Birch Gold Group
Review 2022
Since 2003, Birch Gold Group has served as one of the leading precious metals dealers in Burbank, California. It largely offered its services to the retirement sector of the precious metals market, but also provided direct sales of metals to customers across the US.
If you’re a savvy precious metals IRA investor, you’re likely already familiar with Birch Gold group and other dealers in the industry. But if you’re a newbie, then you’d probably want to know more about this company.
So, why should you invest in Birch Gold? How does Birch Gold Group compare to other dealers?
In this in-depth review, we cover everything you need to know about Birch Gold investing, including their services and offerings, fees involved, customer feedback, reliability, and ultimately, whether they’re worth investing your money in. Read on!
Birch Gold Group Pros and Cons
Before we delve into the complicated stuff, here’s a quick look at the pros and cons of Birch Gold investing!
Pros
Cons
Our Birch Gold Group Category Rating
In this review, we tested several major companies in the industry to determine how Birch Gold Group stacks up against well-known competitors. Here’s how we rated its performance.
Products & Services | 4.4/5 |
Pricing | 4.2/5 |
Customer Support | 5/5 |
Company Expertise | 4.5/5 |
Customer Feedback | 4.6/5 |
Overall Rating: | 4.5/5 |
What You Get With Birch Gold Investing:
Quick Summary: Why We Recommend Birch Gold Group
Overview: The Birch Gold Group is a trusted US-based precious metals dealer and has been in business for almost two decades. The company is acclaimed for its low $10,000 minimum IRA investment rate and excellent customer service.
4.5/5 Rating
What We Like: Top-rated dealer, knowledgeable team, fair pricing, excellent buyback, and zero shipping fee on all purchases.
Promos: All 1st-year payments waived for transfers over $50,000.
About the Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group is an established precious metals dealer that has been in the industry for almost 20 years. With their long-standing service, they’ve provided consistent customer care and passion for education.
Although there are no groundbreaking or out-of-the-ordinary services, Birch Gold Group has maintained an overwhelmingly positive reputation in third-party review sites with an A+ rating on BBB.
The company has also been featured in media outlets and advertised on a few Conservative programs such as the Ben Shapiro Show, Bannon’s War Room, and Ron Paul’s Liberty Report.
However, to give you a more transparent review of the site, we’ve also done our research for any red flags about the company and compiled them in the later sections of this review.
Advertising Focus and Purpose
The company promotes customer empowerment through knowledge and abides by a rigorous set of standards in its dealings, including education, empathy, ethics, transparency, and efficiency. With their up-to-date educational resources on precious metals and Gold IRA investing, they have become one of the best and trusted leaders in the market.
Birch Gold Group Products and Services
Along with excellent customer care, their impressive range of services is another feature that clients love about the Birch Gold Group. Beyond its Gold IRAs and precious metal offerings, the company actually extends to other retirement services such as 401K rollover, SER, Simple IRA planning, and more.
When it comes to precious metals, you won’t feel deprived either. The company has a host of gold, silver, palladium, and platinum coins, bullions, and bars for you to choose from.
Below is a complete list of Birch Gold Group’s products and services:
Main Products | Gold IRA, Silver IRA, and Precious Metal Acquisition |
Assets Offered | Gold bullion, coins, and bars Silver bars and coins Palladium bars and coins Platinum bars and coins |
Other Services | 401(K) Rollover, SER and Simple IRA planning, and Traditional and Roth Planning |
Gold Buyback Program
If you’re looking to sell your precious metal holdings, Birch Gold group has a strong buy-back program that allows you to re-sell your assets based on current value. The perk is they don't add extra charges on buybacks, unlike other companies that do. This gives you a lot more wins when you decide to liquidate your holdings.
Birch Gold Group Account Minimums and Fees
If you’re taking time to read this review, you already know the benefits of putting your money in IRAs – you get to enjoy tax advantages. However, investing in gold IRAs actually requires more hard work and more fees involved in setting up and managing your account. Along with account minimums, you need to watch out for one-time setup fees and annual costs.
Here’s what to expect when you decide to invest with Birch Gold Group:
Minimum IRA Investment | $10,000 |
Minimum Non-IRA Investment | $5,000 |
Annual Custodian Fees | $80 |
Storage & Insurance Fees | $100 |
Set Up Fee | $50 |
Wire Transfer Fee | $30 |
Promotion | 1st year set-up costs waived for investments over $50,000 |
Contact | Phone or Email |
Account Minimums
A minimum amount of $10,000 for precious metals IRA investment is required to set up your account. For non-IRA investments, you need to have at least $5,000. If you invest over $50,000 in your IRA account, you won’t have to pay initial setup fees and all 1st-year fees will be waived.
