Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Review

A self-directed gold IRA allows savers to place precious metals, including gold, silver, palladium and platinum, in their retirement accounts. These metals are considered protection against stock market volatility and inflation.

Oxford Gold Group, a privately held California company, can set up and manage your precious metals IRA — for a fee and startup costs. They can also serve as a broker for transactions that add precious metals to your account.

Oxford Gold Group

Oxford Gold Group was once considered the “Best for Beginners” on Money's Best Gold IRA Companies list, because of the resources it offers for more inexperienced investors in precious metals.

The company provides a wide array of educational tools and information in the Oxford's Education Center section of the webpage, including in-depth information about precious metals market news, price quotes and answers to frequently asked questions such as “what is a gold IRA?”

However, due to circumstances that developed in the first half of 2024, Beverly Hills-based Oxford Gold Group had its accreditation revoked by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and its rating fell to an F grade.

Specifically, the BBB stated that it:

"[O]pened an investigation into this firm due to the number of inquiries we have received. Oxford Gold Group has been unresponsive to BBB regarding pattern of complaints, over the past few months, BBB has received an increasing number of consumer complaints relating to your firm, specifically, consumers allege their orders of precious metals have not been delivered to the depository. Consumers also allege receiving correspondence from the depositor stating they were no longer doing business with Oxford Gold Group, Inc. Furthermore, consumers allege not being able to get a response from Oxford with the details of their orders or refunds. On May 24 and June 07, 2024 the BBB contacted the company regarding our concerns about the amount and pattern of complaints we have received, unfortunately, the BBB did not receive a response."

In early July, ABC 7's Eyewitness News reported that Oxford Gold Group "vanished, and customers fear their savings have gone with it." The article quoted one investor who is nearing retirement stating the potentially lost $200,000 by purchasing gold for an IRA through the dealer. According to the story, "he received notices from a depository company that told him the physical gold never arrived," and that "the depository company wasn't doing business with Oxford Gold anymore."

Oxford Gold Group pros explained

Offers several different retirement accounts and precious metals

Oxford Gold Group has a few options for those interested in a precious metals IRA account. With their Gold IRA, you can actually invest in a variety of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Oxford can also set up a Roth IRA account, which allows tax-free investment rather than the tax-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA. A SEP (simplified employee pension) IRA is similar, but it's best suited to self-employed earners or those who work for or own a small business.

Has a wide library of investing resources

Under the "Resources" tab on the Oxford home page, there's an extensive collection of articles and data on the precious metals market. Their Learning Center offers current market news and answers to frequently asked questions where new investors can learn how to buy gold in an IRA. If you're seeking up-to-date price information, the Oxford group also publishes historical and spot price charts for gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Online account access

Being able to set up and access your account online can give investors greater control over their Gold IRAs.

Oxford Gold Group cons explained

AA BCA rating

While not a huge concern, Oxford Gold Group has an AA rating, a notch lower than the highest (AAA). An AA grade is considered high quality and a low credit risk, whereas an AAA grade indicates the highest quality and a minimal credit risk.

Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Offerings

Oxford offers two different customer relationships. One is for precious metals investors, and the other is for IRA retirement savers interested in a self-directed IRA. Under IRS rules, investments may include physical metals such as gold, silver, palladium and platinum.

Gold IRA

An Oxford Gold IRA lets you invest in physical metals, including gold, silver, platinum and palladium. The account can also hold paper assets such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), precious metals futures and mining stocks. Per IRS regulations, all physical assets must be held in an IRS-certified depository, and a certified custodian must handle purchases and sales on behalf of the account owner.

Silver IRA

An Oxford Silver IRA focuses on silver investments. However, according to IRS rules, there are no restrictions on the type of metals held in these accounts as long as they're gold, silver, palladium or platinum.

Precious Metals IRA

A precious metals IRA must conform to the IRS's specific legal standards for self-directed accounts. An IRA-qualified trustee must store any physical coins, bars or ingots in an IRS-approved depository. Any coins in the account have to meet certain standards. Also, you can only use cash to open these accounts. You cannot contribute precious metal coins or roll them over from another account.

