Directed IRA by Directed Trust Company and iTrustCapital both offer investors the ability to invest in alternative assets using their individual retirement accounts. The type of individual retirement account you want to open will be up to you during the signup process. They offer Traditional, SEP and Roth IRA accounts. However, there are some significant differences that should make it easy for you to choose the self-directed IRA provider that is best for you.
Invest in over 30 cryptocurrencies from your checking account with no trading fees with the Current mobile app crypto feature.
Titan is an investment platform with a team of experts actively managing your portfolio based on your chosen strategy, including cryptocurrencies.
Alto IRA allows you to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and even gold for your retirement.
What is iTrustCapital?
iTrustCapital is one of the industry-leading self-directed crypto IRA providers that specializes in allowing you to buy and sell cryptocurrency coins as alternative investments, as well as physical gold and silver.
Through the iTrustCapital platform, investors can use their retirement accounts to take advantage of IRA tax benefits while safely, legally, and conveniently investing in prominent cryptocurrencies and precious metals.
Since launching in 2018, iTrust Capital has grown to have approximately 100,000 created user accounts, with managed assets of about $2.2 billion.
What Does iTrustCapital Offer?
- The iTrustCapital platform allows clients to trade in real-time, 24/7, with trades being settled in seconds
- No monthly account fee for personal accounts
- 1% commission fee for cryptocurrency transactions
- A gold transaction fee of $50 over the spot price
- A silver transaction fee of $2.50 over the spot price per ounce
- No hidden or additional account fees
- Secured cryptocurrency storage using Coinbase Custody for Digital Asset Security and the Fireblocks MPC-CMP algorithm
- Highly-secure gold and silver storage at the Royal Canadian Mint
- Facilitation of Transfer/Rollover/Contribution to fund your IRA
- IRS/Tax reporting
- IRS- and SEC-compliant investing platform
What is Directed IRA?
Directed IRA by Directed Trust Company is a self-directed IRA provider that offers retirement investment access to alternative assets, such as real estate, cryptocurrency, and precious metals.
Founded in 2018, Directed IRA has processed over $1 billion in customer transactions and over $40 million in crypto IRA investments.
Directed IRA features a team of industry-accredited professionals, attorneys, CPAs, as well as authors and spokespeople in the business, retirement investing, and self-directed IRAs space.
What Does Directed IRA Offer?
- Highly-rated, 5-Star customer service
- No annual fees based on the number of assets you have
- No fees based on the size of your account
- One-time new account establishment fee of $50
- Annual self-directed account fee of $295
- One-time asset processing fees between $30 and $100
- Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions licensed and regulated
- Annual independent CPA audits
- Financial institution insurance and bonding
- American Banks Association membership
- A wide range of investor educational resources, such as webinars, videos, and events
- The top self-directed IRAs, tax and legal strategies podcast
Invest in over 30 cryptocurrencies from your checking account with no trading fees with the Current mobile app crypto feature.
Titan is an investment platform with a team of experts actively managing your portfolio based on your chosen strategy, including cryptocurrencies.
Alto IRA allows you to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and even gold for your retirement.
iTrustCapital vs. Directed IRA
Differences
Unlike iTrustCapital, Directed IRA does not have an online platform that allows users to trade and manage their portfolios in real-time, settling transactions in seconds. Instead, Directed IRA provides forms on their website, either e-sign forms that operate like email or PDFs that can be sent via mail to buy, sell, and manage your account.
iTrustCapital has a specific focus on using IRAs to invest in cryptocurrencies, while physical gold and silver investing is also available through its platform. Direct IRA offers a broader range of investment products but does not have a cryptocurrency focus.
iTrustCapital has a much simpler fee structure than Directed IRA, which should save you money depending on how often you trade and the amounts you are trading with. For example, iTrust capital has no annual account fees, whereas Directed IRA has an annual account fee of $295. If you are trading cryptocurrency with Direct IRA, you will need to pay between $30 and $100 for the transaction instead of 1% of the transaction with iTrustCapital.
Directed IRA is managed by the author of the Self-Directed IRA Handbook, the most widely used book in the self-directed IRA industry, and the host of the number one self-directed IRA podcast.
Therefore, while both companies present as being highly knowledgeable regarding self-directed IRA investing, both with high ratings and reviews to back it up, Directed IRA perhaps offers more expertise.
Similarities
Both iTrust Capital and Directed IRA allow investors to trade assets like cryptocurrencies and precious metals, assets that are excluded from traditional IRAs that only allow investment in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. In addition, both companies provide IRA tax benefits.
Like Directed IRA, iTrust Capital has an educational resources page on its website. In addition, both companies provide various educational content on topics like retirement, crypto, and precious metals.
Which One Is Best for You?
Choosing between the two companies will primarily come down to whether you prefer an online, real-time platform that specializes in cryptocurrency IRA investing or a company that boasts a team of professionals with legal and tax expertise.
iTrustCapital will likely suit investors looking to invest in cryptocurrencies or precious metals, as this is what the platform specializes in.
Whereas, if you would like access to alternative assets other than cryptocurrencies and gold and silver bullion, Directed IRA offers this service.
When comparing the fee structures, iTrustCapital is more likely to cost you less. However, this will depend on how often you trade and the amounts you invest.
If you are confident using online platforms, iTrustCapital’s trading and account management platform provides a convenient way to manage your account with real-time, 24/7 trading.
However, if you prefer managing your account through an email-like system or sending forms through regular mail, then Directed IRA will likely be best for you.
In conclusion, with iTrustCapital, you can easily self-direct your retirement investments with a real-time trading platform and a simple fee structure. In contrast, Directed IRA may be more appealing if you are looking for a company managed by self-directed IRA authors, podcasters, and national spokespeople and do not mind the lack of real-time trading or an online trading platform.
