Birch Gold IRA Pros, Cons & Precious Metal Promos
Disclosure: The owners of this website may be paid to recommend Birch Gold Group or other companies. The content on this website, including any positive reviews of Birch Gold Group and other reviews, may not be neutral or independent.
The Bottom Line: Birch Gold Group provides sales of precious metals and precious metal IRAs, with a focus on an all-in-one service and customer education.
Our Partner
Premier Gold IRA Company
AT A GLANCE
- Committed to transparency
- Outstanding customer service
- Low yearly fees
- Excellent customer reviews
Overall RI Rating
4.5/5
A+ BBB Rating
TrustLink Average Review Rating of 5/5
Pros & Cons
Here is an overview of all the good things about the Birch Gold Group, along with how this business could improve.
Pros:
Cons:
About Precious Metal IRAs And Gold
Precious metal IRAs and gold are investments that carry a level of risk. Consumers should take caution when it comes to claims that they can make a significant profit in these types of investments with minimal risk. Similar to other investments, past performance does not guarantee performance results in the future, and you can also lose money. Consumers also need to understand the fees linked to an investment before they agree on it.
In the uncertain times that we live in today, it is more important than ever for consumers to diversify their portfolios, which helps to protect their assets, now as well as in the future.
Precious metals is one of the most popular methods used for portfolio diversification, inside the best ira ccounts, but it is important to understand the differences between bad and good precious metal IRA companies. After all, it is not a good idea to entrust your portfolio for retirement to just any old company.
Today, we will give you an in-depth review of the Birch Gold Group. They are one of the best gold IRA businesses with an impeccable reputation. However, there are some potential issues that you may want to be aware of.Is Birch Gold the right precious metals IRA option for you and your family?
Whether you’re an experienced investor or brand new to the term gold backed IRAs, the following Birch Gold Group review, will explain everything you need to know, to help you make an educated and informed decision.
QUICK SUMMARY
Account Minimum: $10,000
Custodian Fees: $180 per year
Promotion: Fees waived the first year for accounts over $50k
Everything You Need To Know About The Birch Gold Group
The Birch Gold Group is one of the precious metal IRA companies that market silver, gold, palladium, and platinum self directed IRA's.
You can purchase precious metals for placement in one of the IRAs or a physical position. Located in California, and founded in 2003, they are an online-based, full-service agency.
This IRA company is entirely focused on protecting its client's portfolios against inflation. Historically, precious metals tend to move in opposite directions when compared to the stock markets. This often assists with balancing against variable and unpredictable market situations which often leaves many of the traditional investments exposed.
In addition, the Birch Gold Group has a commitment when it comes to superior customer service, along with a strong emphasis and importance on education. They provide several tailor-made gold based IRA options that will help you to decide on an precious metals IRA investment that matches up to your exact needs. They also explain all these precious metals IRA options in an easy-to-understand way.
To begin with, Birch Gold Group currently ranks in the top 3 of the best precious metal agencies in the U.S. It is important to know that this agency is an exceptional Precious Metal IRA specialist. This is their primary focus.
In 2021, this business has now been in operation for 18 years, which also makes them among the most experienced and oldest in the Gold Based IRA industry.
The product offerings include cash purchases with physical delivery and the option to do an IRA roll over, for any eligible tax-deferred retirement plans into a Precious Metals IRA, which includes the following:
• Employer-sponsored 403(b) and 401(k)
• Traditional Roth, SEP, and Simple IRAs
Both these options provide the opportunity to invest in either silver, gold, platinum, and palladium, available in bars, rounds, and bullion coins. Birch will also show you how to move 401k to gold without penalty.
The most recent offering from the Birch Gold Group has now extended to cryptocurrency custody in your IRA. This is made possible through BitIRA, their sister company. By market cap, the most popular cryptocurrency coins are available, included (but not limited to) BCH (Bitcoin Cash), BTC (Bitcoin), and ETH (Ethereum).
