Fortress Gold Group
Are you wondering whether or not it’s best to do business with Fortress Gold Group when buying precious metals? You may be looking to add silver and gold bars and coins to an IRA account. Or maybe you’d like to make a personal investment in precious metals. Either way, Fortress Gold Group popped up on your radar for one reason or another.
In truth, it really looks like Fortress Gold Group has actually ceased all operations. As a matter of fact, when you look at their website there are safety concerns, invalid certificates, and it doesn’t even look like it’s been updated in a long time. When you search for this company on Google, it looks like they aren’t accepting new customers at the moment. Right now, it doesn’t seem possible to work with Fortress Gold Group.
Nonetheless, if you want to know more about the way the company worked and the services that they previously offered, continue reading to find out more.
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What Will I Learn?
Fortress Gold Group Company Information
This company was first founded all the way back in 1995. Around 2007, the company then became a privately held investment corporation. In truth, we do not even know the name of the person who founded Fortress Gold Group and we do not know the name of their last CEO.
Prior to the website no longer functioning properly, information about the company and CEO wasn’t available anyway. It was really weird and it definitely brings about a bunch of questions, since the bulk of the precious metals companies out there want people to know about their Board of Directors and their company founder and share this info freely on their website.
The website for Fortress Gold Group makes a couple of promises to their customers. First, they say they’ll ship metals within 72 hours of the purchase. They say their retirement conversions are the fastest in the industry, and they claim to provide market outlook and other advice and knowledge to their customers. As well, they also claim to be committed to the growth of their clients.
Precious Metals Investing
This company made it possible for individual investors to purchase precious metals. This is impossible now that their website is down, so it’s hard to share lots of information about this topic. We do not know if they had an extensive selection and we cannot really determine if they provided silver and gold bullion, platinum or palladium, rare coins, or other investment opportunities.
Precious Metals IRAs
Fortress Gold Group also focused on setting up Gold Ira’s for their customers via rollover or transfer. Although, from the best of my knowledge with the information available at the time, it doesn’t seem like they were actually an IRA custodian, so working with them meant finding and choosing an approved IRA custodian for the IRA setup process.
It’s very difficult to come across information about how their IRA service unfolded, but based on the way other companies like this work, we can take a few educated guesses. More than likely, you would have needed to choose an IRA custodian to set up your brand-new gold IRA account. You could’ve either rolled over funds from an existing retirement account or set up a wire transfer to fund this new account.
After completing the transfer, one of the specialists at Fortress Gold group would’ve helped you choose the best bars and coins to meet your investing needs.
Precious Metals IRA Storage
According to the rules laid out by the IRS, individual investors are not allowed to store their IRA approved precious metals at home. They must be stored in a depository that has full IRS approval. Based on the information that I was able to learn; Fortress Gold group chose to work with one of the most trusted companies in the storage industry named Brinks Global Services.
More than likely, you know Brinks Global Services in one capacity or another. In truth, you’ve probably recognized their armored trucks delivering or picking up cash to local banks and other institutions in your community. They have equally amazing storage options, and it’s quite possible that their vaults are even more secure, because they ensure security by using the latest state-of-the-art technology.
If you’ve ever purchased investments that weren’t part of an IRA account from this company, you would’ve had the opportunity to have your precious metals shipped to you at home or to a safe deposit box or a different secure location depending on what you chose.
Fees, Commissions, and Pricing
All in all, it doesn’t really seem like Fortress Gold Group really shared or even cared about being transparent with charges and fees. Prior to shutting down their website, they did not list or share this important information regarding commissions, fees, and other payments that would need to be made. This information or lack thereof makes it difficult to compare them to other similar companies, which makes it really hard for investors to figure out which company to work with.
Customer Support
On their website, it’s shared that potential clients and current clients were able to reach Fortress Gold group by contacting them via email or telephone. There wasn’t a live chat option on the website, which is typically a good feature to have for customers looking for quick and basic questions to be answered.
