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When saving money for retirement, the essential points to consider are to get the most for your investment and minimize the amount you pay in taxes.
Birch Gold is a company that specializes in precious metals located in Burbank. The company, founded in 2003, offers retirement options and direct precious metals sales.
Many individuals with 401K and IRAs who want to diversify their portfolios with gold or silver are familiar with Birch Gold and other precious metals dealers.
When choosing a gold IRA, it's essential to learn about what the company offers, including available plans, fees, and customer reviews or complaints.
Before we get started with this review:
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Overview of the Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group is one of the country's most trusted precious metals dealers. The company has high ratings and a (knowledgeable staff). One of the top promotions offered by Birch Gold Group is up to $10,000 in precious metals, free-of-charge.
Although most companies have some negative reviews from dissatisfied customers, most reviews of the company are positive. Birch Gold Group has a Better Business Bureau A+ rating.
More than 70 reviews on the company website indicate, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. The company is working toward resolving the few complaints that have been filed.
The Consumer Business Alliance, or CBA, gives the company a AAA rating. The few complaints that have been lodged against the company are being resolved. Birch Gold also has an excellent rating on Google.
The search engine has more listings of more than 200 reviews, averaging 4.9.
Fees for a Birch Gold IRA
Buying precious metals like gold and silver when you roll over a 401K fund is an excellent way to diversify your portfolio and has significant tax advantages.
You should be aware that opening and maintenance fees are associated with a precious metals account. You'll pay a fee when you set up your Birch Gold account. Annual maintenance fees are also associated with a precious metals account.
Gold IRA Set Up
When you set up an account with Birch Gold or any precious metals IRA provider, the company you choose to work with can streamline the process and answer new investors' questions.
When you set up your new gold IRA, you'll work with an account custodian and a company that stores precious metals securely.
The Function of a Custodian For Your Gold IRA
Most 401K retirement plan custodians allow investments, including index funds, stocks, and bonds, as investments. Some custodians allow exchange-traded funds in gold-backed accounts.
If you have a traditional IRA, you don't have the option of investing in precious metals. You must roll over your conventional IRA to a gold account if you want to invest in gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals.
The process involves investing all or a portion of a traditional IRA in a gold IRA. A self-directed IRA or SDIRA is an excellent option for alternative investments, including real estate, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals.
To open a self-directed account, you must open it with a custodian that handles precious metals accounts. IRS approval for a custodian requires the custodian to file a written application that agrees with IRS compliance.
The custodian must demonstrate their ability to handle transactions on an itemized basis. An approved custodian may be a brokerage company, mutual fund provider, or bank.
Taxes and Self-Directed IRAs
Taxes are a significant expense and can take a large chunk of your retirement savings. Efficient investing is essential but more vital in a higher tax bracket.
Minimize the taxes you pay so you don't lose more of your retirement savings. Minimizing taxes means the money you invest in your retirement portfolio generates more income.
What You Should Know About Precious Metals Custodians
Most traditional IRAs allow different investment options, including exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. You must diversify with a gold-backed IRA to purchase gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals.
With a gold IRA rollover, you move part of your assets and open a self-directed gold IRA with a custodian that has the approval of the IRS. With a self-directed IRA, you can diversify further and purchase real estate or cryptocurrency.
It's essential to choose an IRA custodian to review your current investments, discuss options for a self-directed IRA to suit your needs, and assist with selecting new assets for your portfolio.
Here's an example of fees with Equity Trust, a custodian used by many Birch Gold Group customers:
One of the best features of opening a self-directed IRA with Birch Gold Group is if your initial deposit is $50,000 or more, the company will waive all of the initial setup, wire transfer, and maintenance fees for your first year.
The storage fees for the depository are included with the costs.
Depository Rules for Your Gold IRA
Rolling over an IRA or 401K to a gold-backed account, also known as a 401k to gold IRA rollover, has specific conditions that don't apply to traditional accounts. Individuals that invest in mutual funds track the prices of gold and other precious metals but don't have access to physical gold.
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are the most lucrative precious metals. Precious metals in self-directed IRAs are in the form of bullion, bars, and coins. You may not store physical gold for your IRA in your home.
Physical precious metals must be contained in an authorized depository. Laws for self-directed IRA plans state you must keep gold investments with an authorized custodian and not have direct access to your precious metals.
If you don't comply with IRS regulations, your precious metals assets could disqualify as precious metals assets. You may select a custodian to store your precious metals, or Birch Gold Group can suggest one of the custodians they work with.
How Gold Depositories Protect Investor's Assets
A gold IRA depository is a company that owns a secure facility to store their investor's precious metals assets. The building provides bank-vault security. Investors have the assurance that their assets are safe with the custodian.
