Do you feel limited by the investment choices you have available to you or want to gain access to extra investment capital? If your answer to these questions is yes, you may want to consider a self-directed retirement account (IRA).

A self-directed IRA lets you diversify your account by making investments outside of publicly traded stocks. Self-directed investing is available through a tax-deferred traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA.

Could a self-directed IRA be right for you?

Most IRA Custodians only allow you to invest in traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and CDs. A self-directed IRA custodian expands the universe of available investment options to include non-traditional and alternative assets such as real estate, precious metals, promissory notes, and more.

An IRA offers unique tax advantages—if certain regulations are followed. For example, the IRS does not allow an individual to personally custody their retirement funds. For this reason, you need to determine the right custodian to meet your needs.

What to consider when choosing a custodian

Customer experience: A custodian should share your passion for success. This means making every effort to assist you in navigating the investment process and answering all your questions.

Quality: Timeliness is paramount to successful investing. As such, your custodian must be fast and reliable—and always aim to get things done right the first time.

Technology: Choose a custodian that will make it easy for you to grow and manage your IRA—from opening your account and initiating investments to managing documents and providing lists of holdings, transaction history, account balances, and more—all in real time.

Education: Most individual investors aren’t experts in the field. Your custodian should provide you with timely reminders and legislative updates to help you achieve success throughout your retirement saving journey.

Fees: As you explore potential custodians, you’ll find a variety of fee structures. There is no right or wrong option, just one that fits you best.

• Flat-rate fees do not go up or down with the value of the account. You can have $500 or $500,000,000 invested and the annual account fee will not change.
• In a structured fee model, the price depends upon the value of the account. The higher the value, the more your fees can be.

Provident Trust Group acts as a passive custodian. We’ll assist you in the process of purchasing assets for your IRA without telling you what to invest in. Additionally, we provide services such as recordkeeping and IRS reporting.

Self-directed investing doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.

Investors who choose to self-direct their accounts generally enjoy the freedom of choice and flexibility that comes with these types of investments. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have professional assistance. Working with a qualified third-party representative ensures you have access to industry expertise, while maintaining control over your account.

Freedom is self-directing your retirement. We’re here to help.

Talk to your third-party representative or call us today to learn more.

This material is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered to be legal, tax or investment advice. Provident Trust Group, LLC is a non-discretionary, passive, directed custodian that does not sell or solicit investments and does not provide investment advice or recommendations. Provident Trust Group, LLC is not obligated to review and does not endorse any investment or investment advisor, and individuals are responsible for the investments in their accounts. Consult with a tax and/or financial advisor to determine what may be best for your individual needs.