Resources

Webinars & Educational Videos

IRAs and Energy Investments: Expert Advice and How-Tos

Looking to fuel your retirement strategy with the power of energy investments? You're in the right place for your modern introduction to oil & gas investing.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Digital Asset Investments: Navigating Today’s Blockchain Market

To capitalize on current blockchain opportunities, you must learn digital asset fundamentals and market trends. Want to know the blockchain basics?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Investing With IRA LLCs: Is Checkbook Control Right for You?

Millions of alternative investors use LLCs (Limited Liability Companies) in their retirement strategy. To learn if an LLC benefits your IRA investments, you must evaluate the impact of using an LLC. Curious if an LLC is right for you?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Tax-Free Growth With Roth IRA Investments

From tax-free earnings to no age limits for contributions, Roths help you save. Yet, most investors don’t capitalize because they never learned. Wondering if a Roth can benefit you?

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Guides

The Future of Investing: 7 Alternative Asset Trends to Watch

When your clients look to you for an escape from stock market volatility, do you have the answer? With this exclusive guide, you can gain data-driven insights on the value of alternative assets in a retirement portfolio.

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Guides

Streamline Your Investment Strategy with an IRA LLC

Looking for faster transactions, fewer administrative fees, and liability protection for your retirement savings? A self-directed IRA LLC could be the solution.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Real Estate Investing Lessons From Past Recessions

Real estate markets follow a natural cycle. And each cycle provides you a wealth of knowledge. That's why learning from the past is crucial for your investing future. Luckily, we brought in the expert for you.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Investing in Self-Storage: What You Need To Know

With rising interest rates, self-storage is attracting passive investors like you. But to make informed investment decisions these days, you must continue to gain knowledge. Curious what you should know?

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Guides

Tax-Free or Tax-Deferred?

Secure your future with the unique benefits of tax-free and tax-deferred growth. Dive into our comparison guide to find out which plan is right for you.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Real Estate Trends: What to Expect in 2023

Everyone knows real estate is different this year. While supply and demand yo-yos with rising interest rates, are you wondering what's next? Who to trust? Good news! You're not alone.

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Infographics

Secure Act 2.0 Changes and Effective Dates

The Secure Act 2.0 impacts various retirement accounts, including SDIRAs and employer-sponsored plans. Here are the changes you need to know.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Private Equity Investing: Insights from an Industry Expert

Curious about private equity investing? Looking for insights and actionable tips? To help you get ahead, we brought in market expert Paul Karrlsson-Willis. Come learn with us.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Colombia: Getting Familiar with Foreign Investments

Colombia interests many US investors. But for most IRA holders, foreign investing is, well, foreign. Not sure where to begin? Learn the ropes with a market expert.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Investing in Startups Before the Public

All startups need to raise capital. This constant demand supplies IRA holders with unique opportunities, so savvy investors study the pre-IPO capital raising lifecycle. Learn about the lifecycle and much more!

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Resort Real Estate Investing With an SDIRA

Commercial real estate is crucial to a smoothly operating economy. And while no asset is immune from external economic challenges, resort real estate offers unique benefits. Want to learn something new?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Preparing Your IRA for 2023 Taxes & Changes

Preparation is a golden rule for every successful investment strategy. Before creating a plan, savvy investors learn the new landscape of IRA limits and important annual dates. Ready for what's new in 2023?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Trust Deeds 101: Using Real Estate as Collateral

Curious how to invest in real estate while avoiding the headaches created by tenants and property management? Discover if individual and pooled deeds of trust secured by real estate are for you.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Build-to-Rent Real Estate Investing For Self-Directed IRAs

With real estate purchasing demand outpacing housing supply, renters have the upper hand. Thus, investors with build-to rent expertise have a unique opportunity. Let us show you how it works.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Selling Real Estate: An Expert Introduction

Real estate investing requires a buyer and seller. But in volatile markets, some investors only focus on the buying process. That's why savvy investors study the selling process to maximize their earnings. Let us show you how it works.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

The FIRE Movement: Creating Your Version of Financial Independence

For most IRA holders, financial independence is the primary goal. Sound familiar? Learn about Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) to create your own path.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How Interest Rates and Inflation Impact Real Estate

The Federal Reserve System (known as the FED) sets interest rates that sway the cost of goods and services. With recent rate hikes and growing inflation, real estate is suffering serious disruption. Learn how it works.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Preventing IRA Investment Fraud and Scams

Every day, criminals attempt to steal money from unknowing IRA holders. To avoid fraud, investors must learn how to identify the legitimacy of any given investment or person. Learn how to stay safe in this replay.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Property Technology: Shaping the Future of Real Estate Investments

Property Technology, or PropTech, makes it easier to find, finance, buy, manage and sell real estate. Even build new business models like Air BnB. Learn more here.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

2022 ESG Trends: What Renewable Energy Investors Should Know

To avoid greenwashing ESG investments, renewable energy investors must analyze industry trends and regulations. Get expert market insights in this replay.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Invest in Real Estate Debt With Private Funds

To access capital, many real estate developers utilize private debt funds. As market trends emerge, savvy debt fund investors supply a growing demand for private lending. Curious how it works?

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Blog Articles

Tax Tips for Self-Directed IRA Holders

Tax planning for your tax-advantaged accounts is important. Make sure you're prepared with these helpful tax tips for self-directed IRA holders.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Evaluating Early Stage Startups: An Investor's Introduction

Being an early stage investor in the right startup can be a golden ticket to retirement. Are you searching for the next Uber or Instagram?

