Founded in 2003, Birch Gold Group is a precious metals dealer specializing in helping customers protect their retirement savings by diversifying their portfolio with precious metals. This dealer may be a good fit for budget-conscious investors who value a wide range of precious metal options, including collector coins.
This Birch Gold Group review dives into this dealer’s fee structure, services, and customer ratings, so you can take a look at this provider from all angles before making any investments.
Birch Gold Group is a precious metals dealer that supports customers interested in setting up gold IRAs.
Compared to other precious metals dealers, Birch Gold Group is a lower-cost option, with a minimum investment of $5,000 — significantly lower than other dealers, which often require $10,000 to $50,000 to start. Its typical customer is a retirement-focused investor who wants to work with a specialist rather than purchase online.
However, Birch Gold Group isn’t a custodian or depository itself, meaning this company doesn’t personally manage your retirement account or store precious metals. Birch Gold Group works with IRS-approved depositories to store your precious metals and third-party custodians that roll over your retirement accounts and manage precious metals IRAs.
Birch Gold Group sells gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in the form of coins, bullion, and proof coins, which have limited mintage and appeal to collectors.
Besides selling precious metals, Birch Gold Group facilitates gold IRAs by helping customers roll over money from existing retirement accounts, select precious metals, and coordinate IRS-approved storage. Standard account set-up fees are approximately $80, with annual custodian fees falling around $235. However, customer service waives the set-up fee for new clients who deposit $50,000 or more.
If you’re interested in investing with Birch Gold Group, start by calling or filling out its contact form, which requires the following information:
From there, a representative will contact and guide you through the investing process, which begins with discussing your options, funding your rollover, and choosing from Birch Gold Group’s selection of precious metals.
Birch Gold Group is compensated through commissions on completed purchases, which is a common practice in the precious metals industry. As a result, Birch charges slightly more than the current market price for precious metals to cover its costs.
The company also has an annual custodian fee averaging $235. However, Birch Gold Group waives all custodian fees for one year if you invest more than $50,000 during your first year.
While Birch Gold maintains its Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation and A+ rating, the majority of its customer reviews since Fall 2025 have been negative. These Birch Gold Group customer reviews note issues with overcharging for gold and silver coins, hidden fees and lower-than-expected values immediately after account creation.
With that said, other review websites, such as Trustpilot, give Birch Gold Group excellent ratings of 4 stars or higher. Positive reviews typically praise the informative and patient staff who guided them smoothly through all steps of the investing process. Many clients praised its education-centric approach and didn’t feel pressured by the customer service team to buy gold.
Here’s a quick glance at Birch Gold Group’s pros and cons:
Pros:
Cons:
Birch Gold Group, like many other dealers, specializes in selling physical metals and guiding customers through the process of setting up precious metal IRAs. However, pricing, fee structures, minimum investment, and more vary among dealers.
Here’s a quick look at Birch Gold Group’s competitors and how it stacks up.
Birch Gold Group is a well-known precious metals dealer and gold IRA facilitator with notable backing from celebrities, such as Ron Paul and Megyn Kelly. However, its most recent customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau give us pause, despite its high rating. Regardless of which company you choose, remember that returns are never guaranteed, so always gather multiple dealer quotes and speak with a trusted financial advisor before moving your funds.
The minimum investment for Birch Gold Group is $5,000, though this amount varies based on product availability and market conditions.
The Birch Gold Group headquarters is located in Des Moines, Iowa.
Laith Alsarraf is an entrepreneur who founded Birch Gold Group in 2003. He is the current CEO of the company, which helps investors diversify their retirement portfolios with precious metal investments.
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.