A-Mark Precious Metals is one of the biggest precious metals companies in the world. They have acquired many other gold corporations over the years and have publicly-traded shares on the Nasdaq. There's no question that this is a legitimate business. But what exactly do they offer, and are they a worthwhile company to do business with?
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About A-Mark Precious Metals
A-Mark Precious Metals was founded in 1965 and has functioned as a titan of the precious metals industry ever since. They offer a large variety of products including numismatic coins, gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. Their items are sold to wholesale businesses and retail consumers through multiple different channels.
There are five segments of the corporation that all work together. The Wholesale division sells bullion and coins to retailers all over the world. This division also covers the subsidiaries in their Minting and Logistics sections. The Direct-to-Consumer division sells precious metals products to individual consumers. And the Secured Lending division acts as a lender for the personal and business projects of various customers.
The international clientele is made up of much more than individual investors. A-Mark Precious Metals sells gold and silver to private mints, sovereign mints, fabricators, manufacturers, dealers, refiners, retailers, financial institutions, and industrial creators.
Wholesale Division
The wholesale section of the company is focused on purchasing and distributing bullion and numismatics from various mints. They sell coins from sovereign mints and bullion from private mints. A-Mark Precious Metals is one of the only authorized purchasers of the US Mint, meaning that they acquire coins directly from the source. They have held this designation since 1986.
The United States isn't the only sovereign mint that A-Mark works with. They have also distributed the coins of the UK, Mexico, China, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and Austria. Over 200 products are sold in the wholesale sector to entities including e-commerce dealers, banks, collectors, brokerages, and other financial institutions. Silver is also sold to manufacturers and industrial companies that need it for their machines and electronics.
Direct-to-Consumer Division
The direct-to-consumer division refers to the subsidiaries that deal directly with individual investors. While the wholesale sector provides services to companies and institutions, this section works with the average retail consumer.
However, A-Mark doesn't work with individual investors under its main name. Instead, customers need to work with one of the corporation's subsidiaries. The two subsidiaries that are associated with consumer products are Goldline and JM Bullion. In order to get a sense of their customer service, you'd have to look up the reviews of these individual subsidiaries.
JM Bullion is the largest of these precious metals retailers. There are five separate websites associated with their corporation, each of which appeals to a different consumer niche. In addition, JM Bullion is the owner of Cyber Metals, which is an online commerce platform in which customers can trade small shares of digitally-backed precious metals bars.
Goldline pulls in investors through a variety of advertising channels. They have robust television advertising campaigns and radio advertisements, as well as sponsorships from a variety of trusted commentators. Much of their business is conducted over the phone on an individual basis.
Storage and Logistics
A-Mark Precious Metals has yet another subsidiary by the name of A-M Global Logistics. This company is used to provide various complementary services.
For example, they can offer storage options for people's precious metals, whether they have IRA gold or personal collections.
This division is also the one that handles the receiving, processing, shipping, and packaging of precious metals. The entire company is devoted to safely storing and shipping precious metals. They monitor the whole process and make sure that their packages are properly insured against theft, damage, and loss.
Mint Division
Not only does A-Mark buy directly from various mints around the world, but they also operate their own mint. This subsidiary is fully owned by the company. Called the Silver Towne Mint, this company allows A-Mark to create proprietary coins and bars.
This mint also offers a market advantage. When the precious metals market is dealing with volatility due to global upheaval or economic troubles, the mint helps A-Mark Precious Metals connect customers with a steady stream of reasonably-priced silver. Certain large or long-term customers are given preferred access.
Not only does this improve customer relations, but it helps A-Mark Precious Metals to keep a steady supply of bullion on hand during times of market volatility. That keeps company shareholders from seeing significant dives in products because of global issues.
Loan Division
Another subsidiary that fully belongs to A-Mark Precious Metals is the Collateral Finance Corporation. This corporation was founded in 2005 and is licensed as a financial lender in California. They offer commercial loans that are backed by numismatic collectibles and bullion.
This is a very specific type of loan company. Typically, the entities that take out loans are numismatic collectors, precious metals dealers, and individual investors. People who have large coin profiles can use them to back collateral as they're operating a new business venture or need a different commercial loan.
A-Mark Precious Metals Products
A-Mark has a huge variety of precious metals available for purchase. The main question is which subsidiary to purchase from. When you go to their website, their product page directs individual investors and wholesale retailers to different websites.
