Fees
This series of articles are intended to shine a light on all the bullshit out there about digital currency investment in your self-directed IRA.
FEES
No one likes to talk about fees, but the reality is no one works for free. Just like we have in everything we have discussed, we have to talk about how others in the industry are charging fees for like-minded cold storage options and the risky exchange platform model.
Let’s start with the riskier option because this option is the less labor intensive for the custodian and does not require any involvement from the custodian once the account is opened. So, if you are willing to roll the dice with your retirement account and potentially lose your money invested in digital currency, then this option is 100% for you.
We will stick with iTrust Capital for this illustration as they charge a subscription to use “their platform” which ironically is not even “their platform”. Like 99% of custodians using exchange platforms, iTrust is partnered with a third-party provider that they know little about the inner-workings of, yet they are marketing and selling their company based on the hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance the exchange platform has. Well, in the case of iTrust Capital, we sure hope that Coinbase ups the ante on their insurance policy because a mass security breach with the insurance policy they currently have is not going to cover much. Interestingly enough, the website for iTrust Capital appears to have changed as this piece is being formulated. The caption about their institutional grade crypto custody illustrates that Coinbase has a $320 million insurance policy, which contradicts the information of Coinbase’s website. Which is it $320 million, or $700 million, with the chance to still lose everything?
Sourced from iTrust Capital website https://itrustcapital.com/security Nevertheless, you will then pay a monthly fee of $29.95. That sounds like a magazine subscription, not a retirement account. Oh wait a minute, after looking at iTrust Capital website today they are now charging zero monthly fees and are working for free. So, let’s look at what these changes are and if they are sustainable, or if this is a game to get as many clients as possible to then sell the company to pass off your retirement account to the next company. People, please pay attention to what is going on here.
Sourced from iTrust Capital website https://itrustcapital.com/fees The only way left for them to make money is on the transactions, which are seemingly attractive to them at the volume they are processing. They are charging 1% on the movement of your digital currency on an exchange platform managed by another company who is also charging you a fee for the movement. It is ironic that iTrust Capital is charging 1% on the transaction movement because as a custodian (if they indeed are) we are prohibited from making money from the investments held in your IRA. If you do not believe us, read IRS Code Section 4975 (c)(1)(D)2 which defines a prohibited transaction to include any direct or indirect transfer, or use by or for the benefit of, a disqualified person of the income or assets of the plan. As a custodian you are a disqualified person. So, is iTrust Capital a custodian or not? If they are, they are disqualifying your IRA. Either way, it is important to see what all these transactions are costing you in their hidden zero dollar IRA they are marketing. Seeing 1% does not seem like much, so let’s spell this out in a way you can truly understand the cost. Incidentally, I could not find any examples on their website.
Is it obvious now why they are not charging you for the account? This is the same reason that large financial institutions do not charge you for your IRA. They are making money by investing your cash that you do not have invested, which is a common legal option. The option deployed by iTrust Capital (if they are indeed a custodian as they claim) is disqualifying your IRA. Hopefully someone will read this before opening an account with iTrust Capital and stop the movement of their account from a reputable custodian that follows the rules and regulations bestowed on the custodial industry before the government steps in and iTrust Capital ruins the ability for all Americans to hold digital currency in their IRA. Moving on to Equity Trust Company, and their claim of cold storage. Let’s look at their pricing in comparison to Preferred Trust Company. The word “claim” is used because true cold storage can only be accessed by the custodian and not through an app.
Based on the information illustrated above. Preferred Trust Company is hands down the most cost effective and secure option for your digital currency held in a self-directed IRA. Now I bet you are wondering why we are not talking about where our cold storage is stored or the security surrounding the storage of your private keys, or all the insurance policies we carry. The reason you do not talk about this is because you do not talk about where you hide the keys to your safe or the passwords to your bank account, and neither do we. We were one of the first in the custodial industry to allow the custody of digital currency and we will be here long after all these others are gone or hacked because we have elected to follow the holy grail of the Cryptocurrency Security Standard Compliance (CCSS). Funny you never see anyone mention CCSS do you? Maybe you should ask yourself why?
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