Birch Gold Group Pros and Cons (Should You Invest in Them?)

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If you're looking for an opportunity to diversify your portfolio through asset exposure on precious metals such as gold, invest in Birch Gold Group. They are a precious metals company with a solid reputation for delivering excellent customer service and competently priced products for personal investments and gold IRA.

This Birch Gold Group review will summarize the pros and cons of this investment company and help you decide whether they are the best gold IRA company for you. If they aren't, you may consider choosing a similarly competent gold IRA firm, Augusta Precious Metals.

Pros

  • Excellent Customer Service
  • Good Outstanding Relationship with Business Partners and Endorsers
  • Special Deals
  • Education, Guidance, and Learning Resources
  • Intuitive Website

Cons

  • Little Information About the Owner
  • Undisclosed Fees
  • High Minimum Investment Amount
  • Limited Precious Metals Options

Pros

Excellent Customer Service

The Birch Gold Group is widely known to render beyond satisfactory customer service. They heavily emphasize how they interact, care, and serve their clients, further solidifying their reputation as a reliable gold IRA company.

They employ a group of well-trained investment professionals with extensive experience in the precious metals industry. These gold IRA specialists will listen to your concerns and help plan a winning investing strategy to achieve your goals.

A strong reputation built on satisfied customers will lead to more prospective clients, generate new businesses, and build brand loyalty.

Good Outstanding Relationship with Business Partners and Endorsers

Besides having the prominence of rendering quality services to their customers, the Birch Gold Group is also fostering a healthy relationship with its business partners and endorsers. They have a long list of endorsers that backs their core values of continued education, personalized service, and trust.

Here's a list of their top endorsers:

Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro is one of those individuals who believe in Birch Gold's advocacy of educating people about the opportunity to invest in precious metals and gold IRA. He's the leading voice behind the Ben Shapiro Show and the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Wire.

Occasionally, he would invite Phillip Patrick, a precious metal expert from Birch Gold, to discuss timely and relevant financial topics.

Ron Paul

Ron Paul is a physician and a U.S. Air Force veteran who strongly advocates the importance of common-sense economics. He agrees to partner with the Birch Gold Group to help advance the message across the American community regarding the financial protection brought about by investing in gold.

Another point he always keeps reminding the public about is the economic effect of inflation. He further discussed this issue during his interview with Birch Gold Group:

"

Today, it's important to know what to do with your savings because it's harder than ever before! Nobody wants to see their wealth shrink. Simply maintaining what you have is a major challenge today!


Ron Paul Finance Advocate, Birch Gold Endorser

Hugh Hewitt

Hugh is a radio journalist, professor, and Harvard-educated lawyer who hosts The Hugh Hewitt Show. He won three Emmys because of his contribution to the Life & Times Program. He also wrote several books. Two of them became New York Times best-sellers.

Despite his busy schedule, he still appears on several broadcasting networks, including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. He also finds time to write columns for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

His partnership with Birch Gold began in 2019.

Like many others, he was also a customer of Birch Gold Group, which believed in gold's impact on asset diversity and security. He was impressed with how the company handled his gold investment that said this on October and December 2020:

"

They’re very very good. I buy my gold from them…

The most reliable, the most trusted company in the gold business.


Hugh Hewitt Finance Advocate, Birch Gold Endorser

Special Deals

Birch Gold Group will cover the first year's fees for transactions of $50,000 and over. Note that the company has a minimum initial investment amount of $10,000 with various other expenses to set up and maintain the retirement account.

It would be best if you discussed this arrangement with your Birch Gold precious metals specialist.

Education, Guidance, and Learning Resources

The company advocates continued education and social awareness about precious metals' impact on asset diversification and long-term retirement planning. In line with this effort, they offer plenty of learning materials to help spread this message to the community.

The Birch Gold Group offers a free Info Kit, which you can access by filling up important information on their website. Customers will find all the information about the Birch Gold Group, its products, and its services. It also points out essential information about precious metals investment and why metals such as gold and silver are good asset hedges against inflation. Customers can access this kit without additional obligation to Birch Gold or its services.

Birch Gold Group also employs precious metals specialists to educate and guide customers to ensure they are confident in their decisions throughout the process. The goal of these staff members is to listen to the customers' needs, discuss possible investment solutions, and ensure these customers make wise and informed decisions about their investments.

Intuitive Website

You can easily navigate and work your way around Birch Gold's website. Upon visiting the site, you're greeted with information about the company, how they run its business, and its long list of reputable endorsers.

You can also find information about precious metal IRAs and their services to help you invest in metal commodities.

Cons

Little Information About the Owner

Laith Alsarraf is the founder and owner of Birch Gold Group. Despite the company's successes and prestige in the precious metals industry, Laith stepped away from the media and spotlight.