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Infographics

2022 Retirement Plan Deadlines Calendar

Stay on top of retirement plan deadlines throughout 2022 with this easy-to-read calendar.

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Comparison Charts

2022 Self-Directed Plan Comparison

Learn about the 2022 self-directed plan options for 2022. Understand the income and contribution limits for each type of account, and what makes each account type distinct.

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Comparison Charts

2021-2022 Contribution Limits

Learn about the 2022 contribution limits for each type of self-directed account.

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Comparison Charts

2022 Retirement Plan Contribution Cost-of-Living Adjustments

Understand what has changed and what has stayed the same for retirement plan contributions in 2022.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Self-Directed IRAs: What Do You Want To Know?

Wondering what top IRA investors have in common? Savvy investors seek out the wisdom of others. As proactive learners, they ask questions when they do not understand something. Are you a curious investor?

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Infographics

Prohibited Transactions Flowchart

Learn about prohibited transactions and make sure your SDIRA is compliant.

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Guides

Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Financial Elder Abuse

This resource provides an overview of financial elder abuse, identifies potential perpetrators, and provides information and resources for identifying and taking steps to protect yourself and your family.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Preparing Your IRA Beneficiaries For The Future

Preparing your IRA beneficiary is a great responsibility. Beyond selection, savvy investors educate beneficiaries about their future inherited IRA. Wondering what to teach them?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

The Crowdfunding Revolution: What Investors Should Know

From start-ups to athlete contracts, modern equity crowdfunding empowers you to invest in the projects and people you believe in. Curious where you should begin?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Top 7 Trends Disrupting Real Estate in 2021

The only constant in real estate is change. As market disruptions create financial opportunities, savvy investors study annual trends to learn how to respond. Wondering what’s new this year?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Choosing Your Path: Direct Real Estate Investments vs. REITs

Whether purchasing property directly or investing in REITs (real estate investment trusts), it’s all about choosing the right path for you. Curious if these strategies are for you?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Cryptocurrency Investing: Meet the Digital Age of Finance

Cryptocurrency marks the dawn of a new era for global finance. As institutional support grows, savvy IRA holders are considering crypto as a new investment. Curious what the buzz is about?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Self-Directed IRAs 101: Master the Basics

This is a historic time for Self-Directed IRAs. From the rise of cryptocurrency to crowdfunding, investors are studying new alternatives to traditional investments. Curious if self-direction is for you?

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Growing Your Retirement Savings With Multifamily Real Estate

While multifamily real estate demand continues to increase, savvy investors are growing their savings with multifamily investments. Learn how.

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Guides

Self-Directed IRA Rules

Opening a Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) allows you to have complete control over your retirement account. Here are the essential rules you need to follow to keep your IRA in good standing.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Investing in
Self-Storage:
An Expert Introduction

As the storage market grows, investors are building their retirement nest egg with self-storage real estate. Get an expert introduction to learn how.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Take Charge of Your Investments With an IRA LLC

Take control of your portfolio with a limited liability company. Learn the LLC fundamentals, including how to establish an IRA LLC, step-by-step.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Making the Business Case for Renewable Energy Investments

Interested in sustainable investing but curious if it’s profitable? Get an expert introduction to renewable energy investing from the solar experts from Energea.

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Blog Articles

Your Tax Strategy for 2021

Every new year is an opportunity for a new tax strategy. With most of us preparing to file our 2020 taxes, it’s a great time to strategize about your post-tax routine.

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Blog Articles

Reporting Common IRA Transactions on Individual Tax Returns

As we approach the end of the year, many taxpayers are gathering information to prepare their individual tax returns. Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions.

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Blog Articles

The Easy Way to Pay Your Real Estate Investment Expenses

The quickest, most efficient form of payment for managing real estate expenses is an asset management card. Unlike checkbook control, you don’t need to establish an LLC to get an asset management card. It’s a turn-key solution.

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Blog Articles

Fair Market Valuations: What They Are and How To Report Them

The end of the year is in sight, and with that comes fair market valuations. The fair market value of an IRA must be reported to the IRS by the IRA’s custodian by December 31 each year.

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Blog Articles

10 Things You Should Know Before Investing in Real Estate

So what should you know before you invest in real estate? Let’s dive in.

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Blog Articles

Looking for New Investment Ideas? Meet Entrust Connect

Our online marketplace, Entrust Connect allows you access to private offerings that other Entrust clients have invested in.

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Blog Articles

Want to Help Local Businesses? Consider Crowdfunding

If you feel like championing small businesses and have funds in your Self-Directed IRA to spare, you can use them to invest in businesses of your choosing.

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Blog Articles

A Better Way to Invest in Your Child’s Education

The costs associated with a good education can stack up quickly, so what’s a pragmatic way to go about paying for your child’s education?

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Blog Articles

How Changes in the SECURE Act Affect Qualified Charitable Distributions

The SECURE Act has eliminated the age cut-off restricting individuals from making contributions to their Traditional IRAs after the age of 70 ½. This change allows..

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Blog Articles

Investing in Gold: Where to Stash It

A lot of people feel confused about what happens after they use their IRA funds to invest in gold. The questions we hear asked the most often are: where is the gold stored? Can I store the gold I invest in with my IRA funds in my house?

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Blog Articles

IRS Provides Relief With Notice 2020-51

The waiver of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for tax year 2020, has many taxpayers asking, “Can I rollover the RMD distribution I took before the IRS waived RMDs?”