One-Time Set-Up Fees
In order to open an account, you’ll need to pay a setup fee of $50 for administrative costs plus an additional $30 wire transfer fee when you purchase the precious metals.
Annual Fees
After setting up your account, there are yearly charges that come with it. The company charges a $100 management fee for storage and insurance, as well as an $80 fee for annual
Birch Gold Group Storage Options
Birch Gold Group partners with four different storage facilities. Each one is certified, and is chosen by the company for its reliability and safety:
- Delaware Depository
- Brink’s Global Services
- International Depository Services
- Texas Precious Metals Depository
From these facilities, the most popular options for their clients are Brink’s Global Services and Delaware Depository, but you can always choose your own storage if you want.
Transit and Shipping Policies
Birch Gold group ensures the safety of your metals when shipping. Along with insurance against losses and damages, the dealer packs your assets in discreet plain packaging with no labels for further protection. When it comes to Gold IRAs, the metals are secure and insured as they are sent to the storage facility.
Birch Gold Group Reviews and Disputes
With almost two decades in business, Birch Gold Group has served thousands of clients across the US. Although it has an overall positive review from customers, it’s only fair to spot a few negative feedbacks when dealing with such a well-known company. Here’s what we found from some of the most popular review sites:
Google Reviews
Birch Gold Group has racked up a 4.9 rating in Google Reviews from 222 customers. The majority of clients are saying they are pleased with the company’s excellent customer support and how the company walks them through the entire process. However, we also found 6 complaints, to which the company is actively responding.
4.9/5 Rating
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
The company has earned an A+ Rating from 65 customer reviews with an average of 4.69 stars on BBB. We found four complaints filed in the last 2 years, and the BBB shows that the company is swift in resolving any issues from their clients.
A+ Rating
TrustLink
The firm has a perfect 5/5-star rating from TrustLink. Customers expressed how happy and satisfied they were with precious metals purchase. They also commended how easy the process of setting up an account with them was. However, we did find one customer complaint that has not yet been resolved.
Well, we wouldn't want to bore you with this stuff, so we compiled a table below for you to see the reviews yourself.
5/5 Rating
More GoldCo Reviews
4.9/5 Rating
4.8/5 Rating
5/5 Rating
Opening a Gold IRA with Birch Gold Group
Setting up an account with Birch Gold Group is fairly easy. Here’s what we found about the process:
After acquiring a custodian, the firm will help you purchase physical precious metals that will be held in your IRA account.
Once you’ve purchased the metals, Birch will oversee the shipping and storage of items within a secured vault.
After ensuring your precious metals are stored, the company will continue to provide their service and updates on your account.
FAQs on Birch Gold Group Investing
The answer is up to you! But we would recommend diversifying the types of precious metals you put in your portfolio. If you’re unsure which metals to invest in, Birch Group’s educational page might come in handy! It explains which metals are best for the type of investment you want and why.
Yes. Although you can get buy-back rates from your custodian, the ones you receive from a Precious Metals Dealer like the Birch Gold Group are actually more accurate.
According to the IRS, gold, silver, and other precious metals should be stored in IRS-eligible trustees or banks. However, if you didn’t acquire your precious metals through an IRA, you are allowed to keep them at home or anywhere you want. However, we strongly oppose this idea for security reasons.
Birch Gold Group’s partner custodians are STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company. Both have an A rating in Better Business Bureau and are certified to handle precious metal investments.
Setting a precious metals IRA with Birch Gold Group usually takes one business day. Any delays encountered are often attributed to the custodian of your old IRA account from which are doing the transfer. In this case, the delay could span from a week or two depending on your previous custodian.
According to the IRS, you can start taking the Required Minimum Distributions at the age of 72. When you reach the age requirement, you must take your RMDs by a series of regular withdrawals or by lump sum.
Birch Gold Group Review: The Bottomline
Birch Gold Group does stand by its name as one of the best Gold IRA providers in the industry. The company does not only offer excellent customer service but provides a wide variety of precious metals for clients to choose from.
Their commitment to education adds another thumbs up to our book. Birch Group really takes out the hesitancy and guesswork from clients on precious metal investing by empowering customers in making intelligent choices for free with resources on site.
When it comes to minimum and fees, Birch Gold Group’s charges also offer lower pricing compared to other well-established companies – another perk to investing with the firm.
Overall, Birch Gold Group is the company to invest in if you’re looking for a low $10,000 account minimum with top-notch customer service and proven reliability for almost 20 years of service.