This just goes to show how this gold investment company stays focused on remaining relevant, and its cutting-edge approach when it comes to innovative investment products that combine the more traditional finance industry, such as gold in IRA's, with the upcoming FinTech industry.
What Is It Like To Work With The Birch Gold Group?
When choosing a Birch Gold Group IRA, clients have the options for the best precious metals to invest in such as palladium, platinum, silver, and gold to include in their retirement account. This gold IRA investing company also ensures that the customer's purchase matches the criteria that the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has set out so that it qualifies for placement within a retirement Gold IRA. Customers also have the freedom to diversify their holdings inside a Precious Metals IRA with multiple options along with precious metals. Examples of these investments include bonds, stocks, mortgages and real estate, mutual funds, private loans, private businesses, and raw land.
Below is the process the Birch Gold Group uses to establish a Precious Metals IRA:
• Gold IRA Custodian: As the gold ira investing broker, Birch will help clients to get set up with a top gold ira custodian, especially when their current retirement investment custodian is not licensed or certified to facilitate Precious Metals IRAs. Birch Gold Group works closely with Equity Trust Company, their main gold individual retirement account custodian. If a customer has chosen another custodian, Birch Gold Group is open to working with them.
• Buy and Source Precious Metals: Birch helps customers to acquire the precious metals they are interested in for their Gold and Silver IRAs. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has not provided approval for every type of precious metal to hold in IRAs, which is why Birch Gold helps its customers to choose wisely for their retirement investments.
• Storage and Shipping: Once you have purchased your precious metals, Birch will ship them to an approved depository for reliable and secure storage such as Brink's Global Service or the Delaware Depository.
• Ongoing Communication: One of the Birch Gold Group retirement gold specialists are available at any time to answer any questions you may have or when you require a "gold in iras market update". Birch has made this its policy and priority.
Most of the 403(b), 401(k), TSP (Thrift Savings Plan), and any other traditional IRA along with the Roth IRA are all eligible if you are interested in the best 401k rollover offers, to turn your regular IRA into a Precious Metals IRA.
Birch Gold's Best IRA Account Services
When you work with the Birch Gold Group there are many investment products to choose from, including physical metals and gold 401k rollover services.
When it comes to physical investments, you can choose from palladium, platinum, silver, and gold. Gold IRA Coins and Gold and Silver IRA bullion investments are also available, including silver and gold coins from Canada and the U.S.
There are many popular IRA gold coin and bullion favorites on offer including the Indian Head Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and the American Eagle.
Authentication of all IRA coins is handled and controlled by the Professional Coin Grading Service and the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation. These agencies authenticate all aspects of these IRA gold coins, including their precious metal content, weight, and several other factors.
With the Gold IRA rollover services on offer, it becomes easy to use your 401(k) to provide funds to your IRA account. Maintaining their philosophy of making sure their clients are always kept informed, Birch provides a variety of assistance programs and education for every rollover 401k to gold ira service they have on offer.
They also provide several options for gold ira depositories and precious metal ira custodian. If you are investing in gold, you will need to appoint an approved gold silver ira rollover custodian in order to administrate your investment account. It is not always easy to find a reliable gold ira custodian, but Birch Gold Group has a close relationship with Equity Trust among others.
Storing precious metals must match up to the strict standards set out by the IRS. The Birch Gold Group works with both Delaware Depository and the International Depository Services.
All the gold roth ira depositories are based in the U.S (the highest suggested option) in cities like Dallas, Delaware, New York, and Los Angeles.
IRA Investment Options
In the list below, you will find the gold types that the Birch Gold Group sells to use in Gold IRA accounts. Birch, is also in the business of selling gold bars only from approved mints, in addition to palladium, platinum, and silver to Precious Metals IRA customers. The Birch Gold Group also sells coins, rounds, precious metal bars, and gold for non-IRA investments that the buyer can choose how to store, which include home storage.
Birch Gold Group: Approved Gold IRA Investments
Investment
Description
American Gold Eagle: Bullion
91% Gold available in 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10-ounce coins.
