Self Directed IRA Services Review

Disclosure: Our content does not constitute financial advice. Speak to your financial advisor. We may earn money from companies reviewed.  Learn more

Self Directed IRA Services (Horizon Bank) is ranked #4 on our list of the top 10 IRA custodians of 2020. In the following review, we’ll discuss this custodian’s business background, management, reputation, products/services, and their fees for a precious metals IRA.

Self Directed IRA Services (www.sdiraservices.com) is an industry-leader in custodial and administrative account services for individual investors and small businesses. The company was founded in 2008 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the more established Horizon Bank, which was founded in 1905 and is based in Austin, Texas. As a large provider of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), they specialize in letting clients invest in a broad range of traditional and alternative investments within IRAs, including precious metals. This custodian is partnered with many of the top bullion dealers and Gold IRA companies of 2020.

About the Management

Self Directed IRA Services has a management staff of more than 15 professionals in business development, client services, operations, and accounting. Their Client Relations Manager is Margaret McVan, while the company's leading precious metals IRA specialist is Susan Swanson. Not much else is listed about the management staff on their official website.

Self Directed IRA Services Prices and Products

Self Directed IRA Services is one of the few IRA custodians that charges a flat-rate annual fee for both account administration and storage. Clients can sign up for commingled storage at Delaware Depository or Brinks Global for the flat-rate fee of $100 per year. However, there's also an option for segregated storage at the sliding scale rate of $1.60 per $1,000 worth of gold held in the account (so a segregated storage account with $100,000 worth of gold in it would cost $160 per year, plus the annual administration fee). See the following screenshots from their official fee schedule to learn more about their account pricing:

To learn more about Self Directed IRA Services' fees for a precious metals IRA, see their complete fee schedule.

Self Directed IRA Services Contact Details

• Address: Self Directed IRA Services, Inc., 215 Mary Avenue, Suite 311, Waco, Texas 76701
• Toll-Free Phone: 866-928-9394
• Local Phone: 512-637-5739
• Fax: 512-495-9554
• Email: info@sdiraservices.com
• Website: www.sdiraservices.com

Key Pages From Self Directed IRA Services' Website

• Gold IRA & Precious Metals Investing – Includes a guide to setting up a Gold IRA and the benefits of using Self Directed IRA Services to do so.
• IRA Resource Center – A detailed knowledgebase covering the types of IRAs, investment options, frequently asked questions and a variety of other topics related to self-directed IRAs.
• Getting Started – A quick disclaimer shown to clients before they open an account.

Always Review the Competition Before You Buy

The general consensus is that investors should be looking to allocate about 5%-20% of their overall retirement portfolio towards precious metals. This portion of your portfolio is intended to fulfill two primary purposes – its acts as a rather predicable and effective hedge against inflation (when the inflated dollar's value decreases, the value of gold typically rises,) and it provides the opportunity to boost the value of your retirement savings multiple times over in the event of another recession or depression (which could dramatically increase the demand for and price of gold).

What does all this ultimately mean? It means you should be extra careful about how you invest that seemingly small portion of your portfolio, as it could wind up becoming the most important investment you can make for your retirement in the long-term.

Fortunately, we've made it easy for anyone to conduct their own research and compare the leading Gold IRA companies and top IRA custodians. Our guides and comparison charts provide convenient resources from which to research how Gold IRAs work and which companies are the most trusted and cost-effective service providers and bullion dealers.

Contact Us if You Own or Represent Self Directed IRA Services

If you're an owner, representative, or associate of Self Directed IRA Services and you've found any of the details in this review to be erroneous, misleading, or outdated, please do contact us with your concerns. With the intent of providing the most accurate reviews on an ongoing basis, we will gladly revise or remove any content that is outdated or incorrect.

