Birch Gold Group Review
Table of Contents
When you get a chance to do a rollover from a previous IRA or 401(k) account, you have many options where to put your money. A gold IRA is one place you can do that if you want to enjoy tax-free gains on precious metals. If you’re shopping around for a gold IRA broker, then you need to consider Birch Gold Group as one of your potential options.
One thing I like about Birch Gold Group is how long they’ve been in business. They started operations in 2003 and have been going strong for nearly two decades. You won’t find many gold IRA brokers, if any, that have that kind of longevity.
What makes them successful for so long? They’re definitely experts in precious metals and investing in them, but they also offer great customer service. They also charge low fees on a wide variety of precious metals you can buy.
Birch Gold Group
Bottom Line
Birch offers a well-balanced service that offers education for those seeking it and impeccable customer service.
At a Glance
- Minimum IRA Investment: $10,000
- 1st Year IRA Fees: $250
- Annual IRA Fees: $200
- Promotions: Open an account with at least $50,000 and get your first-year fees waived.
Standout Features: I like how Birch Gold Group is a great balance between education and customer service. Learn more here.
Pros
- Considerable amount of educational resources
- $10,000 is a low investment minimum that makes it easier for more investors to participate
- High-caliber customer service
- Usually have promotions going on
- Deals in gold, silver, palladium, and platinum
Cons
- Buyback isn’t actually guaranteed
- Not totally transparent about fees
- Only deals in precious metals (can connect you with someone that handles cryptocurrency assets)
Company Overview
Birch Gold Group is a leading dealer in the precious metals industry because they want their customers to be well-positioned to enjoy a safe retirement. Their gold IRAs are backed by precious metals instead of paper assets, so they’re more likely to retain their value in the face of economic volatility.
I think you should know that the primary benefit of investing in precious metals in a retirement account is that you have a lower chance of losing all of your life savings if the market crashes. Stocks and bonds might crater, but precious metals are an alternative investment class that did well during multiple market crashes since the turn of the century. Those included the dot-com bubble burst, recessions after 9/11, the Great Recession, and the pandemic volatility.
Birch Gold Group takes a lot of pride in the education they provide. They want their customers to know exactly where their money is being kept. However, they also want customers to know what their best possible choices are.
This broker’s emphasis on education is conveyed in several different formats. Their website has a robust content library that users can access anytime they are online. However, the staff is also constantly active on many social channels and podcasts.
The content isn’t promotional as it is intended to help customers learn more about precious metals and the surrounding industry. The experts at Birch Gold Group talk about a variety of topics. They range from factors contributing to market instability to various cycles of growth that come and go.
Of course, that education is only useful if it’s actually applied. Birch Gold Group helps investors do a rollover of their retirement savings into gold IRAs where they can enjoy the advantages of precious metals. Gold and silver both tend to retain their value over time and even grow when given long enough.
Birch Gold Group has more longevity than many of its industry peers. They’ve been dealing in precious metals going all the way back to 2003. Their various team members include former commodity brokers, financial advisors, and wealth managers, and they bring their deep, diverse experience to the aid of their customers.
The combination of low fees and serious educational resources makes Birch Gold Group look like a great company, and the reviews back that narrative up. I’m impressed by any company that has the level of positive reviews that Birch does. Not to mention, that they’ve upheld that level of quality for nearly 20 years.
They can work with you in doing a rollover of many different retirement accounts. You can do a rollover with traditional, Roth, SIMPLE, and SEP IRAs. You can also do a rollover from your 401(k) or 403(b) accounts.
When you do the rollover right, per IRS standards, then you can avoid any taxes, fees, or penalties along the way. You’ll preserve your wealth while putting it into a safe place where you can enjoy gains on your investments free of taxes. I know that just avoiding capital gains taxes alone will save you a lot of your hard-earned money.
What is Birch Gold Group?
Birch Gold Group dates back to 2003. They’re one of the oldest gold IRA brokers in the industry. Only Noble Gold has been around nearly as long.
They have a mission statement covering the ideals that they commit themselves to. These ideals are what help make them stand above most of their competition. There are six specific ideals that Birch Gold Group adheres to.
Customer empowerment is the first of the six ideals. Birch Gold Group wants investors to be successful in generating wealth they can use in retirement. When you work with Birch, you’ll have many options and choices you can make through your self-directed IRA account.
