Self-Directed IRA Administrators vs. Custodians

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More and more people are coming to understand the power behind Self-Directed IRA strategies.  Further, they are embracing the wisdom of diverse and unconventional asset classes while liberating their retirement portfolios from the narrow outlooks frequently characterizing the big Wall Street investment firms.

As such, with that knowledge comes the increased openings of Self-Directed IRA accounts.  Many of these new investors are not yet clear on the role of custodians and third-party administrators in the Self-Directed IRA industry – and the important distinctions between the two.

Let’s take a closer look.

IRA rules prohibit investors from taking personal, direct possession of assets within their Self-Directed IRAs. Yes, you can own the house down the block within your Self-Directed IRA, but you cannot personally reside there. What is more, you cannot keep the gold coins your IRA owns in a safe in your living room.  To use a more traditional example, it is no different than not being able to personally hold your stock certificates residing in a Schwab IRA account.

Custodians hold your Self-Directed IRA assets on your behalf.  Administrators process the paperwork on behalf of the custodian.  American IRA is an administrator and New Vision Trust Company, a South Dakota chartered Trust Company, holds the assets.  New Vision Trust Company and American IRA, LLC are an integrated financial company providing both custodial and administrative oversight for your Self-Directed IRA transactions.

A custodian handles transactions and holds Self-Directed IRAs and other retirement assets on your IRA’s behalf. The IRS has stringent requirements for Self-Directed IRA custodians. These businesses are subject to regular inspections and audits by federal regulators. They can hold titles, cash, investments and other types of property on investors’ IRAs’ behalf, and handle a lot of transactions.

If you own gold or other precious metals, or physical assets within an Self-Directed IRA, chances are there will be a custodian in the mix, holding the gold or other assets in a secure, insured facility somewhere – or at least physically holding certificates.

An IRA third party administrator, such as American IRA, LLC, has a more tapered scope of engagement. Administrators are the account record-keepers responsible for generating statements and documents. We do not hold assets directly, but work with New Vision Trust Company, a South Dakota chartered Trust Company on your behalf.  New Vision Trust Company and American IRA, LLC are an integrated financial company providing custodial and administrative oversight for your IRA transactions.  We simplify the process, document your transactions, generate statements and 1099s, and work with your advisors to help you stay in compliance with IRS rules and regulations.

We do not advise on the suitability or non-suitability of any particular investment for your individual portfolio. That is up to you and your own financial advisors. We focus on quickly and accurately executing and recording the transaction on your behalf, in accordance with IRS regulations.

Moving down the Self-Directed IRA industry hierarchy, there are other professionals and salespeople known in the industry as “promoters” and “facilitators.”

These individuals do not handle transactions and do not hold assets on your behalf, but they support the Self-Directed IRA process in other ways.

One type of promoter might be a real estate agent who focuses on helping investors find properties for their Real Estate IRAs, and who becomes very knowledgeable in that niche. Others are financial advisors, RIAs, IARs, accountants and attorneys who also promote the Self-Directed IRA approach and help facilitate your Self-Directed IRA strategy.

For example, an attorney may help create entities within your Self-Directed IRA such as C corporations and LLCs which may help insulate other properties and IRA assets against the claims of creditors.

Every Self-Directed IRA investor needs a custodian or administrator affiliated with one or more custodians to create and maintain a functional Self-Directed IRA account. Few are totally go-it-alone beyond that. Most investors require a knowledgeable and experienced, multi-disciplinary team of professionals to get the most out of their self-directed retirement accounts.

Fortunately, getting started in Self-Directed IRA investing is very easy, and our team of professionals at American IRA, LLC is available to help you throughout the process.

To learn more about our services as one of the leading Self-Directed IRA administrators in the country, or to set up an account and get started investing, call us today at 866-7500-IRA (472), or visit us at www.AmericanIRA.com.

You can also read more on this subject at our blog, here.

Do not delay! Give us a call today! We look forward to working with you!

Are You Ready for a Self-Directed IRA?

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A Self-Directed IRA is a proven way for investors to gain access to alternative asset classes not normally offered by most Wall Street investment companies. Most of them readily offer access to trade stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds. Some of them also support trading in options on stocks and margin trading. But for the most part, if you want to diversify your portfolio into other asset classes in order to increase your expected returns, decrease your exposure to volatility, or both, while preserving the tax advantages of a retirement account, you are going to have to look at Self-Directed IRAs.

Self-Directed IRAs is it the right fit for you? Some people just do not have the skills or financial sophistication to take personal charge of their IRA investments, pulling them from the control of a money manager. They may need the assistance of a professional mutual fund manager or stockbroker to help them manage their portfolio. Or, they may simply not have time for managing investments, because they do not enjoy it.

Who is Ready for a Self-Directed IRA?

A Self-Directed IRA can be an excellent match for certain investment minded people. If the following criteria apply to you, you may be ready for a Self-Directed IRA.

1.) You have professional-level knowledge of real estate, precious petals, private equity, technology, small business or some other asset that gives you a meaningful competitive trading advantage over the market.

2.) You understand the different kinds of risk that could affect your investments, including, but not limited to, market risk, systematic risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, legislative risk and company or investment-specific risk.

3.) You generally have an independent or entrepreneurial spirit.

4.) You know how to read a cash flow statement and a balance sheet.

5.) You understand the rules governing prohibited transactions and prohibited investments in IRAs.

6.) You want to save hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars in fees every year, compared to the high assets under management (AUM), wrap fees, expense ratios, 12-b-1 fees and other fees the Wall Street firms charge.

