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Oxford Gold Group is one of many precious metals dealers that offer gold and silver online. Like many of the precious metals firms based in the US, they specialize in gold IRAs. These tax-advantaged retirement accounts can be filled with IRS-approved precious metals.
But what do you need to know before you invest with the company? Are they a legitimate business? How do their practices compare to the competition? We've taken a look at everything you need to know.
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About Oxford Gold Group
Oxford Gold Group is a relatively new company on the market, having been founded in 2017. The company is based in Los Angeles. Both of the founding partners have more than two decades of experience with the precious metals industry. They created the company because they wanted fairer brokerage options.
Instead of working on commission, all of the salespeople at the company are salaried. Since their salary doesn't depend upon their sales, they can provide excellent customer service. You don't have to worry that you'll be preyed upon with a hard sell or bait-and-switch tactic.
Every investor is met with a tailored approach that's curated to their needs. The company representatives take into account your current assets, goals, risk tolerance, and other factors.
Though the main specialty is in gold IRAs, the company also offers gold and silver for purchase in regular investment portfolios. They aim to give customers enough information to help everyone make an informed decision when they invest. Every client is treated as an individual with different needs.
The company helps investors invest in tangible precious metals, since having tangible assets is a solid choice in this economy. They pledge to teach every client about the precious metals industry and their options. The company works well for both beginners and frequent investors in precious metals.
Products and Services Offered
The company offers a variety of products and services related to the precious metals industry. Their website is also full of free educational materials and research. You can read their blog, articles, and eBooks to learn about the different factors influencing today's precious metals market.
Gold IRAs
In the US, you can open a self-directed IRA and allocate your retirement funds however you want. Self-directed IRAs might include alternative assets like real estate and precious metals. You just have to make sure that you adhere to all IRS requirements regarding the assets, reporting, and storage.
Oxford Gold Group helps people get set up with a gold IRA. In addition to gold, you can also invest precious metals like silver and platinum. You just need to make sure that you can make a qualifying purchase or roll over existing funds from your retirement account.
IRAs have certain tax advantages. Depending on the type you use, you can either pay taxes now or later. If you pay taxes later, you don't have to worry about diminishing income. If you pay taxes now, you can be confident that you'll have access to your full net wealth when the time comes to pay distributions.
One of the biggest barriers to precious metals IRAs is the complexity. Not only do you need to do a lot of paperwork, but you also need to contact a custodian and choose an IRS-approved storage facility.
Oxford Gold Group helps to streamline that process. They take you through all of the paperwork so you don't need to worry that you've missed anything. Then they'll put you in contact with one of the two custodians that the company regularly partners with.
If you choose to open a gold IRA, your items will need to be stored in a special depository. You are not allowed to hold your retirement assets in your home or a non-licensed facility. You will also be required to work with a licensed custodian.
When you're ready to take distributions from your retirement account, you can have your metals shipped directly to you. From there, you can liquidate them however you want.
Precious Metals
Oxford Gold Group functions as a precious metals dealership. Their online marketplace has products including palladium, platinum, silver, and gold. You can purchase both bars and coins from mints around the world.
If you're making a purchase for an IRA, you will need to make sure that the coins or bars adhere to the purity standards laid out by the IRS. However, if you're just making a purchase for your own self, you don't need to worry about any extra fees or storage requirements.
Investment Updates
If you do invest in a gold IRA, you'll want information about how your portfolio is performing. When you create your account, you'll also be given access to a portal that will let you track your investment performance online. You can get information about the value of your assets in real time.
In addition, you'll get account statements about your investments on a quarterly basis. These are procured by your custodian. You'll have ongoing information about the performance of your account even if you don't use your online portal. If you pay an additional fee, you can get paper statements rather than digital.
Fees and Pricing
The company specializes in gold IRAs, which come with their fair share of fees. There also might be certain fees associated with purchasing metals directly for your investment portfolio.
The best precious metals dealers have transparent fee structures. That way, you don't end up surprised by any hidden costs down the road.
In keeping with this, Oxford Gold Group is very open about their pricing. They also use a flat pricing structure instead of billing a percentage of your wealth. That means you won't be penalized for account growth.
When you first set up your account, you'll need to pay an initial startup fee. This covers the process of doing paperwork and setting up your IRA custodian. Your first year will have a cost of 325 dollars.
This setup fee is steeper than with a lot of other precious metals dealers. However, it does also include the maintenance fees for your first year. After that, you'll need to pay ongoing annual maintenance fees.