Are There Potential Fortress Gold Group Red Flags to Be Aware of?
Of course, there were. As a matter of fact, there were actually a number of really big red flags to keep in mind. But the biggest of all is the fact that they aren’t taking on any new customers and it looks like the company is shutting down altogether. There are actual security certificate concerns regarding this company, so you can’t open their website on the majority of devices.
After reading reviews on the various review sites, we get to discover how Fortress Gold group handled their business while they were still open. Will take a look at reviews from the Business Consumer Alliance, Trustpilot, Trustlink, and the Better Business Bureau. You can still find reviews on these websites if you’d like to read about them yourself and learn more regarding their business practices.
- B- rating on the Better Business Bureau website – not accredited
- AAA rating on the Business Consumer Alliance website
- 5-star rating on Trustlink with 23 reviews
- 6 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot with 37 reviews
Is It a Scam to Work with Fortress Gold Group?
All told, it does not appear that this company was ever actually a scam organization. Nonetheless, it’s hard to tell because their website isn’t actually working correctly, so we know they aren’t taking on new customers, and we would actually recommend avoiding them even if they were because of the potential red flags that we’ve noticed recently.
Regardless, if this company was still working at full capacity, we would tell you to avoid buying precious metals from them in choosing other gold companies with better reputations. Another reason why we would tell you to avoid them is because some of the more recent reviews were a bit troubling, even though the bulk of them were ultimately positive. One reviewer claimed that they were having a difficult time reaching a sales representative and they couldn’t get any assistance.
The bulk of the precious metals companies that we recommend have Better Business Bureau accreditation. In this particular case, they weren’t accredited and they didn’t have the greatest rating with the BBB since it was a B-. Many of the companies that we recommend have the highest A+ rating. And the reason for their poor rating is their failure to respond to complaints from previous customers.
Fortress Gold Group gave customers the ability to purchase silver on their website as well, even though they did not sell platinum and palladium. You have a difficult time creating real portfolio diversity buying investments from this company since they didn’t offer all of the precious metals options.
Prior to closing their doors for good, the website didn’t share any information about commissions and fees. This is a big red flag because it makes it easy for potential customers to decide whether or not they want to do business with them. And their lack of transparency was confusing and made it hard for customers to figure out how much they’d have to pay.
Lastly, Fortress Gold group didn’t have live chat services like most other gold investing companies. The only way to reach them was via email or phone, which is less convenient.
Key Takeaways
- They opened their doors in 1995
- They converted retirement account quickly
- They provided their customers with fast shipping
- They offered silver and gold bars and coins
- They provided gold IRA services
- They offered storage options through Brinks Global Services
- They communicated via phone and email
Fortress Gold Group Pros
- They help customers open a precious metals IRA through rollover or transfer
- Brinks Global Services was there storage provider
- They shipped their products quickly
Fortress Gold Cons
- The company does not accept new clients at this time
- Their website currently isn’t operational
- They did not offer palladium or platinum investment opportunities at Fortress Gold Group
Companies Similar to Fortress:
Here are some companies that share some of the same traits. Please read their reviews if you are interested in comparing how companies work. Visit the Rosland Capital review, Zaner Precious Metals, and Red Reck Secured’s review for more information.
Final Thoughts
Is it wise to do business with Fortress Gold Group? Absolutely not. For starters, the company isn’t even operational at the time. Their website isn’t open to use and they are currently avoiding accepting new clients.
Regardless, even if they were still operating at full capacity today, I would suggest moving on to other precious metals companies because there are better options to choose from out there right now.
About Arthur Karter
Hi, I’m Arthur, and nobody wants to wake up in their 50s like me that they are in serious debt with minimal assets. This wake-up call forced me to reevaluate everything. After going through the school of Hard Knocks, I’m ready to help you by sharing the best retirement choices and how they differ from all the same-old, same-old options that financial advisors sell. These alternatives will help you build and protect your wealth.
