Financial advisor warned me too late
Michael C. · March 8, 2026
After I had already transferred $70,000 into a gold IRA with Birch Gold Group, I mentioned it to my financial advisor at our next meeting. His face went pale. He pulled up the spot price of gold and asked me exactly what I had been sold and at what prices. When we compared the purchase prices on my statement to the actual market value, the average markup was 105%. He said he had seen this pattern dozens of times - companies selling standard coins at extreme premiums to people who do not know the difference between melt value and retail price. He helped me file complaints with the BBB and the state attorney general. The gold company responded by saying all premiums were "clearly disclosed" in the fine print of the customer agreement I had signed. Technically they were - buried on page 14 of a 22-page document.