With over five decades of experience in the precious metals industry, Monex offers a wide range of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products for investors.
We’ll explore their products, fees, and customer reviews to help you decide if Monex is the right choice for your investment needs.
Whether you’re new to precious metals investing or looking to diversify your portfolio, this review will provide valuable insights into Monex and whether it’s a suitable option for you.
What is Monex?
Monex is a bullion dealer based in Newport Beach, California. The company has been in business since 1970 and has seen multiple generations.
Their office is located at 4910 Birch Street, Newport Beach, CA 92660-2113. Similarly, their contact number is 1800-997-7859.
Since their inception, Monex has come a long way and is now a highly prominent firm in the precious metals industry. The company offers gold, silver, platinum and palladium products to investors.
Also, the firm allows consumers to open precious metals IRAs and assists them with the whole process. They have a team of specialists at the ready to help clients open gold IRAs.
Monex offers many free resources to consumers so they can familiarize themselves with the industry as well.
Find the Best Rated Gold IRA Company of your State
The following Monex review will give you a deeper insight into the company’s products, features and more:
People Behind Monex Precious Metals
Monex was founded by Louis E. Carabini, an Economics graduate, who opened his first coin shop in Long Beach, in 1967.
He launched the company when the US was changing how it made coinage. Noticing an opportunity, Carabini bought $1,000 of silver quarters and launched Monex.
His family opened the firm after Louis Carabini had run the company for over 20 years. They officially incorporated it in 1987 and since then, the company has seen 3 generations of owners.
Currently, Louis Carabini runs this company with his son Michael and Michael’s two daughters. Over 25 employees of the firm have been working at Monex enterprises for more than 25 years.
How to Invest with Monex
If you’re interested in investing with Monex, you just have to follow these three steps:
Step #1:
Contact the company. You can sign up for their free reports and get a call back from their representatives or call on their 1800 number.
Signing up with Monex will surely give you access to their numerous free resources.
Step #2:
Once you have signed up with them, an Account Representative will get in touch with you. The representative will help you understand how you can invest in precious metals and how can use the provided free resources to your advantage.
Monex states that their account representatives assist their customers in planning their personal investment strategies.
Step #3:
After discussing your financial requirements and goals with the representative, you can begin investing in your precious metals IRA.
Keep in mind that Monex doesn’t specialize in just offering gold IRAs to customers. Instead, they primarily sell precious metals to customers who are looking for new wealth preservation avenues.
If you’re only interested in setting up a gold IRA, the process would be a bit more tricky. The company requires you to go through a custodian and incur the charges of the third-party custodian as well.
That’s it.
By following just these 3 steps, you can start investing with Monex Deposit Company.
Monex Products
Monex has a substantial collection of gold, silver, platinum and palladium products. You would find some of the most popular IRA-eligible coins in their collection including Austrian Philharmonic and American Gold Eagle.
Their collection includes plenty of non-IRA precious metals as well so be extremely cautious when purchasing from Monex.
Here is a brief overview of the IRA products available with this firm:
Gold IRA Products:
Although Monex has a large selection of gold products in its catalog, the number of IRA-eligible coins and bars is rather small.
You only get to choose from these products:
- Gold American Eagle
- Gold Vienna Philharmonics
- Gold Canadian Maple Leaf
- Gold American Buffalo
- 1kg Gold Bar
- 10 oz Gold Bar
Furthermore, popular coins are available in multiple sizes. For example, Gold Canadian Maple Leaf is available in 1 oz, ¼ oz, and 1/10 oz sizes.
Silver IRA Products:
The collection of IRA-eligible silver products at Monex is similar to that of their selection of gold products. Here are the coins and bars available:
- Silver American Eagles
- Silver Vienna Philharmonics
- Silver Canadian Maple Leaf
- 100 oz Silver Bar
- 1000 oz Silver Bar
Popular bullion silver coins are available in multiple sizes as well.
Platinum IRA Products:
At Monex, they offer the following 3 platinum products:
- Platinum American Eagle
- Platinum Canadian Maple Leaf
- 10 oz Platinum Bars
Palladium IRA Products:
Monex offers 2 palladium products to consumers:
- Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf
- 10 oz Palladium Bars
One of the prominent highlights of this product selection is that Monex offers platinum and palladium products to its customers too. You wouldn’t find many gold IRA providers that offer these precious metals.
Furthermore, both platinum and palladium help you add more diversity to your portfolio and could be a great investment for many.
Still, I must add that the lack of proper pricing information can be a deterrence for some investors.
While Monex doesn’t hesitate to share the current prices of the metal, they don’t share the individual prices of the products they might charge.
Monex Fees and Prices
Unlike the prominent gold IRA providers of the industry, Monex focuses on following a sliding fee structure.
In a sliding fee structure, how much you pay depends on the size of your investment. So, while the fees are variable for every investor.
For people who are looking to make small investments in precious metals, this sliding fee structure might be great. However, it’s definitely not suitable for customers who are interested in making larger investments.
Because your charges will be proportional to the size of your investment, it would be detrimental to invest large sums.
Similarly, Monex shares no information regarding their minimum investment requirement. To find out their fees and minimum investment requirement, consumers would have to get in touch with their representatives.