401(K)

A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan to which the employee and the employer can contribute. These plans can include investment in gold exchange-traded funds and gold mining stocks, not physical metals. Oxford Gold Group can set up a new gold IRA using a 401(k) rollover, in which assets are withdrawn from your old 401(k) and deposited into a new gold IR within 60 days, to avoid any IRS penalties.

Gold coins and bars

Oxford Gold Group can handle the purchase of physical assets by IRA account owners. The company can also broker purchases of precious metals for investment outside of an IRA. Available gold coins include the American Eagle, South African Krugerrand and Canadian Maple Leaf, as well as from the mints of Great Britain, Austria and Australia.

Silver coins and bars

The Oxford website offers detailed descriptions of each coin available for purchase, along with essential information for collectors. The classic silver Walking Liberty half dollar, for example, is 90 percent or .3617 ounces of silver, dated between 1916 and 1947. You can give your name and phone number for a current quote on the price of these and other coins.

Platinum coins and bars

Platinum is a heavy, silver-colored precious metal that is raree than gold and in high demand in various industries, including auto manufacturing and medical devices due to its high melting loint and resistance to corrosion and chemical attack. Most platinum is mined in South Africa, and the price is more volatile than that of gold. Oxford Gold Group markets the metal in both coin and bar form to retirement investors and short-term speculators.

Palladium coins and bars

The IRS has also approved palladium for inclusion in self-directed IRAs. The rarest of the precious metals, palladium is used in various industries and is an important component of many catalytic converters. Jewelry makers also use palladium, often combined with gold. The scarcity of palladium has boosted its price beyond that of platinum or gold. It's available in the form of coins and bars.

Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Pricing

Oxford Gold Group does not charge an annual account maintenance fee for its precious metals IRA. For storage, fees are $200 a year, although the company offers a year-long rebate for every $25,000 in the account.

Precious metal prices fluctuate with the market, and like other gold dealers, Oxford's prices include a markup percentage. Oxford will also repurchase precious metals from its clients, although they may bid lower than spot market prices.

Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Financial Stability

Oxford has been in business since 2017 and has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since July 2018. As a privately held company, Oxford doesn’t make its financial statements or information about its customers public. The company does ensure the security of its clients' IRA assets by working with reputable, IRS-qualified storage custodians.

Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Accessibility

Availability

Self-directed IRAs and conventional precious metals accounts managed by the Oxford Gold Group are available in all 50 states. To open an account, you must talk on the phone with an account manager who will complete your new customer application. You then submit verified identification and send funds for your new account or let the account manager handle rollover with a prior custodian. There are fees for the setup of your account.

Contact Information

You can reach Oxford Gold Group at 844-367-8512 or via a form on their website: OxfordGoldGroup.com.

User experience

Traditional financial websites may share information about stock market investments, IRA regulations or how to pay off debt in retirement. But a reputable and expert source is a must for precious metals investing.

Oxford's website is easy to navigate and contains a wealth of information on the precious metals they offer. However, their site is relatively short on account details, including minimums, fees, buybacks, rebates and other important information. Prospective customers should order the company's informational kit and read it closely before opening an account with a live account manager.

Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Customer Satisfaction

Oxford has earned a AA rating from the BCA. As previously mentioned, in 2024, the company had its BBB accreditation revoked due to unscrupulous business practices. The BBB site shows 112 complaints closed in the past three years, and 96 complaints closed in the past 12 months.

How We Evaluated Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA

We evaluated Oxford Gold Group through the following:

• a survey of the company's website

• information provided by neutral third-party reviewers

• customer satisfaction ratings on sites such as Trustpilot, ConsumerAffairs and the Better Business Bureau

• IRS.gov and other government information sources to find IRS rules and regulations about precious metals accounts

• BCA ratings

Summary of Money's Oxford Gold Group Gold IRA Review.

Oxford Gold Group is a relatively new IRA management company that provides services for IRA and non-IRA customers and partners with two reputable precious metals custodians.

Although the company website is unclear on the fee structures, account minimums and rebates, this information is readily available through contact with the company's account representatives. Oxford requires working hands-on with its agents, just like with other precious metals IRA managers.

The BBB has revoked its accreditation for Oxford Gold Group in light of a recent slew of unresolved complaints, and now rates the company an F.