American Gold Eagle: Proof
Limited numbers of collector's version coins are minted every year.
American Buffalo
The first of the pure gold coins in North America, the American Gold Buffalo is a 24-karat bullion coin.
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf
One of the few purest coins across the globe, these 24-karat coins are minted without a base metal.
Gold Rounds and Bars
Typically valued much closer to gold's melt value when compared to others available on the markets.
Valcambi CombiBars
Gold bars available in either 20 x 1gram or 50 x 1gram bars.
Gold Polar Bear and Cub
CA$10 face value, 99.99% pure gold.
Gold Gyrfalcon
The Royal Canadian Mint's 2016 gold coins weigh 1/4 ounces and contain 99.99% pure gold.
Gold Twin Maples
1/4-ounce pure gold coins in CA$10 denomination.
Birch Gold: Precious Metals IRA Costs
As with any other IRA, fees are linked to the IRA you are planning to set up. These costs vary according to the depository and the custodian. Birch mainly works with Equity Trust Company for custodial services. If you use Birch and Equity Trust, your annual fees will be $75 (Birch) and $100 (Equity), which will include a $1 billion all-risk insurance policy that will cover your investment against theft (very unlikely). Birch Gold Group also offers frequent promotional pricing. For instance, one of the long-standing promotions includes receiving up to $10,000 in free metals, which will depend on your order amount.
Fees And Minimum Investment
Every type of IRA and investment product is linked to fees, which is nothing new. However, the gold IRAs can come with additional fees, which usually have to do with the complexity involved in the process. In general, the custodian that Birch Gold has partnered with has kept their costs low or similar to most of the other main custodians.
Birch Investment Minimums
Accounts:
Minimum Investment
Yearly Custodian Fees
Precious Metal IRAs
$10,000
$180
Non-IRA Transactions
$10,000
$0
Account Setup
Setup fees from Equity Trust Company, which is the primary custodian that Birch Gold partners with, is $50.
This may seem a bit steep, especially if you are used to the regular setup fees linked with conventional IRAs, but it is relatively standard for precious metal IRAs. Equity Trust will also charge a $30 wire transfer fee.
Storage Fees
As mentioned above, a precious metal like gold in an IRA must be stored in an IRS-approved, secure depository. When investing in precious metal, through an IRA, you will be required to pay a related storage fee.
The standard fee for most Birch Gold customers is $100 annually, along with an extra $80 for maintenance. These fees could vary according to the storage type you choose.
IRA Storage Options
From the depository options found below, you can choose a location that is in or closest to, Los Angeles, Delaware, Dallas, Seal Beach, CA, and New York City.
• Brink's
• Delaware Depository
• International Depository Services
Birch Gold Fees For Precious Metal IRAs
One-Time Fees:
Price:
Set-up fee for IRA
$50
Wire fee
$30
Annual Fees:
Price:
Maintenance fee
$80
Storage fee
$100 for non-segregated
or $150 for segregated
Free Information Kit: Learn How Physical Precious Metals Can Diversify Your Retirement Savings
Inside this free report, you’ll discover why gold & silver are the perfect hedge against inflation. There is no obligation to request this information
Who Should Choose The Birch Gold Group?
If you are interested in investing in precious metals, you still might not be sure at this point, whether or not the Birch Gold Group is right for you.
If one or more of these scenarios are applicable to you, Birch is a worthwhile consideration and can help you find the best precious metal to invest in:
• You are interested in finding out more about investing in precious metals since it applies to your future and current goals. You should also be looking for the best ira company that can guide you and that helps you achieve the best investment opportunity and professionals that can tell you what to avoid.
• You prefer not to spend your time having to deal with depositories, custodians, and any other detail. Instead, you would like a business you can rely on to act as your touchpoint for the investment.
• You are looking to secure and safeguard your portfolio by either purchasing precious metals outright or funding an IRA with precious metals. You need an agency that has both the expertise and financial knowledge when it comes to precious metals.