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Blog Articles

You Can Use Your Retirement Plan for COVID-19 Relief

Individuals experiencing financial strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic may tap into their retirement plans for financial relief.

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Blog Articles

How to Choose the Right Tenants for Your Rental

The key to having a successful rental property is in part, renting it, but you don’t want to rent it to just anyone. You want to find...

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Blog Articles

Upcoming IRA Contributions and IRS Form 5498 Deadlines

The original due dates for 2019 tax returns that fell between April 1 and July 15 of 2020 have been extended to July 15, 2020 in response to COVID-19.

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Blog Articles

Self-Directed IRA Rules

Here are the essential rules you need to follow to keep your IRA in good standing.

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Blog Articles

90 Things You Can Invest in With a Self-Directed IRA

One of the greatest advantages of a Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) is that it gives you the freedom to invest in things that interest you.

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Blog Articles

6 Obstacles That Might Prevent You From Opening a Self-Directed IRA

The process of opening a Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) is pretty simple, but if your investment strategy conflicts with how SDIRAs work, you might need to review your strategy.

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Blog Articles

How to Increase Your Portfolio’s Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Given the unprecedented volatility of the recent stock market, some investors are worried about their retirement plan investments. However, investors who have chosen to invest outside of the..

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Blog Articles

How the CARES Act Affects Retirement Plans

Let’s discuss some notable features of the CARES Act that could affect IRA and employer plan sponsors.

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Blog Articles

The 2020 Tax Deadline Has Been Extended

Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin recently announced that the individual and business tax return due date for tax year 2019 has been extended to July 15, 2020. The extension is largely a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as this move will e...

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Blog Articles

Required Minimum Distributions Have a New Starting Age

Prior to tax year 2020, retirement plan participants and IRA holders (except those with Roth IRAs) had to begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their retirement plans once..

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Blog Articles

You Might Want to Rollover Your Old 401(k) into an IRA—Here’s Why

Untouched funds aren’t going to help you achieve your investment goals, but rolling your funds over into a Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) and diversifying your portfolio just might.

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Blog Articles

Age Limits on Traditional IRA Contributions? Not Anymore

Thanks to the SECURE Act of 2019, the age barrier to making Traditional IRA contributions will no longer be an issue as of tax year 2020. This blog will explore the new rules changes.

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Blog Articles

5 Steps to Kickstart Your 2020 Tax Strategy

Whether you’ll be among those who make it over the April 15 finish line to file your 2019 tax return on time, or you filed for an extension, your post-tax routine should include preparation for 2020 taxes.

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Blog Articles

Tax-Free or Tax-Deferred? How to Pick the Right Plan

Choosing a retirement plan can be daunting. One of the key choices you’ll need to make is between tax-free and tax-deferred plans.

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Blog Articles

What IRA Holders Should Know About the SECURE Act

President Trump signed The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) into law on December 20th of 2019. The law enacts notable changes upon IRAs and Individual 401(k) plans that retirement plan holders n...

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Blog Articles

Advisors: Here’s Why You Should Up Your Alternative Investment Game

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of competition in the wealth management space. However, given that only 40% of Baby Boomers, 42% of Millennials, and 37% of Generation X use an advisor according to the Transamerica Center’s 2018 Retirement...

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Blog Articles

5 Reasons Self-Directed IRAs Might Not Be for You

Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs) are a great way to invest in your retirement—that said, they’re not for everyone. In this blog, we'll go over some of the reasons why.

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Blog Articles

How to Raise More Capital for Your Offerings, Faster

Our Entrust Connect Dashboard gives you and your existing investors access to a new source of funding: retirement funds. Per the Investment Company Institute, there was $9.7 trillion held in IRAs by the end of 2019’s second quarter...

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Blog Articles

IRA Contribution Limits for 2020

The IRS recently released the IRA contribution limits and income thresholds for 2020. If you haven’t contributed to your Self-Directed IRA yet, consider doing so before the tax deadline to maximize your tax benefits.

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Blog Articles

Here’s What Spooks People About Investing in Retirement

At Entrust, we’re big fans of Halloween. We like to dress up… as empty IRAs. Really, you wouldn’t believe the screams of terror that echo around our offices. It’s quite frightening.

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Blog Articles

Creating a More Secure Retirement

This week we’re celebrating National Retirement Security Week, so let’s talk about how you can build a more secure retirement.

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Blog Articles

Why You Need to Invest in Your Retirement

Picture your retirement based on your current savings and investments; what do you see? Are you comfortable? Happy? Healthy? Do you have everything you need? If your answer to most of these questions was no, it might be time to consider a n...

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Blog Articles

Your Distribution is Taxable in the Year It’s Distributed

Clients ask us regularly, “What tax year should I report my retirement plan distribution in?” The best indicator of the tax year is the IRS Form 1099-R that accompanies your distribution.

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Blog Articles

Using a Self-Directed IRA to Invest in an LLC

Everything you need to know about investing in an LLC with a Self-Directed IRA.

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Blog Articles

Here’s What You Can Do With Your Account Earnings

Chances are that before you’d even opened your Self-Directed IRA account, you’d already picked your first investment. If you’ve recently sold that initial investment, you might be at a loss for what to do next.

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Blog Articles

5 Partnering Strategies To Help Your IRA Funds Go Farther

Partnering your IRA with other funds and entities can help you obtain the money needed to purchase anything from single and multi-family housing to commercial property, and even unimproved land. On top of generating additional funds, this s...

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Blog Articles

How to Invest in Gold With an IRA

If you’re one of the millions of people who’s been trolling the web for information lately while asking yourself, “Should I invest in gold?” - Take a seat.

