Best Self-Directed IRA Companies

In the competitive SDRIA arena, experience counts, and Equity Trust has a lot of it. It has put its hindsight to work in creating a well-rounded offering supported by superior customer service, making it our choice as the best overall SDIRA provider. 

Equity Trust's initial foray into SDIRA investing centered on real estate investments. It has since branched out into the full spectrum of alternative investments, including private equity, precious metals, tax lien certificates, cryptocurrencies, and foreign currencies. Established initially as a securities firm, Equity Trust also offers SDIRA investors access to stocks, bonds, and ETFs. 

While its annual administration fees ($225 to $2,250 depending on the number of investments or size of account) are a bit higher than some of its peers, Equity Trust doesn't charge any transaction fees, making it more cost-efficient for investors who anticipate more than a few transactions in their accounts each year. The online account setup fee is $50. It's $75 if set up with a paper application.

The one downside to Equity Trust is it doesn't offer checkbook control. Clients have to issue directions to Equity Trust to invest funds from their accounts. While that can be cumbersome for clients who want more control over their cash, clients can access more than 400 specialists to help facilitate transactions. 

In addition to the specialists who are also available to assist clients throughout the setup, investing, and maintenance process, Equity Trust provides excellent educational tools to help clients understand their investment choices.

Founded in 2010, IRA Financial is gaining traction in the SDIRA space by differentiating itself as the only firm to stand by its clients should they come under an IRS audit, making it our choice as the best SDIRA for audit protection. 

Between the structuring of an SDIRA and the transactions that occur inside them, their complexity can invite IRS scrutiny, which is why it's essential to know you're working with a firm that is willing to stand by you. The firm was established by a team of tax specialists with a deep understanding of the myriad rules and restrictions governing SDIRAs. 

IRA Financial offers a checkbook IRA providing access to a full array of alternative investment options, including real estate, precious metals, private equity, private loans, foreign currencies, and cryptocurrencies. IRA Financial offers SDIRAs without checkbook control, but their checkbook IRA offers far more investment options and is more cost-effective. 

There is a one-time establishment fee of $999 for opening a checkbook IRA LLC, and clients pay an annual custodian fee of $360. You'll pay no transaction fee when you buy, sell, or exchange an investment. 

Setting up an SDIRA with IRA Financial can be somewhat cumbersome. While the process can be started online, it requires some extra steps that must be completed by phone with the help of an IRA Financial account specialist.  

What IRA Financial might lack in their setup process, they make up with reliable customer service. Clients have access to customer service reps via online chat and phone. Clients also have access to many educational tools and investment-specific guides to help them understand the different types of investments.

Founded by real estate experts, uDirect IRA offers a checkbook IRA with a wide range of investment options but with a strong tilt toward real estate investments such as real property, real estate notes, REITs, and tax lien certificates. That makes uDirect IRA our choice as the best SDIRA company for real estate investing. 

In addition to a wider variety of real estate investments, uDirect's checkbook IRA provides access to a full range of investment options, including closely held companies, private loans, accounts receivable financing, judgments, legal settlements, and precious metals. With checkbook control, investors can more quickly react when real estate auctions take place and tax lien certificates become available.

uDirect SDIRA fees are very reasonable. They charge a $50 account setup fee and just $275 annually for record-keeping and reporting services. Transaction fees are $35, but your first six transactions are free. Investors also pay $8 to $18 per month for precious metals or currency storage. 

Account setup is reasonably routine with uDirect. You can start the process online, but you will need to print and sign documents, which can be scanned and uploaded through the website. Once underway, accounts can be managed online. Clients have access to online education resources, including investment guides on various assets. uDirect also provides phone and online customer service support.

Since 1981, The Entrust Group has grown into one of the most reputable SDIRA companies in the industry. Entrust is unique in that clients can access their services directly or through a financial advisor. Using either avenue, clients can access an online platform for managing their investments and searching for potential investment options. The platform also integrates its advisor portal to eMoney Advisor for investors who want to do more holistic planning for retirement. That's why Entrust makes our choice as the SDIRA company with the best online platform. 

Entrust takes its role as custodian seriously and goes out of its way to educate investors, offering courses and a broad library of online content designed to educate both investors and advisors about self-directed IRAs and alternative investments. The one downside is Entrust doesn't provide checkbook control, which offers clients more investment flexibility. However, it does provide resources to assist clients in setting up their own checkbook LLC. 

Fees charged by Entrust are in line with other SDIRA companies. It charges a $50 account setup fee, as well as annual administrative fees based on the number of assets held in the account or the size of the account, ranging from $199 to $2,299 annually. Transaction fees charged for any purchase, sale, or exchange of an asset can range from $0 to $250. 

Account setup is relatively straightforward with Entrust, taking less than 10 minutes to open and fund. Accounts can be set up directly with Entrust or through an independent financial advisor. In either case, clients have to establish an LLC on their own if they want checkbook control. Entrust will help in that process, but clients maintain it on their own. Entrust's customer service is above par with a team of in-house professionals, and clients have access to a suite of investor education tools to help them make informed decisions.

Since its inception in 2018, Alto IRA has set out to democratize SDIRA investing in alternative investments to empower all investors seeking greater returns and diversification in their IRAs. For that, Alto makes our list as the SDIRA provider with the best investor experience. 

Typically, setting up and investing in SDIRAs can be complicated and somewhat expensive for most investors. Alto's scalable technology platform flips that for investors with its user-friendly and cost-effective automated process. 

Investors have access to a wide range of alternative investments through Alto's platform, which partners with real estate lending companies, crypto exchanges, angel investing funds, and many other alternative investment providers to facilitate investment opportunities. Using Alto's checkbook IRA, clients have maximum control for better management of their real estate investments. In addition to SDIRAs, Alto supports traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP-IRAs. 

Alto always wanted to make SDIRA investing affordable for most investors. There are two price tiers: the Pro at $25 per month and the Starter at $10 per month. You can pay these annually to save two months worth of fees. The Pro plan allows you to bring your own deal while the Starter plan limits you to investments within Alto's partner network. Alto boasts many investment partners, though access may be limited for those with the Starter plan. Fees apply to investments including $10 to $50 for partner investing and $75 for private investing.

Alto's account setup is streamlined through an online, automated process—quick and easy. Clients benefit from the same technology for managing their accounts and facilitating transactions. Its customer service is multi-faceted with online and phone support.

Founded in 2018, Rocket Dollar has already made its mark in the SDIRA space. As for investment availability and ease of use, it competes with the best. But for investors with larger portfolios—think IRA rollover accounts or SEP-IRAs and Solo-401(k)s with larger annual contributions—it can be the most cost-effective SDIRA. 

With Rocket Dollar, clients are automatically set up with a checkbook LLC, which provides them with more investment opportunities. In addition to the standard alternative investment options of real estate, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and private equity, Rocket Dollar has partnered with several crowdfunding platforms to offer crowdfunded real estate and peer-to-peer loans. 

Rocker Dollar's fee structure is unique and can be very attractive to investors with larger portfolios because there is no sliding scale for costs based on the amount of assets. Rocket Dollar charges a flat fee of $15 a month. Its setup fee is $360, which is higher than most of its peers, but at least it's a one-time fee. Investors who want premium services can pay a $600 setup fee and a $30 monthly fee for a Rocket Dollar Gold account.

Clients can set up their SDIRA online in under 10 minutes with no minimum deposit. Clients can access customer support through their RocketDollar.com dashboard. Gold customers can call a special support line at any time. All clients have access to the account service team for help connecting with any of Rocket Dollar's investment partners.