Birch Gold Group Offers Gold IRAs: Learn The Advantages But Also What To Watch Out For
While some of the media outlets portray the Precious Metal IRAs in a very negative way, especially as a retirement account that is pushed onto investors with the use of fear tactics. However, there are definitely places in most investment portfolios when it comes to Gold IRAs. When compared to traditional investments such as bonds or stocks, Gold IRAs, offer liquidity, long-term financial security, and privacy. These benefits are made possible since no financial institution, stock market, or government has control over the value relating to precious metals.
If you're looking to diversify your portfolio or just have a hedge against inflation, then a Gold IRA might work out well for you. Like any other investment, there are risks involved. If you're a smart investor, then you do your homework. In fact, you're probably an active participant in your own financial planning. Birch Gold Group has account specialists that can help you with your goals. They take a real interest in your personal financial future, focusing on your specific investment goals and plans. The specialists at Birch Gold work hard to make sure you get access to every piece of information you need to make great choices or just to answer questions that you have.
What Is Unique About Birch Gold Group?
Birch Gold Group Does a good job of covering the expected basics. However, they also provide a powerful variety of unique features that you're unlikely to see in their competitors:
Their Commitment To Client Education
Birch knows that the more they help their clients stay informed, the more their clients stay satisfied. While they are experts, they don't expect you to just sit back and trust them blindly. Rather, their entire central philosophy is their commitment to understanding your needs and answering all your questions. They will happily work with you in developing a personalized financial strategy that takes into account your personal preferences, current circumstances, and long-range objectives.
IRA Specialization
If you want to open a Gold IRA account and then manage it with Birch, it's easy to do. That's because they have an entire section of their overall business dedicated to this specific process. Count on their internal IRA department for help at every step throughout the process. When you deal with Birch, you'll always have access to a dedicated IRA specialist that truly understands your current circumstances.
High-Caliber Employees
The team at Birch Gold Group covers a lot of different areas of expertise and experience. Their team members include former wealth managers, commodities brokers, financial advisors, and much more. Birch dates back to 2003, meaning it's got almost two decades of experience since its founding, regardless of what prior experience its team members bring to its Burbank headquarters. While Birch is based in California, its clients live in all 50 states.
Endorsements
The name of Birch Gold Group probably sounds familiar to you, likely because of how frequently they get mentioned in the media. The Ben Shapiro Show has endorsed them, and numerous other endorsements of significance boost the firm's general credibility.
Questions And Answers About Birch Gold Group
When it comes to the nature of the precious metals industry, it's not uncommon for the consumer complaints to have no basis. The Better Business Bureau rates Birch Gold 4.85 out of 5 stars, based one of 98 Customer Reviews, ConsumerAffairs.com rates a 4.8 out of 5 stars based on 114 reviews, Google Reviews shows 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 232 Google reviews and TrustLink awards the company 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 126 reviews for Birch Gold Group.
Yes. Any precious metal IRA, including gold IRAs, are self-directed retirement accounts. This means that they follow the rules covering tax deferral for gains.
Precious metals, including gold in an IRA, have to always stay in physical possession of the custodian, depository or other IRS-approved trustee. On the other hand, you are free to store precious metals anywhere you want, if they're not part of your IRA. Still, storing high-value items such as precious metals in your home isn't something we recommend, for obvious safety reasons.
No. This firm doesn't actually handle the physical storage of your precious metals. However, Birth Gold Group does work often with Delaware Depository, which is the biggest precious metals depository anywhere in the United States that's not in New York City. Delaware Depository stores your investment securely, where your own gold and precious metals are separated from anything belonging to other customers. Your account is insured to as much as $1 billion by Delaware Depository, using Lloyd's of London insurance.
Nobody guarantees or ensures precious metal values at any point in time. Given various market influences, there are simply no guarantees regarding the future values for gold and silver or any other precious metals. Historical performance strongly implies long-term growth in value, but value fluctuations still happen, which is why precious metals such as gold are best used as long-term investments.