They have the vast majority of the most popular bullion and coins from sovereign mints around the world. For example, they have American Eagles, American Buffalos, Canadian Maple Leafs, South African Krugerrands, Austrian Philharmonics, and Gold Britannias from the Royal Mint in London. Products are available in gold, silver, platinum, and sometimes even palladium.
There are bars from private mints as well. For example, you can get platinum or gold bars from Valcambi Suisse. Many of these bars are compliant with the IRS regulations on gold IRA products, meaning that you can store them in a gold retirement account.
A-Mark Precious Metals also offers some exclusive products. Typically, these have been manufactured by their own mint. When they haven't been manufactured by their mint, the products are part of an exclusive agreement with a different mint or refinery. A-Mark Precious Metals has bought the rights to be the only retailer selling these items.
As of writing, the four exclusive products listed on the company website are from 2022. These include:
All four of these pieces have a fineness of .999, one of the purest silver pieces that you can buy. They incorporate the virtues that were passed down by Queen Victoria through the rest of the British royal bloodline. The bar was sculpted by world-known artist Raphael Maklouf, as were all three of the coins.
Is A-Mark Precious Metals Legitimate?
A-Mark Precious Metals is a legitimate company. It has been part of the precious metals industry since 1965. On top of the history, this company is publicly traded under the name AMRK. It is traded through the Nasdaq. In 2021, the firm became a Fortune 500 company. The company is so large and well-established that it even has its own Wikipedia page.
Publicly traded companies have fully transparent finances. Shareholders can look up exactly how the company performed in any given year. However, A-Mark might not be the best company if you're looking to purchase precious metals as an individual. Most of their business seems to be focused on dealing precious metals to other companies, as well as maximizing returns for their shareholders.
As for the question of whether you should invest in shares of the company, that's more difficult to say. They have undergone a great deal of growth and do seem to have good returns for their shareholders. But the best time to invest would have been before they became as large as they are. There's less room for them to grow now.
Employee Ratings
A-Mark also doesn't have the best reviews from prior employees. On Glassdoor, a key site for employees to review their workplaces, A-Mark has just 2.5 out of 5 stars. Only 34% of employees said they approved of the CEO, and a tiny 17% said they'd recommend the company to a friend. The flip side of that is 83% of employees stating that they wouldn't recommend that their friends work there.
The ratings are similarly poor on Indeed. There's an average of 1.8 stars for the management and 2.4 stars for the culture. The work-life balance has 2.5 stars, the job security has 2.6 stars, and the highest rated category is the pay at 3.5 stars. Individual reviews indicate that the pay rates are good for the industry, but employees are overworked, stressed, and unhappy at their jobs.
Customer Complaints
The company's Yelp page has mixed reviews, with a few customers lodging complaints there.
One review from 2021 stated that the customer was disappointed with the service. The customer's brother had passed away recently. His collection of silver and gold was stolen by a friend, and the paperwork was missing. The customer called A-Mark to find out about their serial numbers for silver coins. The customer service representative said that she didn't know.
The customer asked if they could be put in touch with someone who knew the answer. The rep put them on hold, then came back and stated that she couldn't help. The reviewer stated that the rep was very rude and unhelpful throughout the conversation.
Another negative review was left in 2018. This was from a customer whose husband had worked for a company that was later bought out by A-Mark Precious Metals. She said that her husband had been lied to, and she had not been able to contact the CEO all day. She was not able to find the contact information for any upper managers or people on the board.
Her main complaint seemed to be that her husband had been treated poorly even though he'd given 21 years to his prior company. She said that the company only cared about giving big payouts to its top executives, rather than treating their employees well.
Pros & Cons of A Mark Precious Metals
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Cons
Final Thoughts
A-Mark Precious Metals is one of the most successful precious metals companies in the US. The owner has taken it from a small business in the 1960's to a massive publicly-traded corporation in 2023. They have been a Fortune 500 company since 2021, and they consistently show positive returns for their shareholders.
However, employees have mentioned that the internal work culture is stressful. The company also doesn't seem to focus much on selling bullion to individuals. So if you're looking for an online retailer that will sell you gold and silver, you might want to work with a company that's a little less complicated.
Don't forget to checkout our highest recommended precious metals investment companies if you want to move forward with an investment!