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Blog Articles

Offshore Real Estate Investors: Here's Your Due Diligence in 6 Steps

Due diligence is critical. It’s the difference between savvy investors and those who become victims of fraud. Due diligence is the process by which you gather information and evaluate the cost, benefit, and risk of your potential investment...

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Blog Articles

You Can Use Your Retirement Account to Invest in Cryptocurrency

If you haven’t invested in cryptocurrency yet, but are intrigued at the prospect of using a Self-Directed IRA to do so, here’s what the process looks like at Entrust:

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Blog Articles

Bummed About the Stock Market? Here’s How to Diversify Your Portfolio

Contemplating diversification at a deep level requires thinking about how your assets will react in relation to one another and to the broad spectrum of current events. For instance, the rise and fall of the U.S. stock market tends to move ...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Decrypting Crypto: How to Invest in Digital Currency With Your Self-Directed IRA

Curious about digital currency? So are we.That’s why we’ve invited Grayscale Investments, a digital investment authority to join us for this webinar.

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Blog Articles

Self-Direction and Real Estate Notes: Part 2

In Part 1 of Self-Direction and Real Estate Notes we discussed how to invest in real estate notes, secured notes, and their potential benefits. In part 2 we dive into the workd of unsecured notes.

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Blog Articles

10 Reasons We Love Roth IRAs (And You Should Too)

Most people know what a Traditional IRA is, yet many who are familiar with the concept of IRAs still aren’t aware of the Roth IRA. According to the Investment Company Institute, 69 percent of IRA holders in 2016 had Traditional IRAs, while ...

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Blog Articles

How Much Money Do You Need to Retire? Consider These 4 Factors

Most Americans don’t have adequate retirement savings to live out their retired years in the comfort they deserve, desire, or expect. According to the Government Accounting Office, in 2016 nearly half (48%) of Americans over age 55 had no r...

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Blog Articles

What You Need to Know About Investing in Precious Metals

So, why invest in precious metals? You have lots of other options for your Self-Directed IRA—real estate, private equity, notes—and you may already be familiar with some of them. It's time to explore precious metals as an investment class.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Take Control of Your Real Estate Investments With a Checkbook IRA LLC

If you’re interested in investing in real estate with your IRA, setting up an IRA LLC may be an option for you. IRA LLCs offer real estate investors many benefits such as direct access to your IRA funds, and the ability to make investments ...

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Blog Articles

How to Purchase That Asset You Can't Quite Afford

Serious retirement savers know the value of having a budget and sticking to it. After all, including retirement saving as a line item in your household budget no doubt helped you build your retirement nest egg.

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Blog Articles

Recent Court Case Underscores the Importance of Not Engaging in Prohibited Transactions

A recent court case ruled that an individual’s IRA was not exempt from creditors despite the individual’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. After the IRA engaged in prohibited transactions and lost its IRA status, the court determined that the I...

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Blog Articles

SDIRA 101: Your Self-Directed IRA Basics

If you’re new to the world of retirement planning, you may or may not be familiar with Self-Directed IRAs and how they are different to a standard IRA. This article sheds light on the fundamentals of this powerful saving method.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Query O'Clock: A Webinar Devoted to Your SDIRA Questions

Have questions about Self-Directed IRAs? Distributions? Investing in Real Estate? The complexities of IRA LLCs?We bet you do! That’s why we devoted an entire webinar to answering your questions.

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Blog Articles

Self-Direction and Real Estate Notes: Part 1

Investing in real estate notes offers many of the same advantages as investing in real estate, but without the disadvantages. Let’s explore the fundamentals of notes and some of their advantages.

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Blog Articles

The Diversification Advantage You're Looking For Is Right Here

Diversification is vital in a retirement savings strategy. Let’s talk about how you can build it. On the surface, diversification is about owning assets in a variety of classes; equities and bonds being two of the most common classes.

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Blog Articles

What You Need to Know About Accredited Investors

Not too long ago being an accredited investor was like being part of a secret club. However, thanks to relaxed regulations, the popularity of crowdfunding platforms, and alternative investments in general; the “secret club” isn’t much of a ...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Leaving a Legacy With a Self-Directed IRA

In this webinar presented by John Paul Ruiz, Director of Professional Development at The Entrust Group, we cover the many issues that an IRA account holder needs to plan for and resolve to ensure that assets get to the rightful beneficiarie...

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Blog Articles

How to Choose Your SDIRA Provider FAQ Guide

If you’re new to the self-directed IRA space, you may have seen terms like administrator, custodian, and facilitator used to describe the firms that serve account holders. This article will explain these terms.

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Blog Articles

5 Steps to Kickstart Your 2019 Tax Strategy

Having a strategy and executing it will help you avoid missed opportunities, and relieve the stress of tax preparation later on. Here are five steps you can take before April 15, 2020.

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Blog Articles

Preparing for the Effect Divorce Can Have on Your Retirement Savings

Divorce often exacerbates the former stressors; all the more reason to prepare carefully for the financial aspects of divorce, including the havoc it can wreak upon your retirement savings.

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Blog Articles

Limited Liability Companies as a Self-Directed IRA Strategy

Learn about the benefits of an IRA LLC, tax rules, and investment options.

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Blog Articles

How to Save For Retirement Even After Retirement Age

Whatever your reason for working past retirement age, you still have a number of options that will allow you to continue saving in a tax-advantaged account.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Grow Your Self-Directed IRA With Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P)

This investment strategy started getting popular during the financial crisis of 2008 when banks decided they weren’t going to lend any money. This opened-up an opportunity for the free market to provide another way for people to borrow mone...