Education is the second ideal Birch adheres to, and it’s one that they excel at more than most. Customer knowledge and education help customers know what their options are and what the pros and cons of those options are. You won’t just know your precious metals are sitting in a depository somewhere, as you’ll know what they’re doing value-wise during your account run.
Empathy is a third ideal Birch holds dear, and it’s crucial to retirement investors. They will worry a lot about their savings being enough or even being there when the day comes to live off of them. Precious metals have a good chance of still being around when you need them, and that’s something I love about gold and silver.
Ethics matter to Birch as a fourth ideal. The gold and silver industry can be a place of theft and corruption. Birch is transparent about where your investment is safely stored and keeps you apprised of its status all the time.
Transparency is closely related to ethics, but it’s also very crucial in generating trust. If you’re going to entrust $10,000, $50,000 or more of investment value to a business, then you need to be sure they will play by the rules. In the case of a gold IRA, the IRS has very strict rules that Birch follows.
Efficiency is actually closely related to transparency and trust as the final ideal. Rollovers have to be done within 60 days, and precious metals can only be IRS-approved products; otherwise, taxes, fees, and penalties might apply. Efficient operations at Birch Gold Group keep your overhead and fees low while maintaining compliance with IRS rules and regulations.
Birch Group Gold IRA Review
If you’re looking for an all-around great gold IRA broker, then Birch Gold Group fills that niche quite well. I like how you get great customer service, useful education, and affordability all in the same package. Experience is a big reason for that.
I don’t advocate that you deal with Birch Gold Group simply because they’re one of the oldest options in the industry. Not everything is wine – predictably improving with age.
If you dig deep enough into their customer reviews, they were serving this market really well before most of their industry peers were even operating or founded. Instead, I’m here to tell you that Birch Gold Group has been around for nearly 20 years because they’re good at what they do, not the other way around.
If you do enough research into gold IRA brokers, you might occasionally read that Goldco has the best customer service in the industry. While Goldco’s customer service might technically be better than Birch Gold Group, you should look at the reviews and see that Birch is also really great at it! They certainly push Goldco in this regard as high-caliber competition.
They’ve certainly got better education tools than Goldco, who is no slouch at that. Augusta Precious Metals builds its whole reputation on customer education, and Birch Gold Group pushes them hard in that department. Birch competes with these other top-five companies because they’ve earned their place in the upper echelon of the industry.
What possibly pulls them ahead are simply the money numbers involved. Their fees range from industry standard to being ahead of the competition. You’ll enjoy better returns on your investment because they don’t cost you as much as others.
The minimum investment level is certainly a feather in their cap. Most precious metal investors should be able to afford $25,000 or $50,000 at other places, but they also might not want to put that much money in one place. An entry point of just $10,000 makes precious metal investing possible for more people or at least creates options.
Gold IRA Numbers
A gold IRA shouldn’t just preserve your wealth in the face of economic uncertainty or inflation. It should actually grow your wealth over time. Your gains won’t matter if fees eat into your profits, however.
Birch Gold Group Prices
I can’t really tell you the current prices for precious metal products through Birch because they change all the time. It’s not as volatile as the stock market, but there are still ups and downs. However, you can get prices through their website or by calling them.
I can tell you that they sell gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products. Their gold products include bars, bullion, and coins, while their silver lineup is usually just bars and coins. Platinum products at the time of writing were only coins, but they had palladium products in both bars and coins.
Birch Gold Group Fees
Fees are mostly broken down into two categories: custodial fees from the Self-Directed IRA custodian & storage fees from the depository where your precious metals are stored. Birch Gold Group's most used custodians are Equity Trust Company and GoldStar Trust Company, but they can accommodate any self-directed IRA custodian that a customer may prefer to work with. The Depositories Birch works with are the Delaware Depository, Brink's Global Services, Texas Precious Metals Depository, and the International Depository Services.
Fees can happen when you first establish your account and then again on a recurring annual basis. If you invest $50,000 or more, then the fees for the first year are very likely to get waived.
Expect to pay at least $80 to the custodian when setting things up. The account setup fee is $50. There is also a wire transfer fee of $30.
Annual custodian fees will happen on a yearly basis. Management fees are usually $80. Fees for storage and insurance are often $100.
