Less than half of 1% of people invest in gold — and according to Brandon Thor, CEO of Thor Metals Group, that’s not an accident. In this episode of Yo Quiero Dinero, we’re pulling back the curtain on precious metals investing: what it actually is, why the banks and financial institutions don’t want you in it, and how to get started if you’re ready to diversify beyond stocks and bonds.
Listen in:
Why You’ve Never Heard of This (On Purpose)
Here’s something that might make you a little annoyed: the reason most people don’t know about precious metals investing isn’t because it’s complicated. It’s because the people who benefit from you NOT investing in gold have done a very good job of making sure you stay in the dark.
Think about it. Banks make money when your cash sits in their accounts — through fractional banking, they can lend it out many times over. Financial advisors make AUM fees on everything you have under their management. And the US government? They’d love for you to keep your wealth in dollars so they can keep printing more of them.
“If you invest in gold and silver, you have to take that wealth from somewhere. So the banking system does not want you to invest in physical gold and silver. He doesn’t want you in it. The United States government, they would love you to put your wealth in these IOUs.” — Brandon Thor
When three of the most powerful financial forces in the world don’t want you invested in something — that’s worth paying attention to. Gold has an intentional PR problem, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
So What Actually Is a Precious Metals IRA?
Most retirement accounts — your 401k, your traditional IRA, your Roth — only let you own paper assets. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds. That’s it. But there’s a specific type of IRA called a self-directed IRA, and it opens the door to alternative assets: physical real estate, physical gold, physical silver.
A self-directed IRA is not held at Fidelity or Morgan Stanley. It requires a custodian that rents space at an approved facility — like Brinks or the Delaware Depository — specifically to store physical metals on behalf of their clients. That’s why your current IRA almost certainly doesn’t have this option.
“The vast majority of retirement plans — 99.9% of them — only allow you to own paper assets. A self-directed IRA gives you the ability to own alternative assets like physical real estate and physical bullion.” — Brandon Thor
The fees are also surprisingly low. We’re talking about roughly $125/year to keep the account open and $100/year to store your metals. That’s $225/year flat, regardless of your account size — compared to the percentage-based AUM fees you’re likely paying right now.
Physical Gold vs. Paper Gold: Why the Difference Matters
You might be thinking — can’t I just buy IAUM or GLD in my regular brokerage account and get exposure to gold that way? Technically yes. But Brandon breaks down why that misses the whole point.
GLD, for example, is a managed fund run by HSBC Bank. It’s highly leveraged and tied to the gold price through paper shares. The problem? If a major banking event occurred — say, HSBC collapsed — you’d be holding worthless paper at the exact moment gold was going through the roof.
“One of the biggest benefits of owning precious metals is eliminating counterparty risk — cutting off as many middlemen between you and your wealth. When you own paper versions like GLD, you’re missing out on one of the biggest benefits.” — Brandon Thor
Physical gold is yours. No bank holding it. No fund manager making decisions. No counterparty that can fail. You acquire it, it’s in an approved facility in your name, and it’s there when you need it.
How the Process Actually Works
Here’s the part that surprises most people: getting started is not that complicated.
If you want to add gold to an IRA, you open a self-directed IRA with a custodian equipped to handle physical metals. The application takes about 10 minutes. Then you roll over funds from an existing retirement account — which takes about a week to process (your current custodian will drag their feet, fair warning). Once the funds are in, you work with a dealer like Thor Metals Group to select your metals — everything needs to be 99% pure — and the metal gets shipped directly to the approved storage facility, where it’s x-rayed, verified, and stored on your behalf.
Total timeline from decision to acquisition? About two weeks.
Outside of the retirement account system, it’s even simpler. You send a bank wire, and the physical gold and silver gets shipped directly to you. Brandon notes that about $1.5 million in gold fits in a women’s shoebox — so this is not the movie scenario you’re picturing.
Who Is This Investment For (And Who Isn’t It For)?
Brandon is clear that precious metals aren’t for everyone — and specifically not for money you might need liquid in the next few months. The ideal time horizon is 3-5 years. Think of it less like a stock pick and more like real estate: you buy it, you hold it, you let it do its thing.
His sweet spot recommendation for getting started is $20,000. That gives you enough to build a diversified metals portfolio and actually feel the market move.
“Look at your finances and see — is this money I’m going to need liquid to pay a mortgage in two months? Or is this money that’s still going to be in the bank in the next couple of years? If the answer is B, it’s a good candidate for gold and silver.” — Brandon Thor
Precious metals don’t produce income the way dividend stocks do. They’re a store of value and a hedge against inflation, dollar devaluation, and systemic financial risk — not a cash-flow play. Keep that in mind as you think about where they fit in your overall strategy.
The 10-Year Outlook (And Why Brandon Is Concerned)
The future outlook for precious metals is something Brandon is deeply passionate about — and genuinely concerned by.
His biggest worry isn’t that investors will miss out on price appreciation. It’s that access to the physical metals market will become drastically limited or disappear entirely. Central banks across the world — China, in particular — are buying and hoarding gold at record levels and not putting it back on the market. With a static supply and institutional buyers accumulating aggressively, Brandon believes there will come a point where getting your hands on physical gold becomes very difficult.
“You can’t print gold. You can’t print silver. And the biggest buyers of gold and silver are entities that are not sellers. They’re hoarders. I do see a time in the next 10 years where your access to the precious metals market is going to be either drastically limited or obsolete.” — Brandon Thor
Add in a weakening dollar, a national debt that has ballooned past $39 trillion, a money supply that has quadrupled in the last six years, and ongoing global instability — and the case for getting in now becomes a lot harder to dismiss.
How to Choose a Legit Company
Because the industry has a reputation problem — and because unscrupulous dealers have taken advantage of uninformed investors — Brandon offers a simple framework for vetting any precious metals company:
Stick to the beaten path. American Eagles (minted by the US Mint), Maple Leafs (Canadian Mint), standard bars, and rounds. If you Google a coin and can’t find it listed on a thousand dealer websites, don’t buy it. If the price is significantly above the spot price of gold or silver, walk away.
The mistakes people make in this industry almost always trace back to the same thing: going off the beaten path because someone sold them on something obscure. Stay standard, stay simple, stay safe.
Episode Takeaways:
- A self-directed IRA is not just for the ultra-wealthy. It’s an IRA available to anyone that lets you own physical gold, silver, and other alternative assets — not just stocks and bonds. Fees are flat and low (~$225/year regardless of account size).
- Physical gold eliminates counterparty risk. Paper gold products like GLD tie your wealth to a bank. If that bank fails, so does your “gold.” Physical gold belongs to you, full stop.
- The gatekeeping is intentional. Banks, financial advisors, and the government all benefit from you NOT investing in physical precious metals. The lack of accessible education on this topic is not a coincidence.
- The ideal entry point is $20,000 with a 3-5 year horizon. This isn’t your emergency fund or money you’ll need in the next few months. It’s wealth you’re storing and letting appreciate over time.
- Central banks are hoarding gold at record levels. When the world’s most sophisticated institutional investors are accumulating an asset that retail investors are largely ignoring, that asymmetry is worth paying attention to.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- Thor Metals Group — Connect with Brandon and get your free precious metals guide
Connect with Brandon Thor
Watch the Full Episode:
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Until next time, stay empowered, stay inspired and #StayPoderosa ✨
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