For many people, the idea of retirement is simple: you put some money away in your 401(k), your employer matches, and you hope that when you reach retirement age, you’re ready to sail off into the sunset with an expensive yacht. Many of us know that’s not how the world works. Many people today depend on social security for their retirement precisely because they didn’t put any thought into their retirement plants…and if that’s been the case for you, it might be time to consider a Self-Directed IRA.

A Self-Directed IRA isn’t as scary as it might sound to the uninitiated. In truth, all retirement accounts you keep are self-directed. In this case, you’re simply the one who decides which investments to make a priority—whether that’s real estate, gold and precious metals, private companies, and more. The truth is there are a lot of options out there for growing your retirement nest egg, and you won’t have access to those options unless you first consider a Self-Directed IRA as part of your portfolio.

Reason #1: Control over your financial destiny through a Self-Directed IRA.

One of the most important reasons people flock to this type of retirement account—which is really the same type of retirement account, just managed differently—is that they know there’s more available to them than the traditional methods of investing. They want to include real estate, they want to include precious metals, they want to include all sorts of investment types in their retirement portfolio—and the traditional method just doesn’t offer that kind of control.

Reason #2: Simplicity.

Simplicity is a rare thing these days. If you don’t believe us, try setting up an IRA account on your own and see how much paperwork really is involved. The beauty of the Self-Directed IRA is that it takes advantage of some simplicity in the tax code—specifically, the IRS doesn’t tell you what types of things to invest in when it comes to your retirement. The Self-Directed IRA is simple because it leaves you in charge and it lets your money grow freely and with the added protections of the IRA itself.

Reason #3: Diversification.

You hear it at our site all the time: diversification, diversification, diversification. What does it really mean? Diversification is what happens when you mold your portfolio off of a broad base of investments—not just stocks and bonds. If you’re only in stocks and bonds, you’re highly tied to the stock market. Diversification doesn’t tie you to any one market.

Reason #4: Freedom.

The IRA is designed for lots of freedom, yet when you have someone else direct it, you give up one of the chief advantages of having an IRA.

Freedom isn’t just about selecting your investments from a short list of predetermined investment vehicles. Freedom is about having choice. That includes choice of investment types, including real estate and private companies. When companies only sell your IRA a certain type of investment, they’re not offering you the true range of choices available to you.

Reason #5: Wealth.

In the end, it’s all about the quality of retirement portfolio you’ve created for yourself. The Self-Directed IRA allows you to build wealth through aggressive investment vehicles like real estate—or more traditionally conservative-performing investments like precious metals.

If you want to know more about the benefits of Self-Directed IRAs, including what kind of options are available to you for funding or rolling over into a retirement account of this type, be sure to keep reading us here at AmericanIRA.com or contact us at 1-866-7500-IRA(472).