Birch Gold Group Minimums
You can buy taxable precious metals for just $10,000. However, you would get hit with every tax that would apply. Such a transaction has no tax benefits or shelter to it.
A gold IRA also requires a minimum of $10,000 to start up. You can fund this with a rollover that doesn’t trigger any taxes, so you protect the value of your current wealth. Then, you can enjoy gains in the gold IRA without taxes, either, so you make even more money.
Services Provided
Birch Gold Group offers two primary services. The first is precious metal acquisition. The other one is help setting up customers' gold IRA accounts.
Precious metal acquisition simply means you can buy precious metals through them directly. You can get gold and silver, and the minimum investment is the same as with the IRA. However, you’re going to pay taxes just like buying anything else.
The gold IRA account is what most investors want. This Individual Retirement Account can be just gold, just silver, or a mix of both and Birch Gold Group will help you set it up.
Part of their service is helping you with an account rollover. You can turn some or all of your previous IRA into a gold IRA, be it traditional, Roth, SEP, or SIMPLE. You can also do a rollover from a 401(k) or 403(b).
Birch Group offers other services as part of the gold IRA account-creation process. For starters, they’ll show you the current lists of precious metal products that they can procure for your account. You’ll learn the prices, benefits, and risks of each product so you can make informed decisions about what to have stored.
They’ll also work with you in selecting a custodian for your precious metals. They have long-term partnerships with several reputable depositories on the IRS-approved list that can store your assets for the duration of the account. You’ll be briefed on fees for each option.
Birch will also help you decide on segregated or non-segregated storage. Fees are a bit higher for segregated storage but you get the peace of mind in knowing your assets aren’t intermingled with those of others. Non-segregated storage is cheaper but might run a slightly higher risk of mix-ups.
Keep in mind that not all depositories offer both segregated and non-segregated storage.
How to Open a Gold IRA with Birch Gold Group
You need to follow a particular sequence to properly open your Birch Gold Group gold IRA.
1.
Tell Your Current Plan Administrator: Let them know you are doing a rollover from your current IRA or 401(k) plan. Tell them where your funds need to be sent, which can be partially or fully into your Birch gold IRA.
2.
Start Your Gold IRA: Contact Birch Gold Group to start your precious metals IRA. There’s a fair amount of paperwork involved but representatives will be available to help you through the process.
3.
Decide Between Direct or Indirect Transfer: I always advise direct transfers. They’re faster, easier, and less risky.
4.
Map Out Your Possibilities: Birch Gold Group has many options for precious metals you can invest in. Make an early list of all your possibilities.
5.
Do Your Homework: Take advantage of customer support and all those educational resources to learn the best possible picks for your investment.
6.
Make Your Decisions: At some point, you’ll have to make two decisions. The first is which precious metal products you want to buy, and the second is how much of each.
7.
Custodial Care: You’ll also need to pick your custodian. If they offer it, you will have to choose between segregated or non-segregated storage.
8.
Mind the Fees: If you invest $50,000, you can get many fees waived. If your investment is less, then be prepared for fees to hit your account annually.
9.
Watch Things Grow: Hopefully, your account will start growing immediately. Be patient if you invested during a downswing. Keep a long-term view in mind, as gold has outperformed Wall Street over the last 50 years, and silver actually has a faster growth rate than gold in many cases.
10.
Know When to Quit: The day will come that you close the account and start living off of your retirement investment. Cash out properly to avoid taxes and take advantage of buyback opportunities that might be available to expedite liquidation.
Alternatives to Birch Gold Group
Augusta Precious Metals
Goldco
Comparisons between Birch Gold Group and Augusta Precious Metals are inevitable. Both of them hang their hat on customer education. I might actually admit that Augusta does a little better on it overall, but with Birch, you also get low fees and impeccable customer service.
This is another comparison where Birch’s balance and ability to excel at multiple things at once makes them look really attractive as a potential gold IRA broker.
I must confess that Goldco might honestly have Birch Gold Group beat in the customer service department. Then again, they beat everyone in the industry in that area. That doesn’t change the fact that Birch has supremely good customer service and certainly makes Goldco earn its place in the industry.
