The Verdict, in Brief.
Firm History & Standing.
Founded 2012 by Isaac Nuriani, who still runs the firm. Headquartered in Beverly Hills with operations in Casper, Wyoming. No parent company, no private-equity exit. Founder-held ownership is rare in this sector and shows in the service continuity.
The Fee Schedule.
Flat tier-based pricing. the most transparent schedule in the category. No separate line items for custody, storage, insurance, or administration. The full schedule is written into the client services agreement and printed in the pre-account kit.
Custody & Service.
Storage runs exclusively through Delaware Depository. Class 3 vault, Lloyd's of London insurance, annual external audit. Segregated and commingled both available; roughly 70% of Augusta clients choose segregated, more than at any peer. Each account is assigned a named analyst. Harvard-trained economist Devlyn Steele or one of two senior colleagues. and that relationship lasts the life of the account.
Buy-back & Liquidity.
Buy-back is contractual, not verbal. Augusta repurchases at spot with zero discount, within five business days of written instruction. Most competitors offer a website promise; Augusta puts it in the agreement.
Reservations.
The $50,000 minimum is the highest among firms we recommend without qualification. Smaller allocators should look at Birch (Nº 05) or American Hartford Gold (Nº 02). Augusta does not sell cash bullion. only IRA-held metal. New accounts currently carry a two-week queue; the firm caps intake to keep service density high.
Who Augusta is For.
The $50,000-plus allocator rolling pre-tax retirement capital into physical gold, who cares more about fee transparency and a named analyst's direct line than the lowest possible entry price. For that allocator, Augusta is the answer.