If all these apply to you, it may be time for you to consider a Self-Directed IRA. 

There are some important things to understand before you invest:

Self-Directed IRA Rules

You cannot buy an investment in your own name, expecting to transfer it into a Self-Directed IRA later. The law prohibits your IRA from buying or selling to you, personally. Your IRA also cannot transact directly with your spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, or any entities they control.

For example: John is an experienced real estate investor and finds a promising property that would make a great candidate for his first investment in a Self-Directed IRA. However, he does not have a Self-Directed IRA account set up with a custodian or third-party administrator. So he goes ahead and has his own real estate investment LLC buy the house. He cannot then transfer the house into his IRA. Since he controls the LLC, the IRS could disallow the entire investment, and force him to take a distribution on the entire value of the account. This would result in a big income tax bill and potential penalties for early withdrawal – plus a bunch of legal fees.

Making Your First Self-Directed IRA Investment

The correct way to go about buying your first Self-Directed IRA investment is to:

  • Contact American IRA, LLC directly at www.AmericanIRA.com, or by phone at 866-7500-IRA(472).
  • Fill out a couple of forms to open an account. You can choose to open a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, or if you have self-employed income or a small business, a SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA or a Solo 401(k).
  • Transfer funds from a qualified source into the account. If you qualify, you can make up to $5,500 in new contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA per year – and you have until April 15th to make IRA contributions for the previous calendar year. You can also roll over money from another IRA or qualified retirement account. In most cases, the best way to accomplish this is via a trustee-to-trustee transfer. This way, you will not take personal possession of the assets – and risk making a costly mistake. If you are transferring money from a 401(k), you also will not have to worry about your old 401(k) custodian withholding 20 percent to forward to the IRS to pay expected taxes.
  • Identify the asset you want to purchase for your Self-Directed IRA (or other retirement account).
  • Provide American IRA, LLC with detailed instructions on what to purchase, from whom, and for how much.
  • Have any attorneys involved draw up the title naming your Self-Directed IRA as the owner, NOT YOU. Mistitling the assets in a Self-Directed IRA can lead to big problems down the road.
  • Confirm the purchase is made correctly.

American IRA will log the transaction and ensure it is completed according to the law.

Note, American IRA handles the transaction. We do not determine whether the investment is appropriate for you or your portfolio. That is between you and your financial advisors. We work with your existing advisors to make sure your directions to us are handled promptly and accurately.

That is part of what it means to have a Self-Directed IRA: You take more direct and personal control of your retirement investments. You may hire some advisors to help you, but ultimately, you, and not some distant fund manager who does not know you or your goals, are in charge of managing your Self-Directed IRA portfolio.

Self-Directed IRA Retirement Tips You Need to Hear

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Self-Directed IRA Retirement Tips You Need to Hear

When you think about retirement, what are the conventional tips you receive? Diversify. Think about the long-term. But when it comes to a Self-Directed IRA, you’d be surprised at how many important tips even so-called experts might leave out. In order to get a better handle on how you can build wealth for the long term, let’s look at some retirement tips that apply to holding a Self-Directed IRA:

Tip #1: True diversification is about asset classes.

You’ve heard it a thousand times: diversification is the key way to avoid excess risk. You don’t want to put all of your eggs in one basket. So why is it such common advice to do exactly that by putting all of your money in the stock market in one form or another?

Here’s something you might already know: if all you own are mutual funds, there’s a good chance you’re not as well-diversified as you think. Diversification is about asset classes, not just different assets within each class. And while it’s great to own a mutual fund rather than an individual stock, smart investors will think beyond even that in order to achieve true diversification—and more financial security.

Tip #2: Utilize your specific expertise with a Self-Directed IRA.

Know a lot about real estate? Then why, when it comes to your retirement plans, does real estate fall by the wayside? With a Self-Directed IRA you can invest in real estate. Sure, the rules are different—but so are the protections. That means you can have plenty of wealth stored away in an IRA that’s better-protected than any ordinary real estate investment. If you know a lot about real estate and know how to spot a good investment when you see one, holding real estate in an IRA is a great way to build wealth for your nest egg.

Tip #3: Taxes matter—a lot.

When it comes to retirement, you’re talking about compounding interest. That’s a powerful tool in building wealth, because it means you can expand your holdings simply by being patient. But compounding interest works both ways too. The more you lose to taxes now, the more devastating it is for your ultimate retirement nest egg.

Everyone should work hard to comply with all tax rules and laws. But that also means that you should take advantage of the tax protections the government affords you. This includes keeping some holdings in an IRA—and not necessarily just stock funds, either.

If you want your money to grow as efficiently as possible, you have to take taxes into account. IRAs are some of the best ways to reduce your tax burden while your money grows.

Tip #4: Massive growth is possible with the right investments.

The typical idea of holding money in the long-term is that compounding will be responsible for the massive growth. But using a Self-Directed IRA for something like a private company is a different way to get access to massive growth opportunities. Holding private equity in a company before an IPO, for example, can be a tremendous way to yield plenty of value in an IRA.

This isn’t to say that any private investment is a guarantee of massive growth. All investments carry some degree of risk. But holding a Self-Directed IRA can give you the IRA protection you need for investments that really pay off in the long run.

Want to know more about Self-Directed IRAs? Then it’s time to explore. Continue reading our materials here at www.AmericanIRA.com or call us at 866-7500-IRA to learn more about how the Self-Directed IRA works.