Birch Gold Group is probably tied with Goldco in terms of customer education, if not actually better. Where they are certainly better is the lower minimums. A lot more investors can enjoy gold IRA accounts through Birch than Goldco, and they can deal in all four precious metals instead of just two.
- Minimum Investment: $50,000
- Annual Fees: $250 first year/$200 recurring
- Promotions: up to 10 years fees waived
- Minimum Investment: $25,000
- Annual Fees: $230 first year/$180 recurring
- Promotions: first year fees waived with qualifying purchase
Alternatives to Birch Gold Group
Augusta Precious Metals
Comparisons between Birch Gold Group and Augusta Precious Metals are inevitable. Both of them hang their hat on customer education. I might actually admit that Augusta does a little better on it overall, but with Birch, you also get low fees and impeccable customer service.
This is another comparison where Birch’s balance and ability to excel at multiple things at once makes them look really attractive as a potential gold IRA broker.
- Minimum Investment: $50,000
- Annual Fees: $250 first year/$200 recurring
- Promotions: up to 10 years fees waived
Goldco
I must confess that Goldco might honestly have Birch Gold Group beat in the customer service department. Then again, they beat everyone in the industry in that area. That doesn’t change the fact that Birch has supremely good customer service and certainly makes Goldco earn its place in the industry.
Birch Gold Group is probably tied with Goldco in terms of customer education, if not actually better. Where they are certainly better is the lower minimums. A lot more investors can enjoy gold IRA accounts through Birch than Goldco, and they can deal in all four precious metals instead of just two.
- Minimum Investment: $25,000
- Annual Fees: $230 first year/$180 recurring
- Promotions: first year fees waived with qualifying purchase
Reviews & Complaints Online
Birch Gold Group’s online reviews are one of the industry's best. They’re not perfect, as you would expect some complaints to happen for any company in business nearly 20 years. However, most issues that do come up are resolved.
- Better Business Bureau: The BBB rates Birch Gold Group with their highest rating of A+.
- Business Consumer Alliance: The BCA has rated Birch Gold Group with an AAA rating.
- Google: 222 individual reviews give Birch Gold Group an average of 4.9 stars out of 5.0.
- TrustLink: 126 reviews on this platform average a 5-star rating.
These numbers are fairly impressive in their own right, but I have to remind you again that they’ve been holding up these standards since 2003! That’s consistency in service, to say the least.
Celebrity Endorsements
Birch Gold Group advertises heavily in conservative-leaning media channels and platforms. This makes sense considering how the notion of using gold to preserve and store wealth is a rather old-fashioned idea. This goes back way past coming off the gold standard for American currency, as gold and silver have been used as currencies across many civilizations going back thousands of years.
It should be no surprise that two prominent celebrity endorsements of Birch Gold Group come from prominent conservatives. One is Ron Paul, and the other is Ben Shapiro. Ron Paul is a former physician and member of the House of Representatives who has worked much of his life to protect his own wealth while helping others protect theirs.
Ben Shapiro has a regular show discussing many economic matters and other subjects. The experts of Birch Gold Group have been on the show many times helping people understand precious metals and the involved economics.
Final Verdict - Is Birch Gold Group a Reputable Company?
If you’re looking for high-caliber customer service, then Birch Gold Group is one of the top gold IRA brokers out there. If you want a gold IRA broker that emphasizes education you can use to know what to do and what’s going on, then Birch Gold Group is still one of the best in that department. That balance makes this company a great choice if you want a great all-around precious metal investing experience.
What might really help you as an investor in precious metals while saving for retirement is the low minimum investment level of $10,000. You can put in pretty much the amount of wealth that you’re comfortable with. That’s not something you can do with everyone else in the industry.
Another benefit of Birch Gold Group is how they deal in all four precious metals instead of just gold and silver. Birch is great at several things, even if they’re not the top industry option in any single category. I believe they should be on your shortlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Birch Gold Group was founded by Laith Alsarraf who remains the CEO. The ownership is listed as private, as Birch Gold Group is not a publically traded company.
Based on high-level reviews and a positive track record dating back longer than many other peers have even been in business, Birch Gold Group is one of the most reputable gold IRA brokers in the business.
The company started doing business in 2003 and has been going strong ever since. They’ve worked hard to earn their reputation for customer service, competitive fees, and serious client education. They deliver.