For most people, having more choices in their life isn’t about having more control, or say-so. It’s about having more freedom.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in dealing with your financial future. The freedom to make your own choices isn’t only important so that you can take the reins of your financial destiny, but your choices can actually have a major impact on the size of the nest egg you end up leaving for yourself. Choices don’t have to mean more complexity; instead, they can mean more security and more freedom—if you know what the choices mean, that is.

Let’s explore some of the choices that you can make when you opt for a Self-Directed IRA and learn a few of the things you’ll need to take into account before you make those choices:

Choosing a Greater Range of Investment Types

Stocks, CDs, mutual funds. How many times have you invested in one of the categories of financial commitments without actually taking the time to consider exactly the choice you’re making? Sure, we’re told all the time that we should invest in the stock market, pick a conservative mutual fund, and wait things out. But is that really all that’s out there?

Well, by now you’ve probably guessed that there are more options—more choices—available to you. In a Self-Directed IRA, your investment options can include everything from real estate to gold and precious metals to private investments. All that’s limiting you is you, because you’re the one who has to take action if you’re going to start thinking about using a Self-Directed IRA and investing your money with more control.

Choosing the Quality of Your Portfolio

When you put all of your money away in one account and allow a money manager to pick your portfolio for you, you’re often doing a wise thing. Sure, there are some times when this isn’t a good idea, but if you work with a reputable company and a wise money manager, your portfolio will eventually be strong.

The problem is, you should ultimately be in charge of the quality of your portfolio, and that means diversifying beyond the mere breakdown of stock, CD, and mutual fund types. Expanding your portfolio to include other hedges against the stock market like real estate will give you the freedom to stop checking your stock ticker every day.

Choosing Between Management Fees and Personal Investment

Money managing is a great tool to have—as long as you’re not getting nickel-and-dimed by the money manager thanks to exorbitant fees. We believe that you should be able to make a choice here by managing your own money through a Self-Directed IRA if you so desire. This means fewer fees to worry about and more control over your financial destiny.

Can it be scary at first? Not if you have experience in a specific field of investment, like real estate, which a Self-Directed IRA gives you access to. We believe that a smart money manager knows their strengths—and that includes Self-Directed IRA holders as well as professional money managers.

Choose Your Hedges

Hedging against inflation, hedging against the market—these might sound like complicated concepts, but they aren’t. We believe that every retirement portfolio needs some sort of investment to fall back on if the major markets collapse, and that every retirement investor should feel confident making the choice of hedges themselves.

If you’re interested in how to start making more of your own choices in a Self-Directed IRA, please don’t hesitate to read more on our site here at AmericanIRA.com or contact us directly at 866-7500-472(IRA).