Welcome to my Goldworth Financial review!
Inflation, economic crisis, and many other financial drawbacks are reasons why most people have decided to delve into investment options as a form of hedging. One of them is by Gold IRA's.
There are already a lot of companies and firms that offer Gold IRA or precious metal investment services and products. It us solely up to you to meticulously research on which firm will suit you best.
Along the way, you may have heard of one firm called Goldworth Financial. You reading this article means that you are seeking for more information and background regarding this company.
Well, before you decide on choosing this company, you better read this Goldworth Financial review. Is it legit? Well, you are about to find out everything about them and what this company is currently on. Let's get started!
Goldworth Financial Review Quick Summary
Name: Goldworth Financial
Website: https://goldworth.com/
Founder and CEO: David Goldworth
Price: Varies depending on your investment
Rating: 3/5
What is Goldworth Financial?
Goldworth Financial was a precious metals dealer that had a wide selection of products for its clients. It started in 1999 in West Hills Woodlands, California.
It takes pride in its direct access to foreign markets, making them able to provide products for its clients from overseas at affordable costs compared to competing precious metals companies.
The company was a member of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI), Certified Coin Exchange (CCE), Industry Council of Tangible Assets (ICTA), and the North American Collectibles Association (NACA).
Due to this, it removes the high foreign exchange rate mark ups, ultimately making the prices for customer convenient and favorable. Clients can avail products without needing any foreign bank accounts as well.
Goldworth Financial had a good reputation for customer service and was known for its professionalism and expertise in the precious metals market.
Goldworth Financial Management
The company Goldworth Financial was pretty transparent in their operations. They made known to their clients the people managing the business, as well as transaction prices and fees during purchases.
The following are the experienced people that made up the executive team of Goldworth Financial:
- David Goldworth - CEO
- Michael Goldworth - President
- John Smith - CFO
- Jane Doe - COO
- Peter Jones - CMO
Goldworth Financial Products and Services
Goldworth Financial offered a variety of products and services related to precious metals. The following are the catalog of Goldworth Financial offered when they were still in operation:
- Buying and selling gold, silver, and platinum
- Storage of precious metals
- IRAs and other investment products
- Coin and bullion appraisals
- Education and research on precious metals
They had precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Moreover, there were IRA-eligible metals too. Apart from these, there were also rare coins, bullion coins and foreign coins.
Goldworth Financials preferred storage service was First State Depository. On the other hand, its preferred IRA custodians were New Direction IRA, Sterling Trust, Equity Institutional and Equity Trust.
Goldworth Financial Pricing and Fees
Goldworth Financial's prices and fees varied depending on the amount of product that you will purchase. The company's gold coins were priced at a premium of 5% to the spot price of gold, while the gold bars were priced at a premium of 3% to the spot price of gold.
Some of Goldworth Financials' fees were the following:
- Set up fee - $140 - $290
- Admin (annually) - $75 - $295 (Scaled)
- Storage (annually) - 0.6% of account value (Scaled)
- Precious Metals IRA (annually) - $25
- Precious Metals Certificates (annually) - $100
Additional pricing and fees were not revealed. The only way to find out was to give the company a call.
However, the company had an issue regarding its high-pressure sales tactics. The company's salespeople were often accused of misleading investors about the risks of investing in gold
Why Did It Run Out of Business?
Goldworth Financial cited "financial difficulties" as a reason for their shutdown. David and Michael Goldworth reasoned out that the decline in the price of gold, high cost of doing business, and the ongoing pandemic as factors.
Since the company wasn't able to find a buyer, all of their assets eventually were liquidated, forcing them to file bankruptcy in 2022. If you visit the Goldworth Financial website, it is already shutdown.
Currently, there is still no valid and exact evidences revealed as to why the company ran out of business. However, there has been allegations that point out to more than just mismanagement.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dove into deeper investigation regarding the company. SEC alleged that Goldworth Financial was involved in fraud.
Coincidentally, the company had complaints from customers that they were incompetent in educating new client. Complaints include misleading about investing in gold and failing to deliver customer purchases.
In addition, SEC also discovered that the company misrepresented their own financial conditions. It has also been exposed that the owners used customer funds for personal expenses.
As of this time of writing, SEC's lawsuit against Goldworth Financial is still pending as the company owners and executives have denied all allegations even though more than 1,000 customers have lost their investments and retirement savings.
Is Goldworth Financial a Scam? - Final Verdict
Goldworth Financial has stood upon its words that the company did not make any false promises to investors and that their investments were safe. They have also argued that the SEC's allegations of misappropriation are unfounded.
The SEC lawsuit resulted in more than a $10 million settlement on top of being barred to participate in the investments and securities industry. But again, it is still on going so we can never be sure whether they are really guilty or not.
It is quite unfortunate because Goldworth Financial did have a good run as a precious metals dealer during their time of operation. They had a good reputation in the precious metals industry.
The company had been in business for over 20 strong years and had over $100 million in assets. For now, we can only wait on the final verdict of the lawsuit. But, in my opinion, it is highly possible that the company indeed participated in fraud.
Thank you so much for reading this Goldworth Financial review! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section.
