advantage Gold | $100 | $175 |
The $75 difference buys you the same physical pieces back. For standard bullion, such as an American Gold Eagle, one coin of a given weight and purity is interchangeable with another, so many buyers choose commingled and save the difference every year. Segregated storage fits buyers who want serial-numbered bars or specific coins returned.
The storage fee sits alongside administration at $100 a year, and the only other charge on the account is a one-time setup fee of $50. The Advantage Gold fees page shows all of them together, and the fee calculator works out the total for your balance.
How the pieces work together
On a typical account the sequence runs in one direction. You open the IRA with a custodian, and the custodian receives your rollover funds. When you place an order, your account executive sources the metal, and the custodian pays the dealer from your account. Advantage Gold packs and insures the shipment and sends it to the depository you chose. The depository confirms receipt, records the metal under your account and stores it in the storage type you selected.
Each step leaves a record that you can check later. The custodian issues statements that show the account value, and the depository can confirm the metal it holds for you. If you later sell or take a distribution, the same parties reverse the process in the same order.
What this structure means for you
Because the roles are separate, each party checks the work of the other two. The custodian’s records show what the account owns, the depository’s records show what it holds, and the dealer’s invoices show what it sold. You can ask any of the three for a statement at any time, and the figures on each should agree with the other two.
Advantage Gold is a dealer founded in 2014, and its record is on its own page. The point here is the arrangement itself, which is the standard one for IRS-compliant gold IRAs and puts a regulated trust company between you and the dealer.
Who it fits, and who should look elsewhere
The setup fits you if you want a dealer to handle the coordination between a custodian and a depository while you make the choices that matter, such as commingled or segregated storage. It suits first-time buyers, since the account executive walks you through each party.
The company does not publish its fees online, so your account executive walks you through the storage and custodian schedule on the first call. The $5,000 minimum puts it out of reach below that balance. To see how other companies set up their custodians and storage, compare matched companies. To open an account, start at Advantage Gold's site. The Advantage Gold review has the full company profile, and the what to expect page shows the first month.
Common questions
Who is the custodian for an Advantage Gold IRA?
Advantage Gold works with STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company. Your account executive helps you choose one when you open the account.
Where does Advantage Gold store gold?
At two depositories named on its FAQ page, Brink's Global Services USA (Los Angeles or Salt Lake City) and Delaware Depository in Wilmington, Delaware.
Does Advantage Gold hold my IRA?
No. A trust company acts as custodian, and an insured depository stores the metal. Advantage Gold sources and sells the metal.
What is the difference between commingled and segregated storage?
Commingled storage keeps your metal in a shared pool with other clients' metal of the same type and costs $100 a year. Segregated storage holds your exact coins and bars apart and costs $175 a year.
Can I keep gold from an IRA at home?
No. IRA metal is held by the depository on the account's behalf, and keeping coins yourself is a separate arrangement that sits outside the IRA.
Which storage option should I choose?
Commingled fits most buyers of standard bullion, since you receive the same weight and purity back. Segregated fits buyers who want the same physical items returned.
Ready to talk to Advantage Gold?
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