One thing to know about Laith is that before he founded Birch Group, he co-founded Cybernet Ventures, the parent company of Adult Check. Adult Check offers online age verification services. Users get access to at least 400,000 adult sites for a paid subscription.

Regardless of Laith's background, it's clear that Birch Gold became one of the country's best gold IRA and precious metals companies.

The Birch Gold Group nominated one of their precious metals specialists, Phillip Patrick, to handle media exposure and online engagements. You'll see him on the Ben Shapiro Show and other shows to discuss financial topics and timely issues.

Undisclosed Fees

The website of Birch Gold Group only showcased simple figures of other payables concerning account setup and annual storage and maintenance fees. However, it doesn't disclose additional costs associated with a gold IRA.

To avoid misunderstanding the varying fees, you may need to discuss this concern openly with their precious metal specialists.

High Minimum Investment Amount

The Birch Gold Group has plenty of exemplary customer reviews. But despite these commendations, it's also apparent that the company imposes hefty fees and an initial investment of $10,000. This figure means that transacting or opening an account with Birch Gold may be expensive to small prospective clients, shying them away from opening a precious metal IRA.

Limited Precious Metals Options

Birch Gold Group offers plenty of precious metal products, ranging from gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, that are eligible for personal purchases or IRA allocation. However, they offer limited precious metal options compared to other industry competitors.

Types of Metals Supported by Birch Gold Group IRA

As mentioned on their website, Birch Gold Group offers a variety of precious metals. Clients can buy their products for personal possession or IRA investment.

Here is a limited list of the IRA-approved precious metal products offered by Birch Gold:

American Gold Eagle

Bullion

The American Gold Eagle bullion is a famous gold piece first released in 1986. Two individuals, sculptor Miley Busiek and artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens, contributed to the conception and design of this masterpiece.

These gold coins come in different denominations: $5, $10, $25, and $50 but were never circulated as actual currency. Similar to all gold coins, the value of these physical gold is correlated to market forces.

Proof

This gold item is the limited edition counterpart of the American Gold Eagle bullion. Its production is so meticulous that only a limited number is released yearly at U.S. Mint's West Point.

This rare collectible is polished to reveal a mirror-like finish and was never physically touched by hand. Purchasing these proof coins comes with a velvet casing and a Certificate of Authenticity.

Gold Rounds and Bars

Gold rounds and bars represent some of the most straightforward and attainable forms of physical gold eligible for personal possession or gold IRA investments, with a fineness of at least 0.995.

Produced by private minting companies, these assets feature the engraving of their issuing institution in their body. For a similar reason, they also hold no legal tender.

Gold bars come in different sizes, including 10 grams, 20 grams, 50 grams, and one kilogram.

Similar to gold bars, gold rounds also come with variations. The typical sizes include 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/10 ounce.

Goldbacks

Goldbacks are intrinsically valuable gold notes containing a thin layer of 24K gold covered by polymer layers for added protection. The manufacturer of Goldbacks, Valaurum, developed the technology to combine the convenience of owning banknotes and the market value of gold.

These Goldbacks come in various weights, including 50, 25, 10, 5, and 1 thousandth of an ounce. Only four unique series of Goldbacks exist today: Wyoming, Utah, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Each series features five weight denominations, meaning there are 20 distinguished designs to showcase every piece.

Are Goldbacks legal?

These innovative products are legal, similar to other physical gold like the American Gold Eagle bullion—assets investable in a gold IRA or personal possession.

American Silver Eagle

Bullion

This coin became the official silver bullion of the United States after it was issued in 1986. It has a face value of $1 and a 99.9% purity. Regardless of its face value, its market value is closer to silver's spot price.

Proof

Shortly after issuing the American Silver Eagle bullion, the U.S. government produced a glossier, refined version featuring Adolf Weinman's design. They came up with the American Eagle proof coins.

Similar to their bullion counterparts, these proof coins have a purity of 99.9%. While their face value is $1, their market is represented by silver's spot price. However, a contrasting difference between the two coins is that these proof versions never reached general circulation.

More interestingly, the American Silver Eagle proof coin is the only uniquely made, limited-edition coin allowed to be placed under a precious metals IRA.

American Platinum Eagle

Bullion

The simplest way to include platinum in your investment portfolio is to purchase American Platinum Eagle. Designed by John Mercanti, U.S. Mint's Chief Engraver, this platinum asset is the only bullion with a guaranteed weight, substance, and fineness level of .999.

A proof version is also available for prospective investors to purchase. The bullion and proof versions of this coin may be invested in a precious metals IRA.

Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf

Recognized as one of the preferable and go-to options for investors seeking to invest in palladium, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) produced the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf coins containing .9995 refined palladium in November 2005. Until today, it remained one of the few palladium-made assets issued by the government.

Is Birch Gold Group a Reputable Company?

