Monex Precious Metals Review

Who is Monex Precious Metals?

Monex Precious Metals is an investment firm owned by the Carabinis since 1973, which was eventually incorporated 14 years after its inception. At present, it is managed by Louis, Micheal and Christina Carabini. These are three generations of the Carabinis that continue to operate the company and maintain its high level of service ever since it started business.

Although it was in 1973 when the company was first established, the founder, Louis Carabini has been engaged in precious metal investments since 1967. He entered the trading of pre-1933 gold coins and pre-1965 silver coins.

During that time, the company was first called the Pacific Coast Coin Exchange. Now, it is known as Monex, which is considered as the country’s trusted and long-standing gold dealer. It also branched out in handling other firms such as the Monex Credit Company and the Monex Deposit Company.

What Does Monex Offer?

Monex offers DVDs, seminars and other tools relevant to investments in precious metals. They also provide live pricing of products, which guide investors before buying and selling their preferred choice of metals.

However, there is still a need to learn more about precious metals investing to be guided accordingly, instead of just allowing the information provided to impact your decision-making process.

Among the other products offered by Monex to investors include gold and silver IRAs, as well as the purchase of IRS-approved metals that can be added to those accounts.

Things To Like About Monex

The Monex website offers comprehensive information to potential and existing clients regarding precious metals investing. For instance, its website provides details on the benefits of opening an IRA account and how it can preserve your wealth.

Although Monex is not an IRA custodian, the company has partnerships with reputable custodians that it recommends to clients. This way, investors can select the right IRA firm that will support them with their goals and particular needs.

Monex also features a video library that serves as supplementary sources of information to investors. Here, you can find recent interviews and stories from experts in the precious metals market, which can be beneficial to first-timers in this business.

This firm also features the Atlas Account program, which gives members a chance to take advantage of discounted prices.  The program is a unique and powerful way of acquiring precious metals using investment leverage with the added safekeeping security of independent depository storage.

In addition to all this, the company walks every client through the different processes involved in storing, receiving and ordering their precious metals bought from their website.

Things NOT To Like About Monex

Monex is not an IRA custodian and only serves as a marketplace for buying and selling precious metals including gold. While the company may provide IRA investment options to its clients, the names of these third-party custodians are not found on their website.

As a result, you will not be able to compare the features and pricing information with the custodians partnered with them. It is also likely that the custodians affiliated with the company charge scaling annual fees which increases your cost as the value of your account increases.

Furthermore, there have been a significant number of complaints filed against Monex with the Better Business Bureau and Ripoff Report. It seems to be a regular occurrence as they were targeted by federal regulators in 1974 for fraudulently inducing their clients to purchase coins and other commodities on margin.

Rankings, Complaints and Customer Reviews

Better Business Bureau (BBB)

The company has a rating of A+ from the Better Business Bureau. There were 9 complaints filed in the last 3 years, and 4 of these were closed in the last 12 months.

These complaints included advertising and sales issues, delivery problems and billing or collection concerns. Some customers also were dissatisfied with the company’s products and services (read more).

Business Consumer Alliance (BCA)

AAA

Monex has a rating of AAA from the Business Consumer Alliance. However, there were customers who claim to have purchased products from the company due to the advice of its account representatives. Later on, though, they suffered from substantial losses because of misdirection.

Others were not pleased by the staff’s failure to comply with their instructions when it comes to applying certain funds to their investment. There were also some issues with poor communication and lack of information given to clients (read more).

TrustLink

Based on 40 reviews

Based on 40 reviews by customers on TrustLink, Monex was rated with 4 out of 5 stars. Several investors were impressed by the professional service of the company, while others were dissatisfied about the rates of products offered.

Ripoff Report

There were 6 complaints filed against Monex at Ripoff Report, and these were from 2004 to 2014. The complaints were mostly about the customers’ negative experiences with the company’s staff.

Monex Precious Metals Review – Final Thoughts

There were some things that you will appreciate about Monex including the wide selection of products offered, partnerships with notable IRA custodians and its high ratings with authority websites such as the Better Business Bureau.

On the other hand, several concerns about the company are worth looking into such as advertising and sales issues filed by clients, long processing times and service-related problems experienced by investors.