Birch Gold Group Review

Is Birch Gold Group a trustworthy choice for your gold IRA needs? This review sifts fact from fiction, to help you make an informed decision.

	Free Information Kit Get Deal
	Overall Score	4.5
	Minimum Deposit	4.5
	Fees	4.0
	Gold IRA	4.0
	Customer Service	5.0
	Safety	5.0

5-point scale (the higher, the better)

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Pros and Cons

• Dedicated specialist
• Low minimum
• Slightly lower fees

• Pricing not transparent
• No buyback guarantee

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Bottom Line

Precious metals IRA with lower minimum and fees than competitors

The majority of retirement accounts focus on stocks and bonds.

Since the stock market has consistently gone up, this is a smart long-term strategy. But what if the economy takes a dive?

If you need to withdraw when the market is down, you could lose a lot of money.

That's why many people diversify their retirement investments. And why you may be considering precious metals IRAs, like the ones offered by Birch Gold Group.

In this detailed review, you'll learn everything about Birch Gold Group.

• Are they a good fit for you?
  
• How high are the fees?
  
• How does Birch stack up against its most popular competitors?

Read on to learn everything you need to know.

What is Birch Gold Group?

Birch Gold Group is a gold and precious metals IRA provider. They're based in Des Moines, Iowa, and were founded in 2003.

They offer a range of services, primarily related to their gold IRAs. The minimum investment is only $10,000, which is one of the lowest among gold IRA companies.

You can open a new retirement account or roll over an existing one. They are a precious metals dealer, offering coins and bullion in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You can use the precious metals to fund a precious metals IRA and for individual ownership.

As a user, you can store your precious metals in several secure depositories. For non-IRA precious metals, they offer fully insured shipping options with discrete packaging to ensure your shipment arrives safely.

When it comes time to sell your gold and precious metals, Birch Gold Group may be willing to buy them back, saving you the hassle of finding a buyer.

Birch Gold Group Features

Now that you know a little about Birch Gold Group and what they do, let's look at their features in detail.

Precious Metals IRA

Birch Gold Group is primarily known for its Precious Metals IRA.

It allows for tax-advantaged investing in gold and other precious metals for retirement.

While some gold or precious metals IRA providers only allow for investing in gold and silver, with Birch Gold Group you have four metals to choose from:

• Gold
  
• Silver
  
• Platinum
  
• Palladium

The Precious Metals IRA is self-directed (an individual retirement account). It allows you to invest in assets like gold that you might not otherwise be able to with other retirement accounts, such as your employer-sponsored 401(k).

Tax-advantaged retirement investment accounts typically have limits on what you can invest in. These are imposed by the account custodian and the IRS, meaning that if you want to invest in assets other than stocks and bonds, you typically have to find a provider that offers your chosen investment.

That's where Birch Gold Group's Precious Metals IRA comes in.

Investing in precious metals through a gold IRA can help protect you from the volatility of the stock market, as the prices of gold and other metals typically don't correlate to those of stocks.

Gold is also seen as a hedge against inflation, as some experts believe it holds value better than the dollar.

In addition to its popularity, gold has value in several technological and industrial applications, such as the construction of computer chips. Its limited supply helps ensure it retains and gains value over time.

If you already have an existing retirement account, you can work with Birch Gold Group to roll it over into one of their precious metals IRAs.

Storage

When you open a physical gold IRA like those with Birch Gold Group, finding secure storage is important.

Due to IRS regulations, you aren't allowed to store IRA-related precious metals at home,^[1] and attempting to keep a so-called "Home Storage IRA" can lead to hefty penalties from the government.

Fortunately, Birch Gold Group has partnered with some secure depositories to provide secure storage options to their customers.

Birch Gold Group users can have their precious metals stored with:^[2]

• Delaware Depository
  
• Brink's Global Services

Brink's has locations in Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City, while Delaware Depository has one location in Wilmington, Delaware, and one in Seal Beach, California.

Buy Precious Metals Directly

There are strict requirements on what metals can and can't be used to fund a precious metals IRA like the one offered by Birch Gold Group.

The IRS sets standards for the purity and authenticity of coins and bullion. These vary from one metal to another. Determining whether the metals you're trying to purchase qualify for your IRA account can be time-consuming and difficult.

One way to avoid the hassle is to buy from your IRA provider directly, as they're fully aware of what can and can't be used to fund your account.

Birch Gold Group directly sells a range of coins and bullion for IRA purposes and personal ownership.