Yes. Birch Gold Group's minimum investment for precious metals IRAs is listed at $10,000 for any transactions.
Precious metal IRAs, or gold IRAs, are self-directed IRAs in which the holdings are precious metals approved by the IRS rather than the conventional stocks and bonds most Individual Retirement Accounts use.
You can set things up with some pre-tax funds, just like with conventional IRAs, or you can use after-tax funds, as how things work in a Roth IRA.
You have two choices. The first is co-mingled storage. The second is called segregated storage.
Co-mingled storage is also sometimes known as non-segregated storage. That's when your precious metals all get stored in the very same vault as precious metals belonging to other investors.
Segregated storage happens when your personal precious metals get stored in either a safe deposit box or a room that is separate from other materials. This is obviously more secure, but it is also more expensive.
When you roll money from an IRA or 401(k) into a precious metals IRA, there aren't any Penalties or Taxes involved. Just remember that you only get one 401(k) rollover per year. On the other hand, you can transfer from one of your IRAs to another as many times as you want.
Once you take money out of one account, through a process known as distribution, you get 60 days to have it transferred into another IRA, such as your precious metal IRA.
Birch Gold Group is known to work with three of the industry's premier security organizations. Aside from the previously mentioned Delaware Depository, the firm also works with International Depository Services and Brinks.
These three businesses operate depositories across the country, not just in New York, but also in Delaware, Dallas, Seal Beach, and Los Angeles.
Birch Gold Group will happily work with any custodian that you prefer. Having said that, the firm has an extensive working relationship with Equity Trust, a reputable custodian that has more than 40 years of industry experience.
You can roll over many Roth IRA, traditional IRA, 457, 403(b), and 401(k) accounts into your gold or precious metals IRA.
Yes. Should you decide to sell for any particular reason, the firm buys back everything that they sold you. They offer you market-competitive buy-back prices and rates established ahead of time during the initial purchase.
No. The IRA department at Birch simplifies this process for their clients. You won't get overwhelmed with hoops to jump through or details to take care of.
Birch Gold Group Reviews And Ratings
You can find plenty of favorable and positive information about Birch Gold Group from a variety of third-party sources.
At the time of this writing, the Better Business Bureau has 98 Customer Reviews, ConsumerAffairs.com has 114 reviews, Google Reviews are based on 232 reviews and TrustLink has 126 reviews for Birch Gold Group, with the majority of reviews being positive across all sites.
Complaints About Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group has an A+ rating from the BBB. Every complaint filed has been answered by the firm, and most of them are marked as resolved. Most of the claims focus on gold prices fluctuating, with clients blaming the firm for their financial losses when the spot prices for precious metals declined in value. Given how the market for precious metals works, such complaints are simply invalid. TrustLink rates Birch Gold Group 4.9/5, and ConsumerAffairs.com offers the firm a rating of 4.8/5. Google Reviews reveals a 4.9/5.
Promotions From Birch Gold Group
At the time of writing, Birch Gold Group was offering several specific deals:
- No first-year fees for any IRA valued more than $50,000
- Free shipping on all purchases over $10,000
- Qualified purchases would be eligible for as much as $10,000 of free precious metals
Promotions change at any given time, so consult their site to get the most recent information.
How To Get Started With Birch Gold?
Here’s a look into the entire Birch Gold process—from the initial contact phase to the completion of your IRA rollover.
Step 1:
You meet specifically with a precious metal specialist to talk about your personal motivations and goals.
Step 2:
An IRA specialist ascertains the rollover eligibility for your current retirement account.
Step 3:
You create an account through a custodian. Birch Gold Group not only provides you with recommendations but also helps you with the paperwork.
Step 4:
Current retirement funds roll over into your freshly created self-directed IRA. Again, Birch Gold Group assists you with navigating all this.
Step 5:
Birch specialists use your new IRA funds to buy the precious metals you prefer, storing them in the depository that you approve of.
