How do I verify a smaller metals dealer is trustworthy?

Confirm the legal business entity, check how long it has operated, verify the named custodians independently, insist on written pricing before funding, and confirm the dealer will quote a buyback bid on its own products. Legitimate dealers welcome every one of these checks.

Is a smaller dealer riskier than a national brand?

Size is not the risk variable — transparency is. Your metals are held by the custodian and depository, not the dealer, so dealer size changes the sales experience far more than the safety of the account. Compare written terms either way.

What questions should I ask before opening a Gold IRA?

The five that matter: premium per product, total annual fees, named custodian and depository, buyback spread, and whether all of it comes in writing before you fund. The pattern of the answers matters more than any single one.

Why consider Capstone Metals?

Published premiums, named custodians, fiduciary advice from a licensed advisor, bank-transfer funding with no card surcharges, and an education library open without a sales call. We built the checklist — and we pass it.

Company Comparisons

American Alternative Assets alternatives: a fair comparison

American Alternative Assets is a precious-metals dealer offering Gold IRA services and direct-delivery metals. If you are building a shortlist of alternatives, this page gives you the neutral framework for comparing any company in this market — including Capstone Metals — on criteria you can verify.

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Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm Pacific

Licensed and insured since 2014
Fiduciary advisory — licensed since 1970
Preferred Trust & GoldStar custodians
No card payments, no pressure, no commissions-first pitch

What to compare

Written terms

Our custodians

Preferred Trust · GoldStar Trust

Our advice model

Licensed fiduciary

Last reviewed

August 2026

How to evaluate any dealer in this category

Mid-size and boutique dealers vary widely in pricing transparency, custodian relationships and after-sale support. Reputation research matters, but it is the written terms — premiums, fees, buyback spread — that determine your outcome. Any company that will not put those in writing before you fund is telling you something.

The checklist that levels the field

Run every company on your shortlist — us included — through the same written checklist before you move a dollar.

Exact premium over spot per product, quoted in writing
Named custodian and depository, verified independently
Full annual fee schedule: setup, custodian, storage, insurance
Standing buyback policy with a quoted bid on what they sell you
Licensing, insurance and business identity you can confirm

Where Capstone Metals stands

Capstone Metals is a trade name of TB Alternative Assets LLC, led by CEO Travis Bugli — a licensed fiduciary advisor — and President Daniel Kenney. We publish premiums, work with Preferred Trust Company and GoldStar Trust Company, operate a standing buyback desk, and back the metals desk with advisory and insurance services under one fiduciary roof.

Rather just ask someone?

A specialist can answer this in two minutes. Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm Pacific.

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Would a short, no-pressure conversation help?

Leave your name and number. A Capstone specialist will answer your questions during business hours.

Most gold and silver firms can only talk to you about gold and silver. We have licensed advisors on staff, so the same conversation can cover your retirement accounts, your market holdings, insurance and estate structure alongside a completely private metals purchase — one fiduciary review of everything you own, not a sales call about one product.

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Licensed and insuredFiduciary advisory since 1970Independent IRA custodiansPrices quoted, never card-charged

Common questions

How do I verify a smaller metals dealer is trustworthy?: Confirm the legal business entity, check how long it has operated, verify the named custodians independently, insist on written pricing before funding, and confirm the dealer will quote a buyback bid on its own products. Legitimate dealers welcome every one of these checks.; Run our due-diligence checklist
Is a smaller dealer riskier than a national brand?: Size is not the risk variable — transparency is. Your metals are held by the custodian and depository, not the dealer, so dealer size changes the sales experience far more than the safety of the account. Compare written terms either way.
What questions should I ask before opening a Gold IRA?: The five that matter: premium per product, total annual fees, named custodian and depository, buyback spread, and whether all of it comes in writing before you fund. The pattern of the answers matters more than any single one.; The full comparison methodology
Why consider Capstone Metals?: Published premiums, named custodians, fiduciary advice from a licensed advisor, bank-transfer funding with no card surcharges, and an education library open without a sales call. We built the checklist — and we pass it.; How our Gold IRA works

Choosing a company

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Run the checklist on us first

Call and ask the hard questions. We'll answer all of them in writing — then you decide.

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Licensed and insuredFiduciary advisory since 1970Independent IRA custodiansPrices quoted, never card-charged