Why Equity Institutional is Ranked #1 IRA Custodian of 2020 

While building this year's list of the top 10 IRA custodians, we considered a total of 37 different companies before narrowing down the candidates presented in the finalized custodian comparison table. We've made it easy for anyone to conduct their own research regarding the history, features, reputations, and fees of the leading precious metals IRA custodians. Each company has been thoroughly researched and ranked based on the following factors:

• preferred/partnered depositories and storage options
• whether storage fees are included in the annual charge – some companies require you to pay storage fees in addition to annual administration/renewal fees
• setup charges and account startup cost
• fee structure – sliding scale annual fees vs. flat-rate annual fees
• company reputation and industry presence

In addition to excelling in the above aspects, Equity Institutional also ranked as the #1 custodian this year because of their partnership with Regal Assets, the #1 company on 2020's list of the top Gold IRA companies.

The Benefits of Using Regal Assets to Open an Account with Equity Institutional 

Equity Institutional partners with bullion dealers, brokers, investment firms, and Gold IRA companies like Regal Assets to bring individual retirement investors cost-effective, streamlined access to precious metals IRAs. While it is possible to setup an account with Equity Institutional directly as an individual, there are numerous benefits associated with opening your account through Regal Assets, including:

• Waived Custodial Fees – Regal Assets will often offer to waive the first year's fees if you're opening an account that is worth more than $10,000. Even high value accounts may have the first 3 year's fee waived completely. this means you don't have to pay the custodian fees for your IRA that you would have had to pay had you signed up with Equity Institutional directly.
• Flat-Rate Fees – Even after the fees are no longer waived, you'll never have to pay more than the $250 flat-rate annual fee that covers storage and does not increase regardless of the account value.
• Unlimited Offshore Storage – Regal Assets lets you choose from secure depositories in the U.S. and offshore locations like London and Singapore through trusted companies like the Delaware Depository Services Company and Brinks. You can store as much gold as allowed in the offshore storage depository of your choice, with no extra charge added to the annual account fee.
• Easy Setup and Stocking Process – If you were to open an account with Equity Institutional directly instead of going through Regal Assets, you would then have to find a bullion dealer that will sell you the appropriate IRA-eligible gold coins and bars at a fair price, without scamming you (not always easy). However, when you set up the IRA through Regal Assets, you instantly obtain the additional benefit of buying from a dealer that only sells the finest bullion products – all of which are eligible to be deposited into an IRA, and they'll quickly and safely deliver your gold into your IRA with Equity Institutional at the depository or offshore location of your choice (they have several choices available).
• Best Online Reputation of Any Gold IRA Company- Regal Assets has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, AAA rating with the Business Consumer Alliance, and 5-star ratings on Yelp, The Yellow Pages, Google+ and Trustlink. org. To maintain such an impeccable reputation over the course of 11 years they must be providing a consistently high quality of customer service, especially to have zero complaints in the last three years with the Better Business Bureau.
• Invest as Little as $5000 – This is a lenient policy in contrast to some bullion dealers and Gold IRA companies that require a minimum investment of $10,000.
• Best Information Kit in the Industry – Regal Assets offers a free information kit to any interested investor, completely free of charge. It includes instructional DVD's, guides, and a wealth of the latest information pertaining to precious metals IRAs. This kit is available to anyone upon request (to request one, fill out the form at the bottom of this page). Even if you're just interested in learning about Gold IRAs with no current commitment, we strongly suggest you at least check out their investor's information kit at not cost and no risk.
• Guaranteed Buy Back – Regal Assets will buy back any precious metals you've purchased from them at a fair price and can have the money back into your account within 24 hours on any given business day. So at any time you can quickly liquidate your assets back into cash with relatively little time and money lost.
  Informative Customer Service – Opening a precious metals IRA and buying the bullion through Regal Assets is by far one of the most educational ways to start investing in precious metals within a self-directed IRA.

• Exceptional industry reputation highlighted by appearance in Inc Magazine, Forbes, Smart Money, and MarketWatch. Regal Assets even ranked #20 in Inc Magazine's famous Top 500 list.

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. You can also access Regal Assets highly informative investor's education kit that teaches you everything you need to know about investing in a Gold IRA by filling out the simple form below. Even if you don't plan on investing any funds right now, we strongly recommend you consider the content presented in their FREE information kit before making an investment decision in the preciou

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