Welcome to my Miles Franklin Review.
(UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2023)
If you are looking to jump into precious metals in 2023, you need to find a reliable and good firm to help you with that.
Is Miles Franklin the one you are looking for? What are its products and services? Is legit or a scam?
This Miles Franklin Review will answer all of those questions for you. Without further ado, let's get started.
If you do wish to save time and get to know our top-recommended precious metals company, click here!
Miles Franklin Review Quick Summary
Name: Miles Franklin
Founders: David and Andy Schectman
Price: Varies depending on your investments
Rating: 3/5
What is Miles Franklin?
Miles Franklin is a precious metals investment company and firm that aims to help its clients in starting their precious metal IRAs.
It was founded by the father/son duo, David and Andy Schectman in 1989. Miles Franklin is headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota.
The company specializes in providing various precious metals including gold, silver, platinum and palladium.
Miles Franklin Review: Management Team
Andy Schectman joined the company in 1989 and became the president and owner of Miles Franklin Ltd. Since then, he has been developing strategies that helped the company achieve its $5 billion worth of sales.
Andy has a customer-oriented approach which provided the company a reputation of being trustworthy and dependable. Moreover, he personally oversees various company operations such as the finance, accounting management, strategy and planning, as well as new businesses.
Meanwhile, David Schectman is the company's Chief Executive Officer. His interest in precious metals began after he graduated from college.
Since then, he has been training hundreds of brokers in the precious metals industry and assets management.
Miles Franklin Review: Products
Miles Franklin's products include gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins and bars. Moreover, it also offers IRA-eligible precious metals and numismatic gold options.
There are also products from various well-known mints such as the United States Mint, Perth Mint and Royal Canadian Mint.
Some of the products that are offered are the following:
- Gold Australian Kangaroo 1 oz.
- Royal Canadian Mint 1 oz. Platinum Maple Leaf
- Gold American Buffalo 1 oz.
- Pamp Suisse 1 oz. Platinum bar
- Royal Canadian Gold Mint 1 oz.
How to purchase from Miles Franklin?
Unfortunately, unlike other companies, Miles Franklin does not allow its clients to transact online.
If you wish to know the price of their products or make an order, you must call them at their phone numbers which you can find on their site.
Miles Franklin Review: Payment Methods
Miles Franklin accepts multiple payment methods including:
- Bank wire
- Cashier's check
- Certified check
- Personal check
- Money order
For the certified, cashier's and personal check, Miles Franklin will hold them for 7 business days. Moreover, the company recommends bank wire payments because they can arrive to your account quickly.
When orders are placed, Miles Franklin will send you bank wire instructions, containing all of the information that your bank or brokerage will need to complete the bank wire.
Furthermore, you must ensure that your payment is received by the company within 5 business days. Miles Franklin has the right to cancel orders if you fail to follow this.
Miles Franklin Review: Shipping
Most orders from Miles Franklin are shipped via UPS and some via USPS. All of the packages are fully insured and require signature upon delivery.
As for the shipping charges, domestic shipping and insurances are free for all precious metal orders of 10 ounces or more, of gold, platinum or palladium.
Furthermore, domestic shipping and insurance are also free for silver orders that are 500 ounces or more.
On the other hand, orders below the stated requirements will have to pay for a flat rate of shipping and insurance fee of $15.
Miles Franklin Review: IRA Services
Apart from providing precious metals, Miles Franklin also offers IRA services through its partnership with New Direction IRA.
Together, they provide clients an easier way to move their funds from existing retirement accounts and purchase precious metals and store them for their self-directed IRAs.
How to start an IRA?
Here are the following steps that you need to do to begin and complete the process of starting a precious metals IRA with Miles Franklin and New Direction IRA.
- Fill up and submit the IRA application form to created your self-directed IRA.
- Complete the necessary forms to transfer or rollover your funds from existing accounts to your new self-directed IRA.
- Purchase IRA-eligible precious metals from Miles Franklin.
- Direct your funds and precious metals to be delivered from Miles Franklin to New Direction IRA.
- Once the precious metals are received, they will be delivered to your chosen depository for the storage services.
Miles Franklin also has its own partners who will provide the storage and depository services. More on this later on.
IRA Fees and Costs
Below are the IRA fee schedule of New Direction IRA.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION FEES
- Flat rate of $75 for accounts under $100,000 of total value.