Like their competitors, Augusta Precious Metal, Noble Gold, Regal Asset, and American Hartford Gold, the Birch Gold Group is a reputable precious metals company widely known to offer exemplary customer service, competitive products, and plenty of educational materials. These things will significantly benefit their clients and keep them well-informed about the industry.

They were established in 2003, and since then, they've built a solid reputation as a reliable precious metals company. They have a long list of clients to back up this claim.

They have the following review ratings on different online platforms:

A 4.8/5 star rating on ConsumerAffairs

A 5-star rating on Better Business Bureau (BBB) and TrustLink

A 4.9-star rating on Trustpilot

A Charter Member with an AAA rating on Business Consumer Alliance (BCA)

The summary of reviews points out that Birch Gold Group puts a premium on how they care for their clients through personalized 1-on-1 discussions and educational sessions.

How To Get Started With the Birch Gold Group?

The intuitive website of Birch Gold enables first-time clients to connect with its precious metals specialists and get started immediately. You first must visit their website, get the free info kit, and review all the information stipulated in the material. When you understand all the data inside the kit, contact their specialists.

These specialists will orient you through the steps on either opening a precious metals IRA or investing for physical possession. Here are the five steps:

  1. 1
    Decide on a funding source.
  2. 2
    Decide on a precious metal product.
  3. 3
    Review and complete your transaction.
  4. 4
    Decide on a storage facility.
  5. 5
    Monitor your account.

Let Birch Gold handle the account management after setting up your account.

What Makes Birch Gold Group Unique?

Here are the things that make Birch Gold Group unique:

Competitive Buyback Policy

Similar to other competitors in the industry, Birch Gold Gold has established itself to be a reliable partner for prospective clients. They offer a competitive price buyback program with a minimum investment threshold of $10,000. This price threshold garners mixed views among investors, especially new and upcoming gold IRA prospects.

Offers Timely and Relevant Industry News

Part of Birch Gold's services is to keep you updated with all the industry news. These headlines are often given in real time by organizations and financial experts and may include information concerning the performance of gold and other precious metals.

Reliable and Dependable

Since its establishment in 2003, the Birch Gold Group has built a solid reputation based on client satisfaction and unwavering loyalty. It's an understanding that businesses have struggled in recent years. But despite that, the Birch Group continued to deliver on its promises of continued support, guidance, and dependability.

Birch Gold moves forward, staying committed to its clients and ensuring they make confident decisions to achieve their investment objectives.

Employs Experienced Specialists

Hiring seasoned professionals is a part of Birch Gold's commitment to ensuring they stay competitive and ready to render world-class investment services. These specialists have diverse experience working with global financial institutions, and their tenure at Birch Gold exposed them to the challenges and intricacies of the IRA and IRS. These circumstances made them more than qualified to address your investment concerns.

A Long List of Recommendations and Endorsers

As mentioned, Birch Gold boasts a long list of reputable partners and endorsers who back their business and its philosophy. They're affiliated with the Equity Trust Company and endorsers Ben Shapiro, Ron Paul, and Hugh Hewitt.

Why Is Birch Gold Group One of the Best Investment Firms?

The Birch Gold Group is one of the best investment firms because of the following qualities:

  • They've built a long-standing relationship with their clients, endorsers, and business partners. They're committed to adhering to their business standards: customer empowerment, educational, empathy, ethical, transparency, and efficiency.
  • They employ the expertise of precious metals specialists to handle your investment concerns. These professionals have years of experience in the industry. They are committed to helping you understand every piece of information to help you be confident in your investment decisions.
  • They offer a wide range of competitively priced precious metals to meet the needs and demands of their clients. Whether you invest for physical possession or need professional guidance in your gold IRA, they have personalized solutions to help you meet your investment goals.
  • They comply with government regulations. One particular mandate they strongly adhere to is the USA PATRIOT Act, which helps stop money laundering and forms of organized crime.

Birch Gold Fees & Minimum Investment

The team at Birch Gold Group recommends a starting investment of $10,000 for a precious metals IRA. You can fund your account through payment channels like a credit card, wire transfers, and PayPal. You can also opt to have your funds rolled over from an eligible IRA or 401(k).

Besides having a five-figure initial investment, you would also have to account for several fees, including one-time and annual fees. These fees cover the payables of your custodian and chosen depository.

Birch Gold Group fee includes:

One-Time Fees:

  • Account Set Up Fee: $50
  • Wire Transfer Fee: $30

Annual Fees:

  • Storage and Insurance: $100
  • Management Fee: $100

Birch Gold will cover your first-year transfer fees if your transaction exceeds $50,000. Consult your precious metal specialist to learn more.

What Are the Customer Services Provided by Birch Gold Group?