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Blog Articles

Test Your Knowledge: What You Can and Can’t Do With a Real Estate IRA

Learn about prohibited transactions, disqualified persons, and more with this helpful quiz!

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Blog Articles

Legacy Planning Guide for IRA Holders and Their Beneficiaries

Legacy planning is the process of defining how wealth will be transferred from one generation to the next. This includes how the transfer of your retirement accounts to your beneficiary or beneficiaries will be handled.

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Blog Articles

When a Roth IRA Meets Real Estate Investing

Real estate is the most popular investment choice for our clients. You have a lot of options when it comes to the type of account you can hold to invest in real estate, but today, we’ll discuss investing in real estate using Roth IRAs.

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Blog Articles

Are the Airbnb Investment Properties in Your Self-Directed IRA Subject to Tax?

Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO didn’t exist when IRAs were created in 1974. But the IRS has always allowed investors to own real estate in their tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Take Advantage of IRAs Before the Tax Deadline

In this webinar, we'll cover which compensations are taxable, the tax advantages of each type of account, contribution limits/deadlines, and much more!

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Blog Articles

401(k) or IRA? Why Smart Investors Use Both

Which retirement vehicle should you use to save for a secure retirement, an employer’s 401(k) or an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)? Both is the smart answer! This article will go through some of the distinctions that define these t...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

2019 Real Estate Key Trends: What You Should Know Before Planning Your Investment Strategy

Looking to invest in real estate in 2019? Before you start planning your investment strategy, watch this webinar and learn the 2019 key real estate trends.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – What’s Changed for Retirement Plans and Why It Matters

We’ll cover how recent changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 may affect your decisions regarding your individual retirement plan.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Top 10 Self-Directed IRA Questions of 2018 Answered

Watch this live Q&A webinar on topics such as partnering with other investors, investing in real estate with an LLC, conducting due diligence, and more.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Ways to Protect Your Self-Directed IRA from Fraud

As an investor, it’s always beneficial to make sure your investments are secure from fraudulent activity and scams. We will be going through the...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Make the Most of Your IRA by Understanding Prohibited Transactions

A self-directed IRA allows you to have more investment options and flexibility, compared to many other retirement accounts. However, it is very important to...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Use Your Retirement Funds to Invest in Offshore Real Estate

Investing your 401(k) or IRA funds in offshore real estate might sound complicated, but it requires many of the same steps as purchasing property in the United States, with...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

You Ask, We Answered: Self-Directed IRA Live Q&A for Investors

Watch this question and answer webinar, where participants ask questions about investing in alternative investments.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

New Data Reveals Real Estate IRA Trends and Insights [2018 Report]

The Entrust Group revels real estate investment trends and insights from 2018 in this webinar.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Yield Alternatives for IRA Investors: REITs

This webinar covers Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and why investors prefer owning shares over actual real estate.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Real Estate Investment Strategies Self-Directed IRA Investors Could Benefit From

Are you looking to make a real estate investment, but having trouble coming up with the funds? This webinar explains how.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Transfers vs. Rollovers: Which One is Right For You?

Can’t decide if you want to roll over or transfer your old 401(k)? This webinar will help you choose which one is best for you.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Taxes on Your Retirement Plans with Expert John Paul Ruiz [Live Q&A Webinar]

Learn from the questions and answers from this webinar regarding your retirement plan.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017: Effects on Retirement Plans and Other Tax Favored Accounts

This webinar explores the possible effects to retirement plans created by the new tax law.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

7 Mistakes Real Estate IRA Investors Make

We’ve put together the top 7 mistakes that Real Estate IRA investors make in this informative webinar.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Invest Like a Venture Capitalist

Watch this recorded webinar and learn about investing in privately-held entities, such as companies or small businesses.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Tax Advantages For Small Business Owners

Learn about the various tax-advantaged retirement savings plans available to small business owners in this webinar.

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Guides

Offshore Real Estate & Self-Directed IRAs

When looking offshore, having an open mind and doing some basic research on the country in which you’re interested in can help you find the best investment opportunities. Here are a few important tips to help you make informed decisions.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

6 Self-Directed IRA Rules Investors Need to Know

In this webinar, we discuss the 6 key rules investors need to know about self-directed IRAs:

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Diversify Your Retirement Portfolio with Precious Metals

Learn about the process and benefits of diversifying your IRA with a precious metals IRA.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

2017 Real Estate IRA Investment Trends and Insights

We uncover real estate investment trends based on 2017 data from Entrust clients and respected organizations.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Live Self Directed IRA Q&A: Your Questions Answered

During this unique online question and answer webinar, participants had the opportunity to ask questions about self-direction.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Case Study: How a Real Estate IRA Helped an Investor Increase Returns

This webinar reviews a case study based on an Entrust client’s story to demonstrate the process of investing in real estate with a self-directed IRA.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Reasons why Investors Choose a Roth IRA to Invest in Real Estate

This informative webinar will help you chose between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Decrease Your Taxes in 2017

Every year, investors are trying to find ways to maximize their tax funds. Watchi this webinar to learn how.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

New Year's Resolution: Get Your Old 401(k) in Shape

In this webinar, we will explain how to give your savings a workout and maximize your investing opportunities.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Use Your IRA to Buy Your Future Retirement Home

Discover the difference between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA and learn how to use you IRA to purchase your future investment home!