If your account has a total value of less than 100,000 dollars, your maintenance fee will be 175 dollars. For those whose accounts gain a value of greater than 100,000 dollars, you'll need to pay 275 dollars in annual maintenance fees.
The storage fees vary depending on what type of storage you choose. You might end up paying anywhere from 175 to 225 dollars annually. When you combine that with the annual custodial maintenance fees, it can seem a little steep.
Depending on the size of your purchase, Oxford Gold Group will cover the cost of storage for anywhere from one to five years. You can even get a storage fee rebate of a maximum of 2,500 dollars if your account qualifies.
As with many precious metals IRA companies, there is a minimum threshold for investment. If you want to set up an IRA through the company's services, you'll need to have at least 7,500 dollars to invest. In addition, if you want to make a non-IRA purchase through the brokerage, you'll need to pay at least 1,500 dollars.
When it comes time to take account distributions, you can have your precious metals mailed to you without any shipping costs. Similarly, free market purchases can be mailed to your home free of charge.
Storage Options
When you store precious metals in an IRA, the account must be held in a licensed facility. The IRS has strict regulations regarding the security and setup of different precious metals vaults. You can rest assured that any IRS-approved facility is safe. So what are your options?
Currently, Oxford Gold Group works with two different depositories. The one that's right for you might just depend on your region.
One of the depositories is the Delaware Depository. As the name implies, this storage facility is located in Delaware. It is the most common storage facility used for gold IRAs on the East Coast.
If you're closer to the West Coast, you might want to work with the other depository. The Brinks Depository is located in Utah.
With both depositories, you can visit the physical location and look at the metals in your vault. But you don't have to. Your custodian will make sure that your metals are protected and conduct periodic audits.
When the metals are being transported from the Oxford Gold Group dealership to the storage facilities, they are sent in secure and insured packages. If the package is lost or stolen, you can get a full refund. Lloyd's of London is the insurance company that covers all of the packages.
Is Oxford Gold Group a Scam?
Oxford Gold Group is not a scam. Though the company has only been in business for a few years, they have quickly gained a reputation for being honest and fair. The founding partners both have decades of industry experience, and the company runs on solid principles.
There are a variety of excellent reviews online that help add to the company's credibility. In addition to solid reviews from past clients, they have good ratings with third party watchdogs.
The Better Business Bureau gives the company an A+ rating. On Trustpilot, the company has an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars. The same star rating is true with Google. This indicates overwhelmingly positive customer experiences.
Opening an Account
If you want to get started with this brokerage, the process is relatively simple.
First, you'll need to go to the company website and create an account. You can also call the customer service line to accomplish this. It will take around ten minutes to do the application. After sending your application in, your account will likely be opened in the next 24 hours.
When the account is created, you can transfer your funds. The funds might be a rollover from your existing retirement account, or they might be a contribution from your savings. The funding process might take a maximum of five business days to go through.
Now you have your self-directed IRA and the funds. It's time to choose your precious metals. You can talk to your customer service representative about your investment needs and goals. They will give you advice based on the performance of different precious metals on the market.
After designing your investment portfolio, your company representative will place your order. The final step is for the metals to be shipped to the depository of your choice. Oxford Gold Group takes care of this part themselves, so you don't need to worry about it at all.
Pros & Cons of Oxford Gold Group
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Final Thoughts
Though Oxford Gold Group has only been in business since 2017, they have quickly become a formidable competitor in the world of gold IRAs. The company employees aim to educate consumers about their options, so you have the ability to make the right choices for your needs.
All in all, there's not a lot of bad things to be said. The company uses the same customer service principles that make the top gold dealers so ideal. They leverage a lot of expertise with solid principles to make investing more accessible.
Because the company specializes in gold IRAs, it might not be the best choice if you're simply looking for a precious metals dealer for personal investing. In addition, you'll have to make a minimum purchase of at least 7,500 dollars if you want to set up an IRA through this company.
The biggest potential drawback is that the company has relatively high fees in comparison to some of the competition. With your first year, you'll be paying more than 300 dollars for your setup and account maintenance. Then you'll be paying more than 300 dollars every year after that for combined maintenance and storage.
The company does make an effort to offset this, though. Depending on how large your investment is, you could have your storage fees covered for up to five years. You might also get a rebate on your storage fee thanks to certain Oxford Gold Group promotions.
Although we do think that Oxford Gold Group is a solid company, we believe that there are better companies out there to make your investment with.
Or you can get a free precious metals investment kit from our #1 recommended company right now!
Or, continue with Oxford Gold Group...