Additional Facts About Monex
Here are some highlights of Monex which make it stand out from the rest of the competition:
IRA Custodians and Storage:
Unlike other prominent gold IRA providers (like Augusta or Preserve Gold), Monex does not share any information about its custodians.
To find out which IRA custodians they work with, you would need to contact them directly. This is a huge drawback because it doesn’t help you determine whether they work with your preferred custodian or not.
Choosing the right custodian is important because a significant portion of your fees would depend on which custodian you go with.
Different IRA custodians have different fees which is why it’s crucial to find the one who matches your financial requirements. Similarly, Monex Deposit Company shares no information about its storage facilities.
They don’t share any details about their storage partners or which storage locations they have.
Keep in mind that IRS rules prohibit investors from storing their IRA’s precious metals at home. You must store your IRA’s precious metals at an IRS-approved vault.
Moreover, your fee would depend on the storage you choose. Preventing consumers from learning this vital information damages the company’s trustworthiness.
“How To” Guides and Reports:
If you’re new to precious metals investing, Monex has a large selection of free resources.
They have dedicated “How To” guides covering how you can buy precious metals from the company, start a gold IRA and invest further.
These guides help simplify the investing process for new investors.
Apart from these simple guides, the company offers multiple free reports related to various precious metals. You can get a free report on the precious metal of your choosing such as gold, silver or platinum.
Certainly, Monex has put in a lot of effort towards helping clients learn more about precious metals.
Large Video Library:
Monex has an active YouTube channel where they post new videos regularly. Furthermore, the company’s website has a dedicated video library which covers many topics in detail.
At the time of writing this Monex review, some of the latest videos present in their library are:
- Inflation’s Impact on Gold
- Precious Gold vs ETFs
- Precious Metals Going Into 2021
Video content has been increasingly popular and Monex has adapted according to the market.
If you don’t like reading, you might certainly enjoy this collection.
Monex Reviews and Complaints
Being the oldest precious metals company does have its benefits. One of them is having a strong brand and thousands of client reviews.
The company has received 2000+ reviews across multiple consumer platforms. However, not all of them paint a good picture.
The company is listed on almost all of the popular consumer review platforms including BBB, BCA, TrustLink and Trustplot. Here is a detailed overview of the Monex reviews online:
Monex BBB:
On BBB, Monex Precious Metals has an A rating and a 1 out of 5-stars rating based on customer reviews.
The Better Business Bureau has released an alert for the company regarding CFTC’s actions against the firm for suspected fraudulent practices.
Also, the platform highlights that the company has closed 6 complaints in the last 3 years, 2 of them within the last 12 months.
Monex Trustpilot:
On Trustpilot, there are 2600+ Monex reviews available. This is one of the highest number of reviews available on a precious metals IRA provider.
Moreover, 88% of the reviews present on the Monex Trustpilot page give the company 5 out of 5-stars. Only 2% of their Trustpilot reviews give them 1 out of 5-stars.
Reviews on this platform praise their customer support and professionalism. Apart from customer support, a lot of the reviewers were happy with the company’s focus on client education as well. I found plenty of reviewers thanking their account representatives for helping them invest in precious metals.
For example, James shares that his account representative helped him learn more about precious metals. He adds that the representative also helped him become more knowledgeable about the gold IRA. James thanks the company for their honesty and education.
Are There Any Monex Complaints? Should You Be Concerned?
While looking into the reviews of this company, I found several Monex complaints. Most of them were regarding the recent lawsuit they are facing from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The lawsuit has been a huge blow to the company’s reputation and goodwill.
Is Monex Deposit Company Legit?
Pros:
- Over 5 decades of experience
- Offer platinum and palladium investments alongside gold and silver
- Large video library
- Free resources and guides
Cons:
- Mixed reviews online
Monex Deposit Company is the oldest precious metals dealer in the industry. They have been operating for over 5 decades and have become a household name.
The company offers a large selection of gold, silver, platinum and palladium products. Furthermore, they have a unique video library and they upload new videos regularly.
Furthermore, you can find many popular coins in their collection such as American Gold Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf and American Buffalo. Many of their reviews praise the firm for their added focus on client education.
The company posts videos regularly and they cover the latest relevant topics including inflation, global economy, precious metals and IRAs. These resources can be of great help for many novice investors.
They are one of the few gold IRA companies which follow a sliding fee structure. While this fee structure is good for small investments, it can be a downside for consumers with larger investments.
Still, the recent Monex lawsuit prevents me from recommending them as a suitable gold IRA company. Hopefully, things will change in the future but until then, I don’t think they are a good fit for most investors.
A gold IRA can give you a lot of peace of mind. It lets you hedge against economic downturn and can play a huge role in wealth preservation.
However, you should be extremely cautious when choosing a gold IRA provider. There are a ton of options in the industry and they all vary greatly.
That’s why it’s best to check out several gold IRA providers before going with one. It would help you get a deeper understanding of the market and know what the industry has to offer.
If you’re interested, you can check out the best gold IRA companies of 2023 on IRAEmpire.
Have you dealt with Monex? How was your experience? Share it below!