Gold depositories utilize several strategies to assure safety, which include:
Highly Rated Gold IRA Custodians
Brinks is famous for its armored car services to banks and commercial businesses. Brinks Global Services provides authorized, segregated, and non-segregated IRA storage facilities in Los Angeles, London, New York City, and Salt Lake City.
CNT is a Commodity Exchange or COMEX IRA precious metals depository in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. CNT is famous as the company that sells the rawest gold to the U.S. Government.
Delaware Depository Service Company is licensed by the CME Group and has IRS approval as a precious metals depository for the New York Stock Exchange and Commodity Exchange.
The company provides segregated and non-segregated storage for gold in its depositories in Wilmington, Delaware, Canada, Orange County, California, and Switzerland.
Lloyd's of London offers Delaware Depository Service Company $1 billion in insurance coverage for all risks. The coverage includes $100,000 in shipping.
International Depository Services offers investors three state-of-the-art, full-service depositories for precious metals, IDS in New Castle, Delaware, Dallas, Texas, and Mississauga, Ontario, in the Toronto region.
IDS locations are accredited with COMEX and Intercontinental Exchange Futures U.S.
JP Morgan Chase Bank NA has more than 30 years of experience in providing investors with precious metals services. JP Morgan Chase gained approval as a precious metals depository in 2011.
The financial institution offers investors secure storage for their precious metals at their offshore facilities in London and Singapore.
If you choose a depository that isn't part of a banking system, the private storage depositories are in secure facilities. Most investors can choose a storage facility that meets their needs and is close to their location.
The annual cost of storing precious metals in a non-segregated facility is $100, while the fee for a segregated facility is $150.
Non-Segregated Vault Storage Options
Non-segregated, pooled, or unallocated storage options mean the owner of the vault certifies that you own a specific amount of gold. When you withdraw your coins or bars, the custodian removes the same amount of gold you purchased and ships it to you.
The only requirement is that the gold shipped to you is the same amount you bought.
The problem with unallocated storage is if the custodian needs to have what you request, it has to be purchased on the market with your money, and you may be charged an additional fee.
Segregated Vault Storage Options
Fully-segregated storage options mean when you buy gold, silver, platinum, or palladium for your gold account, your coins, bars, or bullion are logged in, sealed with tamper-proof security wrap, and marked with a unique security identification tag.
You'll receive the exact items you originally purchased when you withdraw your gold.
Allocated Vault Storage Options
Most investors choose allocated storage options, meaning when they withdraw gold from their accounts; they receive the exact type of bullion they originally purchased.
For example, if you buy ten 1-ounce Gold Eagles when you withdraw, you will receive 10 Gold Eagles, but not necessarily the exact coins you purchased.
Products and Services at Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group offers products and services for IRA gold customers in every state, including direct sales and delivery of precious metals. One of the best reasons to choose Birch Gold Group is the company offers more than gold bullion and bars.
The company also provides quality numismatic and collectible coins. Birch Gold Group offers gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. These are the high-quality products that Birch Gold Group offers:
Birch Gold Group sells an excellent selection of pre-1933 coins for collectors. Among the rare coins, you can buy from Birch Gold are Gold, Indian Head Eagle coins, organ Silver Dollars, and Saint Gaudens double eagles.
The company also offers Australian gold and silver florins and limited edition, gold-proof coins.
Buy-Back Program For Precious Metals
Birch Gold Group offers one of the most comprehensive buy-back programs in the precious metals industry. If you want to sell a portion of your gold or liquidate your supply, you'll be able to find a buyer.
Some precious metals companies charge fees and add additional charges when customers sell their precious metals. When you compare Birch Gold Group with other precious metals companies, you'll find that Birch compares well.
Why Birch Gold is Recommended by Financial Experts
Birch Gold Group has been in the business of providing quality precious metals for customers for more than twenty years and is a trusted dealer of gold, silver, and platinum.
The company is one of the top-rated precious metals dealers in the country, with an expert staff to handle customers' needs. The company offers free shipping on all purchases and has one of the top-rated buy-back programs in the industry.
Company Complaints
There have been very few complaints from customers since the company opened. The company consistently has excellent reviews of 4.8 out of a possible 5 stars. Most of the complaints against Birch Gold Group have been resolved successfully.
Conclusion
There are several reasons to choose Birch Gold Group for your precious metals investments. Independent consumer rating sites consistently give the company high marks for excellent customer service.
The minimum of $10,000 is one of the lowest in the industry, which is low compared to other precious metals companies which may require as much as $50,000 to open a new precious metals IRA.
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I started BMOGAM Viewpoints as a way to compile all my views on investing in one place. I own my home, have some real estate, and own a few stocks like most people, but what really drives my interest in investing is I have a strong love of precious metals, especially gold.
