Lear Capital vs American Hartford Gold: Head-to-Head Comparison

Same published threshold, different disclosure completeness

Lear’s non-segregated/electronic-statement example is $315 first year and $235 later; its segregated example is $365 first year and $285 later. Those figures provide two concrete arrangements to compare with AHG’s account-specific quote. Do not choose the lower Lear figure if the buyer is selecting different paperwork options.

For AHG, ask whether gold versus silver changes storage billing, which asset value is used, and whether the charge has minimums or tiers. For Lear, confirm the storage and statement checkboxes and any activity charges outside the published opening lines. Unknown AHG charges prevent a factual low-cost verdict rather than counting as savings.

Lear December 17, 2025 fee disclosure · Lear account-option FAQ · American Hartford Gold IRA FAQ · AHG custody and fee questions

What the selected custody and exit documents must resolve

Use the same bullion product and quantity for dealer pricing, then compare one chosen exit. A lower account invoice can be offset by a wider executable buy/sell gap. Neither company’s published minimum or educational FAQ guarantees service timing, suitability or investment returns.

Use a three-party document check: the dealer’s invoice establishes the item, quantity and purchase price; the custodian’s agreement establishes account administration and reporting; the depository arrangement establishes inventory, storage and delivery. The SEC warns that self-directed IRA custody does not itself evaluate an investment’s quality or legitimacy. These checks cannot be replaced by a provider rating or the fact that an account administrator accepts the asset.

When both entry thresholds are met, request the two written proposals at the same timestamp and retain the product quantities. Lear’s disclosed option conditions should be recorded beside AHG’s selected balance and metal mix. Then list recurring account charges separately from the product bid. This reveals whether an apparent saving came from a smaller metal quantity, a different product or an account option rather than a genuinely comparable bill.

SEC self-directed IRA alert (reviewed October 12, 2026)

A same-product comparison you can reproduce

Ask Lear Capital and American Hartford Gold for the same eligible coin or bar, quantity, reference-price time and quote expiry. Request an executable same-day repurchase bid separately. Record each purchase price, bid, opening charges, yearly custody/storage and the single exit you intend to compare. Do not add every possible exit fee to one scenario, and do not subtract a sale deduction twice if it is already included in the bid.

For an illustration only, a $10,500 purchase quote and $9,800 same-day bid produce a $700 purchase-to-bid gap. Dividing $700 by the $10,500 purchase price gives 6.67%, rounded; it is not 7% of the purchase price. These invented quotes are not either company’s prices, a typical spread or a forecast. The gap tells you what the quoted transaction would cost immediately, not what gold will return over a holding period.

CFTC/FINRA precious-metals buyer guidance (reviewed October 12, 2026) · IRS IRA investment FAQs (reviewed October 12, 2026)

• For Lear Capital: Lower FAQ total is conditional on electronic statements and non-segregated storage.
• For American Hartford Gold: No complete numeric fee schedule in the reviewed sources.
• Put the named billing party and charge-change provision beside every account line.
• Obtain the exact product’s written IRA eligibility confirmation before ordering.