New Direction IRA Review: Is This IRA Custodian Worthy of Your Gold IRA?

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New Direction IRA is ranked #2 on our list of the top precious metals IRA companies of 2022. In the following review, we'll cover the company's history, management, reputation, products/services, and fees.

New Direction Trust Company IRA, Inc. (www.newdirectionira.com) is a leading provider of administrative and custodial services for self-directed precious metals IRAs and other types of retirement accounts. The company has more than a decade of experience in the IRA industry and is based in Louisville, Colorado.

No matter what way you look at it, New Direction is one of the top firms in the business, based on its longevity, fee structure, and track record of excellent security. Although they don't rank as high as their competitor, Equity Trust Company, they are a solid choice for self-directed investors looking for a reputable custodian to handle their assets in a secure environment.

About the Management

The founders of New Direction IRA are Catherine Wynne and Bill Humphrey. According to the firm's LinkedIn page, the company boasts the following key personnel:

• Bill Humphrey (Chief Executive Officer)
• Aaron Benway (Chief Revenue Officer)
• Kevin Dodson (Chief of Staff)
• Oliver Chung (Director)
• Dan Falardeau (President, Hawaii Division)
• Nikki Sisneros (VP of Trust Accounting)

Bill Humphrey has more than 20 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant, and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of North Carolina. He's since improved his background with a graduate study in Finance, Accounting, and Economics from the University of Colorado in Boulder. By contrast, Catherine Wynne handles customer operations and education, and has a background in teaching at the University of Denver Law School. You can learn more about the company's management on their ‘About Us' page.

Generally, it's a good look when a company like New Direction is public about their management. Whereas some firms are shrouded in secrecy, New Direction isn't afraid to expose the people behind the company. In our opinion, this is a trustworthy signal that shouldn't be taken lightly, as it means they are likely much less prone to scandals than certain other companies.

New Direction IRA Prices and Products

New Direction IRA specializes in self-directed IRAs. They allow their clients to invest in precious metals, real estate, and a variety of other alternative assets within their retirement accounts. They have a proprietary online account access portal called myDirection, which is intended to be used by clients who set up a precious metals IRA with New Direction IRA and choose First State Depository as their preferred depository. The following is a screenshot from New Direction IRA's fee schedule for Gold IRAs:

Most importantly, New Direction IRA's annual fee does not cover the cost of storage. Instead, the account holder has to pay the appropriate annual storage fees to their choice of one of 6 IRS-approved depositories, in addition to the fees paid to New Direction IRA. They also charge a sliding scale annual fee that increases from $75 to $125 if the value of the precious metals in your account goes over $100,000. This is in contrast to some other custodians who charge a low flat-rate annual fee that includes the cost of storage. 

While each of New Direction's fees are reasonable, there are a plethora of fees that add up to make a big difference over the lifetime of the account, especially when you factor in account termination and setup fees. In our books, Equity Trust has a superior fee structure that is more streamlined and simplified, without any surprises or hidden fees.

New Direction IRA Contact Details

• Address: 1070 W Century Dr., Ste 101, Louisville, CO 80027
• Toll-Free Phone: 877-742-1270
• Phone:303-546-7930
• Fax: 303-665-5962
• Email: info@ndira.com

Key Pages From New Direction IRA's Website

• What is an IRA? – Provides a basic overview of IRAs and answers to some basic questions about IRA account types.
• What is a Self-Directed IRA – Explains the meaning and benefits of a self-directed IRA.
• Fees – Information regarding New Direction IRA's fees.

Consider All Options Before Investing with New Direction IRA

Most financial advisors recommend allocating about 5%-20% of your retirement portfolio to precious metals. However, this seemingly small portion of your portfolio could actually wind up being the most important, as gold and other precious metals serve as an effective hedge against inflation. Plus, we all know that the value of gold increases as the economy worsens, because that's when investors start to avoid cash-based investments and start looking for ways to protect the value of their savings.

Given the strategic importance of a gold IRA with your overall retirement portfolio, choosing the right gold IRA company and/or custodian can be a stressful process, especially considering what's at stake. If you're having trouble making a decision, we urge you to start by conducting your own research. We've made it easy for anyone to quickly examine various aspects of each custodian and gold IRA company with our top precious metals IRA custodians of 2022 and top gold IRA companies of 2022 comparison charts.

Contact Us if You Own or Represent New Direction IRA

If you're an owner, associate, or representative of New Direction IRA and you've noticed any information within this review that is misleading, incorrect, or outdated, please do bring it to our attention. We strive to provide the most accurate and useful reviews continually, and will therefore honor any revision or removal requests that are in line with that goal.

Why Equity Institutional is Ranked #1 IRA Custodian of 2022

We looked at more than three dozen companies while building this year's list of the top precious metals IRA custodians. Our comparison chart makes it easy for anyone to conduct their own research and learn about the background, reputations, features, policies, and fees, of each of the top custodians, which we've researched and ranked based on the following easily observable factors:

• Annual cost and fee structure – are their fees flat-rate or sliding scale?
• Depository used and additional annual cost of storage (if any) – is the storage included in the annual fee?
• Overall reputation and web presence
• Cost of setting up an account

Out of all of the custodians we researched, Equity Institutional averaged the best in all of the above areas, with a reputation spanning three decades, a low flat-rate annual fee, and partnerships with leading Gold IRA companies like Regal Assets. In fact, Equity Institutional's relationship with Regal Assets is one of the reasons why they've been able to rank as the #1 custodian this year. Although it is possible to open an account with Equity Institutional directly, there's a long list of advantages associated with going through Regal Assets to open your account, including:

• Regal Assets often waives the first year's setup and annual account fees when you open an account worth $10,000 or more, sometimes up to the first three years' fees, depending on the value of your account.
• They have the best online reputation and industry presence out of any of the other top bullion dealers and gold IRA companies. Regal Assets has maintained the highest-possible ratings with the Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance, and Trustlink
• As a bullion dealer, Regal Assets makes it easy to open your account and buy the appropriate approved bullion products in one streamlined process. They won't ever try to sell you numismatics or other coins or bars that aren't even eligible to be deposited into an IRA.
• Investors have the freedom to invest as little $5,000 initially if they'd like. This is in contrast to some other companies that require minimum investments of $10,000 or more.
• Regal Assets lets you choose to have your gold stored in an offshore depository in locations like London or Singapore (which may currently be the safest place to store IRA gold in the world).
• Regal Assets will readily buy back any precious metals you've purchased from them at a fair price and can have the funds back into your account with 24 hours on any given business day. This guaranteed buyback scheme gives investors reduced risk and increased peace of mind.
• Extraordinary industry reputation highlighted by appearances in Forbes, Smart Money, MarketWatch, and Inc. Magazine.

If you'd like to learn more about the advantages of opening an Equity Institutional precious metals IRA through Regal Assets, see the full review of Regal Assets. For more information about our top-ranked self-directed IRA custodian, read our exclusive review of Equity Trust.

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