If you make a cash purchase of precious metals, then the process will follow this route:
Step 1:
You'll talk to a precious metals specialist about your personal goals.
Step 2:
You'll send Birch Gold Group funds by check or bank wire.
Step 3:
Birch Gold Group buys the precious metals you decided on.
Step 4:
The precious metals get shipped to the storage facility you designated.
Birch Gold Group is always there to help you out, every step along the way.
Birch Gold Group: Are They A Scam?
We want to be crystal clear on this point: Birch Gold Group is not a scam, nor have they ever been a scam. Granted, a token number of clients have expressed concerns about their business with Birch Gold Group, but that doesn't change the fact that we're talking about one of the industry's most reputable and trustworthy gold ira companies. A few complaints now and again will happen with someone doing business across all 50 states for nearly a generation.
The few customer complaints that have come up over the tens of thousands of different transactions include the following:
- Failure to be upfront about commissions and costs
- Selling gold and silver proof sets instead of bullion
- Selling gold and silver proof sets at inflated values
- Customer service representatives unavailable to handle customer calls
- Failing to honor fair price when buying back any precious metals
Birch Gold Group has responded within a month to deal with client concerns, usually successfully. Each time there were discrepancies, they covered them. In most cases, account valuation inaccuracies happened due to reporting by the IRA-approved trust companies responsible for actual physical custody.
Another common source of confusion is that spot value isn't always a precise reflection of true value. Many customers who filed complaints later acknowledged their personal misunderstandings and came to agreements with the firm after Birch Gold Group converted some proof sets over to bullion.
Between this and addressing BBB complaints vigorously, it just again demonstrates how much client satisfaction matters to the firm.
In Summary
Most of their issues have seen resolution, and customers largely accept the answers and proposed solutions by Birch Gold Group. This is proof that they conscientiously work with all of their clients, always striving to satisfy them.
When you research to look into the best retirement investment companies, you might notice how hard it is to find an effective and well-rounded source of information. This is a common red flag that should warn you away from gold investment companies that are new to the scene. Birch Gold Group is decidedly not a new player.
Birch Gold Group has consistently high ratings across many primary consumer rating agencies. In fact, more than 95 percent of all their reviews are 4.5 to 5 stars. This makes it safe to say you can trust them with your business. There are complaints, but they are minimal in overall volume. Perhaps more importantly, Birch Gold Group is free of scam alerts. That leans our own review very heavily on the positive side.
Still, do more research by yourself to be sure. Doing so will help you make a solid decision about whether or not Birch Gold Group is right for you. We hope we've provided you useful information that clarifies the picture for you. At the very least, we hope you find it useful to have all this information consolidated together in a single place.
We certainly suggest you consider Birch Gold Group as a contender for any precious metal IRA needs that you have. Over the last generation of business, they have satisfied thousands of different customers across all 50 states. There aren't many precious metals companies in this industry that can claim that.
Our Closing Thoughts
If you want to establish your own precious metal IRA and then maintain your investments in precious metals, then you have to partner up with the best ira company.
They need to excel in many areas, starting with general IRA operations, but also in specific precious metal fundamentals, such as storage and custodianship.
When you have the right investments, you can diversify your portfolio and protect yourself against inflation. Both of these can mean a more secure financial future.
Overall, you can count on Birch Gold Group for a full-service experience that pays attention to you as a client, your personal needs, and your investment education.
Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group provides sales of precious metals and precious metal IRAs, with a focus on an all-in-one service and customer education.
Birch Gold Group Versus Their Competition: Gold IRA Comparison
BEST CHOICE
Overall Rating
5.0/5
- Annual Fee: $175-$225
- Minimum Investment: $25,000
- Promotion: 5% back on metals over $50k
BEST EDUCATION
Overall Rating
4.5/5
- Annual Fee: $225
- Minimum Investment: $2,000
- Promotion: Option to buy back
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE
Overall Rating
4.0/5
- Annual Fee: $225
- Minimum Investment: $25,000
- Promo: Fees are waived for bigger investments
0 comments