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Top Real Estate IRA Investment Trends Revealed

This webinar puts real estate investments in perspective by using data from our clients and insights from 2016.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Real Estate IRA Q&A: All Your Questions Answered

Investing in real estate with your self-directed IRA isn't too different from a regular real estate purchase. We explain...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Grow Your Real Estate Business and Generate More Leads

Discover how a Real Estate IRA can help you grow your real estate or financial business.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

4 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Investing With an IRA LLC

A set of rules and regulations that must be followed in order for the IRA to remain compliant, in this webinar we explain...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

5 Partnering Strategies for your Real Estate IRA

Partnering is a popular strategy among real estate investors. We explain 5 of the most popular...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Tips From Savvy Investors: What to Do Before Tax Deadline

It will benefit you to learn how to maximize your contributions with a self-directed IRA. Learn how to prepare...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Transfer Your IRA to a Self-Directed IRA in 5 Simple Steps

Learn how to transfer your old IRA funds into a self-directed IRA in 5 simple steps...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How to Rollover Your Old 401(k) in 4 Simple Steps

Rollover your old 401(k) in 4 simple steps, watch the video to learn how...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Individual 401(k) Establishment Deadline is Coming up! What are Your Options?

Small business owners have their own particular need and we like to personalize their options. Discover your options...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Real Estate IRA Investors' Habits Revealed

Real estate is the #1 investment at Entrust, watch this webinar recording and learn about the real estate investors' habits...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Compelling Reasons why People Choose an Individual 401(k)

20-year retirement and financial services industry veteran, John-Paul Ruiz (QKA, CISP) talks about which plan could be right for you...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

The Missing Piece: Planning your Retirement can Benefit Your Business

You have options when saving for retirement that can also help your business prosper now. We explain...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Self-Directed IRA Q&A: All Your Questions Answered

Are you interested in learning how to get started with self-directed IRAs? Here are some FAQs...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Myths About Self-Directed IRAs

There are many things that big custodian banks and even some financial advisors don’t tell you about your retirement options. It's important...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Tax Return and IRAs: What you Need to Know

Learn how to maximize your tax refund by opening and contributing to an IRA before April 15...

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Guides

How to Open a Self-Directed IRA

In this webinar, we've outlined the 3 simple steps you need to follow to set up an account and get started...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

3 Ways to Grow Your IRA

Have you created a clear and actionable strategy to get to you to your desired savings goals, here are 3 ways to grow your IRA...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

How Self-Directed IRAs Can Help you Generate More Leads for Your Real Estate Business

What benefits can self-directed IRAs can bring to real estate professionals? Our webinar explains how...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Your Real Estate Legacy: Self-Directed IRA Beneficiary Options

If you currently have a Real Estate IRA or looking to start one, it’s important to designate your IRA beneficiary with care. Your beneficiary...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Individual 401(k) Plan and Real Estate Investing Basics: What Every Business Owner Should Know

Are you a business owner? Discover if an Individual 401(k) retirement account is the right option for you in this National Webinar.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Hot Topic: Private Placements Within an IRA

Discover if investing in Private Placements with your IRA is the right fit for your retirement and investing goals in this national webinar...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

The Real Estate IRAs

Join us for an educational, webinar discussing how you can invest in real estate with your self-directed IRA.

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Alternative Investment Strategies for Beginners

Gain a basic understanding of alternative investmet strategies with these options during our national webinar...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Alternative Investments and Self-Directed IRAs: What You Should Know

This webinar examines the landscape of the alternative investments market and resources for alternative investments...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Outsmarting Investment Scams

Conducting thorough research and analysis on a company or investment is essential in helping you make intelligent investment decisions. We show you how...

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Webinars & Educational Videos

Crowdfunding Within a Real Estate IRA

Learn how you can get started with crowdfunding for real estate within your self-directed IRA.

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Blog Articles

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When You Retire

If you have accumulated the savings you need to retire and you are approaching your last days of work, congratulations! Hopefully you have some dreams you want to follow now that you can live off your savings. Regardless of whether you have...

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Blog Articles

6 Essential Self-Directed IRA Rules

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to knowing the rules that govern self-directed IRAs. When you understand and follow the IRS regulations, you can avoid penalties and maximize your retirement savings.

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Blog Articles

How to Directly Rollover a 401(k) to a Self-Directed IRA

Did you leave a 401(k) with an old employer? Do you have a non-performing 401(k) that is sitting around gathering dust? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you might want to roll over your retirement funds to a self-directed I...

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Blog Articles

Using a Self-Directed IRA to Invest in an LLC

One investing option that is available to people who own self-directed IRAs is the ability to purchase ownership in a limited liability company (LLC).

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Blog Articles

4 Convincing Reasons Why People Invest in Gold

We say something is “as good as gold” for a reason. Gold has been a store of monetary value for as long as humans have extracted it from the ground. If gold is good, and saving for retirement is good, why not do both at the same time by buy...

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Infographics

[Infographic] Self-Directed IRA FAQ - Who is a Disqualified Person?

Self-directed IRAs are governed by complex regulations allowing you to use alternative investments to save for retirement. This infographic will explore the important topic of disqualified persons.

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Blog Articles

Why Do People Switch from a 401(k) to a Self-Directed IRA?

Let's face it, you have one or more 401(k) funds laying around collecting dust from previous employers. Why not have your funds actually work for you in a self-directed IRA? Self-directed IRAs let you invest in the assets you know best and ...