The Birch Gold Group offers a full suite of services that cater to the needs of its investors. Here's a list of the services they provide:

Precious Metals Transaction

Birch Gold gives out a comprehensive approach when it comes to precious metal transactions. They buy and sell gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Their specialists will coordinate with you and discuss your investment objectives. Once every fact is established, they'll recommend the most appropriate products at the best price to match your goals.

IRA Setup and Rollover Guidance

Birch Gold Group offers help in setting up your gold IRA. As mentioned, you need to consider your funding options in setting up an IRA eligible to hold precious metals. You can fund the account through other sources or rollover from a traditional IRA or 401(k). Either way, their team of experts has extensive years of guiding new prospective clients in rolling their funds over.

They've also partnered with reputable custodians and industry-leading depositories like the Delaware Depository to handle and store your precious metal assets.

You won't have to worry about these processes since Birch Gold will handle everything.

IRA Investment Guidance

Birch Gold offers a free consultation that helps upcoming investors make informed decisions. This session will shed light on how you can benefit from asset exposure to precious metals, the risks involved, and how you can protect yourself from inflation through asset diversification.

Whether your goal is retirement or value appreciation, your precious metals specialists will guide you through the process and give professional, research-backed opinions. They will discuss several ways to take advantage of this opportunity and protect your assets.

Does Birch Gold Have Any Pending Lawsuits or Customer Complaints?

Currently, the Birch Gold Group has no pending lawsuit. However, there are several complaints across different rating sites.

Here are some of their customers' complaints:

Complain on ConsumerAffairs

Complain on Business Consumer Alliance

From the complaints depicted above, it's clear that Birch Gold quickly resolves its clients' issues.

What Are the Pros and Cons of a Gold IRA?

A gold IRA is a self-directed IRA that permits you to buy gold and other eligible metals like platinum, palladium, and silver and hold them in your IRA.

Here are the pros and cons of a Gold IRA:

Pros

Intrinsic Value and Hedge Against Inflation

Regardless of how its price fluctuates over the years, the value of gold never went zero. Unlike currencies, which the government can devalue over time through excessive printing, increasing the supply of gold isn't a straightforward task.

Many consider gold an excellent hedge against inflation, primarily because of the asset's intrinsic market value. Partnering up with unquenchable market demand, many consider this as proof that this commodity is reliable during economic struggles.

Asset Diversification

Gold has a little-to-no correlation with stocks and bonds. Specifically, between the financial years of 2012 and 2020, the correlation value is at 0.02 and 0.28, respectively. Diversification is an essential investing strategy because it helps prevent portfolio wipeouts during a financial crisis. These portfolio losses mostly happen when you're invested in a single asset class as a portfolio funded entirely on stocks and other paper assets.

Asset diversification by investing in assets with low correlation value will help protect them against these scenarios.

Cons

Hefty Fees

Opening a gold IRA entitles you to higher fees than a traditional IRA. These fees include storage fees, dealer's fees, insurance fees, account maintenance fees, and out-time account setup fees, to name a few. Adding these fees together can be significant for many investors.

Illiquidity

Selling your precious metals isn't a straightforward task. You will need to find buyers who will buy your assets at a premium. Moreover, starting at 72, you must make minimum annual distributions from your account. When in a hurry, your dealer might be forced to sell your physical precious metals at a lower price.

Should I Put All My Money in Gold?

No. Like many other assets, gold has its advantages and market struggles. Over the short-term, gold can be a volatile commodity. However, looking at a long-term perspective, you'll see that it has maintained its value regardless of financial struggles.

Gold has maintained its market throughout the years. It's because of several factors, like the public's belief that gold is a good hedge against inflation, its supply constraints, increasing demands, and portfolio diversification.

During the 2008 financial crisis, people flock to gold because of its reliable response against the ongoing economic onslaught. While paper investments, like stocks and bonds, declined during this time, gold's trajectory went separately. This performance makes gold an asset worth investing in.

Is Gold a Good Retirement Plan?

Yes, gold is a good investment option for your retirement plan. Over time, gold has been a stable commodity with intrinsic factors that make it an excellent hedge against inflation. It also has little to no correlation with paper investments such as stocks and bonds, making it a viable option for asset diversification.

Alternative to Birch Gold Group

Suppose Birch Gold Group falls short in your investment choice. In that case, you may consider an equally reliable and competent alternative, Augusta Precious Metals. Like Birch Gold, they provide gold IRA services while delivering excellent customer service. They also offer a wide range of products at competitive prices.

Conclusion: Should You Invest in Birch Gold Group?

Yes, Birch Gold Gold is a precious metals company worth your consideration. They have been in the industry for over a decade, with a solid reputation for reliability and excellent customer service. They have a team of competent and experienced gold specialists that will handle your needs and concerns. Because their customers are satisfied with their services, Birch Gold garnered outstanding reviews across online sites such as BBB, BCA, TrustLink, Trustpilot, and ConsumerAffairs.

About the author 

J.A. Escalada

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