- Flat rate of $125 for accounts at or above $100,000 of total value.
PROCESSING FEES
- IRA Set-up fee - $50 one-time fee
- Transaction fee- $40
- Movement of funds fees
- Cashier’s or Other Official Bank Check - $25
- Overnight Mail - $30
- Wire Transfer - $25
- International Wire Transfer - $40
- Returned Item or Stop Payment Request - $30
- ACH Transfer, Trust Check - $ 5
- Other fees
- Annual statements received by mail - $10
- ROTH Conversion or Recharacterization - $75
- Late Fee - $25/month
- Special Services -$150/hour
- Transfers Out, Partial Distribution or Full Distribution (0.5% of the value)
- Minimum of $25
- Maximum fee of $95
IRA Payment Methods
Currently, New Direction IRA only accepts two kinds of payments for their services:
- Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard and Discover)
- Funds from your account
Miles Franklin Review: Private Storage Services
Miles Franklin offers two kinds of storage services for precious metals through its partner, Brinks.
The first one is the Miles Franklin Storage Program which provides clients a full segregated storage for their precious metals. This means that your metals are labeled and sealed in a box. Moreover, they are audited.
Miles Franklin vaults with Brinks are available in Montreal, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Miami, Salt Lake City and New York.
The second storage service are the Private Safe Deposit Boxes in which clients can have their precious metals and/or cash to be stored in Brink's Vancouver or Toronto insured safety deposit boxes.
These boxes and sealed and only YOU have the access to their keys. Moreover, these boxes will be stored in Brink's vaults.
Miles Franklin Review: FAQs
Is there a minimum order?
No. Miles Franklin does not have any minimum order.
Is there a maximum order?
No. But Miles Franklin will require a deposit for large orders before they accept the orders and confirm their price.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, however there may be some restrictions that will be applied. To find out, you need to contact a Miles Franklin representative and provide an international address and a zip code.
Can I cancel my order?
Miles Franklin has stated that once you receive an order number, your order is 100% confirmed.
Luckily, they do acknowledge that there will be times that you really need to cancel your orders. To do so, you need to request the cancellation during the normal business hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm CST Monday through Friday.
Moreover, you have to make sure that you speak with a Miles Franklin team member to confirm the cancellation.
Moreover, you have to take note that if Miles Franklin will get a market loss due to your cancellation, the company will send you an invoice which you need to pay in full amount within 7 business days.
Failure to do so, you will be unable to purchase any orders from the company until you pay it in full.
Can I sell to Miles Franklin?
Yes of course you can. You simply need to give them a call and notify them that you are interested in selling precious metals.
Once confirmed, you need to ship the metals to them. You will be given instructions to do so.
When they receive the products, your payment will be sent within 3 to 5 business days.
Can I buy from somewhere else and still get Miles Franklin storage services?
Yes of course you can. This is also what makes Miles Franklin somewhat different from its competition.
Miles Franklin Reviews and Ratings
(September 2023 Update)
At the time of writing this Miles Franklin Review, I found the following online ratings and reviews of the company. Overall, the company has good ratings.
- BBB - 4.2.5 out of 5 rating, A+ rating, BBB accredited, 4 reviews, 0 complaints
- BCA - CC rating 5-star rating based on 2 reviews
- Trustpilot - 3.7 out of 5 rating based on 1 review
- Yelp - 4 out of 5 rating based on 4 reviews
- Facebook - 4.8 out of 5 rating based on 31 reviews
However, the sample size like the number of reviews it received is quite low compared to its competitors.
Companies like Goldco garnered excellent ratings and thousands of reviews from clients and investors.
If you are the type of person who really values these stuff, then maybe you can check out Goldco.
Miles Franklin Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Is Miles Franklin a scam?
Let's conclude this Miles Franklin Review with an answer to this question.
Miles Franklin is not a scam. It is a genuine and legitimate company that offers good products and services.
Moreover, it has been in the industry for a long time already. The only downside it has is that clients cannot order online and the company lacks ratings and reviews, if we compare it to its competitors.
Nevertheless, it is still up to you whether you should engage with Miles Franklin with your investments or not.
If you want to know my top recommendation, you can check it out below.
Thank you so much for reading my Miles Franklin Review! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section!