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Blog Articles

Disqualified Persons: What IRA Investors Need to Know

In today’s uncertain economy, savers are exploring other investment opportunities to invest their retirement plan assets as an alternative to stocks, bonds, CDs, and mutual funds. The retirement industry has coined the term ”self-directed” ...

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Blog Articles

2 Ways to Invest in Promissory Notes with Your IRA

Promissory notes offer individuals with additional investing options, and another way to diversify their investments. A promissory note is a debt-based financial instrument that involves one party making a written promise to repay a debt un...

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Blog Articles

Seeking a Non-Recourse Loan vs an Investment Partner for Your Real Estate Investment

Some of you may have considered a non-recourse loan for your real estate investment, either because you are short on cash or you want to use loaned monies as leverage for your investment, or possibly both. While it’s true that a non-recours...

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Blog Articles

Reap the Benefits of Self-Directed Roth IRAs

There are many benefits to establishing a self-directed Roth IRA in order to save money for retirement, including tax-advantaged treatment of funds and access to a wide range of investing options.

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Blog Articles

Small Businesses Have Until October 1 to Make SIMPLE and SEP IRA Contributions

March 15 and April 15 aren’t the only important tax deadlines. For small business owners who make employer contributions to retirement plans for themselves or their employees, September and October are just as important.

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Blog Articles

Self-Directed IRA Terns Every Investor needs to Know

Medicine. Sports. Engineering. Academics, pretty much every industry has its own vocabulary, and the retirement saving sector is no exception. But that specialized vocabulary shouldn’t be an excuse to confuse people. At Entrust, we believe ...

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Blog Articles

5 Tough-to-Predict Retirement Expenses

Having a plan to save enough money to retire is always a good idea. Without proper forecast, though, you may encounter unforeseen expenses when the time comes for you to stop working. A lot of people try to determine their plan all at once,...

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Blog Articles

3 Qualified Transactions Every Self-Directed IRA Investor Can Utilize

Many who are or are thinking about entering into the self-directed retirement plan world are concerned about having their IRA engage in a prohibited transaction. “I want to make sure I color between the lines,” as someone put it once. There...

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FAQs

You Asked, We Answered: Investing with Self-Directed IRAs

For this month's webinar, we held a unique self-directed IRA Q&A for current and potential investors. Participants had the opportunity to ask Bill Neville, our Business Development Manager, questions regarding Real Estate IRAs, holding prec...

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Blog Articles

First-Class Service and Results Satisfy an Entrust Account Holder

Bruce Bishop of Secured Assets Funding, a real estate investment company, is one of Entrust’s early account holders. But that’s not the only reason Bruce is important to us. Sure, we’re proud that he has trusted us as his self-directed IRA ...

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Blog Articles

How Self-Directed IRA Conversions and Recharacterizations Actually Work

With tax payers having a better understanding of the Roth IRA and its tax-free attributes, many are choosing to convert their Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. Traditional IRA account holders know that although Traditional IRAs allow for the i...

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Blog Articles

Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA: Which One Works for You?

The most obvious difference between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA is how they are taxed upon distribution. When you save for retirement using a Traditional IRA, your contributions are typically made out of pre-tax income. That gives you ...

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Blog Articles

5 Reasons Why We Love Self-Directed IRAs (and You Should, Too!)

Here, at The Entrust Group, we don’t just offer self-directed IRAs, we know that they expand our investment options and truly believe that they enhance our opportunities in retirement. We, too, want to spend retirement on a cruise to the Ma...

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Blog Articles

Q&A: Understanding Form 5498 and Your Self-Directed IRA

A self-directed IRA offers many opportunities for portfolio diversification through alternative investments. Due to their tax-deferred status, these retirement accounts require certain documentation to remain compliant with the IRS. This ar...

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Blog Articles

Transfers vs Rollovers: We Explain the Difference

Anyone who has ever filed a tax return knows that the devil is in the details when it comes to dealing with the IRS. That is doubly true when it comes to moving money from one retirement savings vehicle to another. Choosing the wrong method...

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Blog Articles

Have an Old 401(k)? Put it to Work for Your Retirement

On average, Americans change their jobs 12 times over the course of their working life. That raises the odds that you may have money sitting in a 401(k) plan from a former employer or you need to decide what to do with the balance in your 4...

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Blog Articles

Tips and Insights on Non-Recourse Loans

Starting back in 2011, The Norris Group began offering our Southern California real estate investor network non-recourse loans for their self-directed IRA accounts. Non-recourse leverage is secured to ensure that if anything were to happen ...

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Blog Articles

4 Ways to Maximize Your Retirement Plan After Age 70

Turning age 70 ½ is a significant age when it comes to having a retirement plan. Many are faced with a tax liability they were not expecting due to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Taxable distributions may also affect other benefits ...

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Blog Articles

Liar, Liar: The Biggest Fib We've Heard About Self-Directed IRAs

If you come across a self-directed IRA provider who offers to review an investment or provides investment advice as part of their services, don’t believe it. In fact, run in the other direction.

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Blog Articles

With This One Move, Individual Investors Can Stay Ahead

Online learning is all the rage. You can learn a new language, hone your knife skills, or get fold-by-fold origami instructions. Better yet, you could become a better-educated investor through the newly refreshed Entrust Learning Center.

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Blog Articles

3 Things You Need to Know About Qualified Charitable Distributions

We have received many questions regarding whether distributions made during 2015 to a charity is tax-exempt. The answer is finally here for many Americans who are age 70 ½ and older. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) which expired o...