They include, but aren't limited to:

• American Gold Eagles
  
• American Gold Buffaloes
  
• Canadian Gold Maple Leaves
  
• American Silver Eagles
  
• Silver Twin Maples
  
• American Platinum Eagles
  
• Platinum Bars and Rounds
  
• Canadian Palladium Maple Leaves
  
• Palladium Bars and Rounds

And there are plenty more.

Buy-Back Program

While Birch Gold Group can't offer a guarantee to buy back your precious metals if and when you decide to sell, they request that you give them the "right of first refusal."

The rep we spoke to also claims they've always decided to buy back the precious metals from the customer.

That suggests that there's a good chance you'll have a ready buyer when it comes time to take distributions from your precious metals IRA.

Remember, you can't withdraw from an IRA without a 10% tax penalty until you reach the minimum age of 59 1/2.^[3]

Shipping

The secure transfer of your precious metals purchases is vital if you're purchasing for use outside an IRA.

Birch Gold Group offers insured shipping options in discrete packaging, so no one will know what is inside until you've got it in your hands.

Fees to Look Out for

When choosing from the most popular gold IRA providers, it's important to consider what fees they may charge. Even ones that seem low can add up to quite a sum over decades.

Let's take a look at the fees involved with a Birch Gold Group precious metals IRA.^[4]

• Account Setup Fee: $50 (one-time fee)
  
• Annual Fees: $225 ($100 for Storage/Insurance and $125 for Management Fees)
  
• Wire transfer fee: $30
  
• Minimum Investment: $10,000
  
• Minimum purchase: $10,000

Overall, Birch Gold Group has one of the lowest minimum required investments. And they waive your first year's fees for accounts over $50,000.

Plus, their fees are fairly standard for gold IRA providers, though they are on the lower end of the spectrum.

Birch Gold Group vs Competitors

Now that we know pretty much all there is to know about Birch Gold Group, let's see how it stands up in comparison to some of its most popular competitors.

Patriot Gold Group

		Patriot Gold GroupGoldco
	Visit Site	Learn More
	Birch Gold Group	Patriot Gold Group
	SPECIAL OFFER Free Information Kit - Learn More
Annual Fee	$225	$200
Minimum Deposit	$10,000	$25,000. No Fee IRA $100,000 minimum
Gold IRA
Setup Fee	$50	5% on dealer-over-cost metal prices
Silver IRA
Platinum IRA
Palladium IRA
Buyback	Yes	Yes
	Visit Site	Learn More
	Free Information Kit No First Year Fees Protect Your IRA or 401k with Precious Metals

Patriot Gold Group is another precious metals IRA provider offering many of the same services as Birch Gold Group. They offer the same four metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium) and have comparable fees, though Birch Gold Group's are slightly lower.

Patriot Gold Group's minimum required investment is higher at $25,000.

You might consider Patriot Gold Group over Birch Gold Group if you have a large sum to invest. With a minimum deposit of $100,000 or more, you can take advantage of their No Fee for Life IRA.

Augusta Precious Metals

	Visit Site	Visit Site
	SPECIAL OFFER Free Information Kit - Learn More	SPECIAL OFFER Free Gold When You Open a Gold IRA - Learn More
Annual Fee	$225	$200 after first year
Minimum Deposit	$10,000	$50,000
Gold IRA
Setup Fee	$50	$50
Silver IRA
Platinum IRA
Palladium IRA
Buyback	Yes	Yes
	Visit Site	Visit Site
	Free Information Kit No First Year Fees Protect Your IRA or 401k with Precious Metals	Free Gold When You Open a Gold IRA Free Ultimate Guide to Gold IRAs Free Gold IRA Web Conference

Augusta Precious Metals is a highly regarded precious metals IRA provider that offers gold and silver IRAs.

Both Augusta and Birch have great customer reviews. You will likely receive excellent customer service, whichever you choose.

However, Augusta Precious Metals is less accessible, with a minimum investment of $50,000.^[5]

Free Gold When You Open a Gold IRA

Free gold is only for qualified customers who have at least $100K saved for retirement and who open a gold IRA with Augusta Precious Metals.

Click Here to See Offer

Bottom Line

Birch Gold Group is a reputable precious metals IRA provider that offers quality customer service, a lower minimum investment, and slightly lower fees than some competitors.

If you are interested in investing in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium for retirement, you will probably have a good experience doing so with Birch Gold Group.

References