Want to know how a self-directed Individual Retirement Arrangement (an IRA) can provide the means for you to tap into your nest egg and try and consolidate or, preferably, start increasing the value of your fund? Then read on and we will quickly demonstrate the benefits of having a Self-directed IRA with American IRA, LLC.

The slump in global financial markets has seen the value of retirement funds plummet in recent years and with little sign of recovery on the horizon, the downward trend in fund values is set to continue. If you want to stop the slide in the value of your retirement fund, you need to take action like many other people looking for better investment opportunities.

You cannot, except in special circumstances or by paying penalties, get access to the cash in your IRA retirement fund but a self-directed IRA provides the means to actively manage the cash in the fund and put it into investments that you select and understand. A self-directed IRA essentially allows you to take control of the money in your IRA retirement account, Roth, Traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, even an HSA or Coverdell Education account and put it to work for you, with some restrictions through an American IRA self-directed account.

Here’s a simple example. Your current retirement fund is worth $100,000 and is invested in bank deposits that offer barely over 1%. In real terms, the value of that fund is decreasing each year because of inflation. So you set up an American IRA self-directed retirement account and use the funds to buy a single family dwelling that will be rented out at $500 per month, after expenses, giving a gross yield of 6%, almost six times your existing yield. Note that the net yield goes back into the retirement fund – you cannot use it for personal reasons.

Setting up your American IRA is as easy as opening a bank account. The IRS requires that a custodian is appointed to hold the assets and accounting on behalf of the IRA owner. There are numerous brokers and financial institutions, including banks, which offer this service; however, these types of providers will generally only allow investments in securities not non-traditional assets such as real estate.

As with any self-directed IRA program, there are going to be terms and conditions applicable to your IRA, and you will have to take a look at these to make sure you do not get into any prohibited transactions. You will need to be especially careful in your investment products. Keep in mind that the overall design of the self-directed IRA is to manage retirement resources and is not intended to allow you to get early access to your retirement funds for personal use. Therefore, you can see why you cannot use an IRA to invest in any assets you currently own. Typical investments are real estate, private lending, limited liability companies, precious metals and much more!

American IRA, LLC, is a third party administrator for Self-directed Retirement Accounts. American IRA, LLC was established in 2004 and currently has over 250 million in assets under administration. They protect your wealth by making sure that all uninvested cash under their administration is stored in FDIC-insured accounts. As administrators, they do not make any recommendations to any person or entity associated with any type of investment.

If you would like more information on this or any other type of self-directed retirement account, please feel free to contact the team at American IRA, LLC via e-mail [[email protected]] or via phone 1-866-7500-IRA(472), or visit their website [www.americanira.com].