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Blog Articles

Don't Let Hidden Or High Fees Eat Into Your Retirement Savings

What do most advertisements for cars, computers, and brokerage accounts have in common? More often than not, the cost shown in big print at the top of the ad is accompanied by a long list of extra fees and charges shown in teeny-tiny print ...

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Blog Articles

How to Transfer Your IRA to a Self-Directed IRA in 5 Simple Steps [Video]

Funding a self-directed IRA with a transfer is the first step to investing with these tax-advantaged savings accounts, so it is a necessary part of holding alternative investments in your retirement account. Let's take a closer look at tran...

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Blog Articles

Cryptocurrency vs. Precious Metals: Which One Wins?

Smartphones, fashion, technology, athletic shoes—the world seems to be obsessed with the latest, the newest, the next hot idea. But is that always the best approach for an investment strategy?

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Blog Articles

Americans’ Lack of Retirement Planning Will Frighten You

Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins are nothing compared to the scary specter of not having enough money saved for a comfortable retirement. But that is just the frightful situation too many Americans will find themselves in unless they start savin...

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Blog Articles

What the 2016 Presidential Candidates Have to Say about Retirement

This is the first article in a series of article blog posts on how the November 2016 U.S. presidential election might affect the stability of retirement prospects, savings, and Social Security. I want to shed light on what an aging public i...

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FAQs

You Asked, We Answered: 7 Mistakes Real Estate IRA Investors Make

For November's webinar, we covered 7 mistakes Real Estate IRA investors make. Participants who joined our national webinar had the opportunity to ask John Paul Ruiz, our Director of Professional Development at Entrust, questions regarding t...

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Blog Articles

Alternative Investments: A New Approach to Retirement Saving

Alternative energy. Alternative universe. Why not alternative investments? The definition of an alternative investment is deceptively simple: It is anything that is not a stock, bond, or cash. That means gold bullion to an apartment buildin...

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Blog Articles

5 Barriers Retirement Planning Professionals Need to Know

It’s no big surprise that half of Americans say retirement planning is a top priority. How do you explain that 58% of Americans do not have a formal retirement plan in place? That’s just one of the conflicting findings in the Deloitte repor...

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Blog Articles

Invest in Your Own Pot of Gold: Gold IRA Basics

If you’re lucky enough to catch a leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day and ask him where his pot of gold is, he’ll have to tell you. That’s because, as is well known, leprechauns cannot lie. But leprechauns are wily, solitary fellows who know ho...

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Blog Articles

5 Reasons to Use a Self-Directed IRA to Invest in Real Estate

Self-directed IRAs are the only retirement arrangements that allow individual investors the freedom to pursue alternative investments, such as real estate. Investing in real estate with a self-directed IRA offers many benefits to those who ...

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Blog Articles

Why You Shouldn't Overlook Your Beneficiary Designation

In my career as a retirement professional, I believe that the IRA beneficiary designation is the section of the IRA document that is most over looked by most IRA holders. Common mistakes by IRA holders include skipping or not completing thi...

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Blog Articles

7 Ways Retirement Demographics Have Changed in 80 Years

Any discussion of the candidates’ positions on retirement must be prefaced by a synopsis of how the U.S. population and public laws and policies related to retirement have changed. There are two key dates: 1935, the year Social Security (as...

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Blog Articles

Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA: What's the Best for You?

Individuals planning for retirement can benefit from knowing about the tax advantages gained by using traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Choosing one of these options instead of the other can result in significant d...

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Blog Articles

Understanding Fees in retirement Plans

Investments in retirement plans have been dominated by the more common and accessible investments offered by brokerage firms and banks. For example a large percentage of defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) profit sharing plans, are i...

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Blog Articles

6 Pre-Retirement Tips for Your 40s

As we approach the last day of Save for Retirement Week 2015 we're wrapping up with some great tips for potential investors in their 40s who are interested in planning for their financial future. From the enthusiastic startup owner to the e...

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Blog Articles

Open Letter to Grandparents: It's Never Too Late to Save for Retirement

Every day can be Grandparents Day, but the official commemorative day is the Sunday after Labor Day (September 10th). It is the perfect opportunity to spend time with and care for the grandparents we love so much. For the occasion, we wrote...

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Blog Articles

5 Habits of Great Personal Service for Real Estate IRA investors

Have you ever called client services only to be transferred from one department to another, wait through blaring music, and ultimately never receive a satisfying answer? We have too. That’s why it’s The Entrust Group’s goal to provide such ...

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Blog Articles

How to Select a Tax Professional in 4 Easy Steps

Tax season is soon approaching once again, and if you are looking for a professional to help you prepare your taxes, there are several questions you should ask so that you can perform your due diligence and do your best to get the person wh...

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Blog Articles

8 Pre-Retirement Tips for Your 30s

As we continue building awareness for Save For Retirement 2015, it's important that we discuss different stages in life, and how we can always make a move towards a bigger goal for saving funds for the future. Additionally, we are all at di...

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Blog Articles

11 Factors to Consider When Choosing Your IRA Company

When choosing a self-directed IRA company to manage your retirement funds, make sure to review the following key factors to ensure your future is in the proper hands:

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About IRA Rollovers

In 2014, Americans held $7.4 trillion in their IRAs. A good portion of that came from rolling over money from employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans. If you’re considering a rollover from your employe...

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Blog Articles

How Brokers Can Retain and Attract More Talent

Your ability to retain or attract talent gives you a competitive advantage. But how do you do that effectively? Agents are now looking for more benefits and strategies that will help them stand out from competitors and make more commissions...

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Blog Articles

Here's What Couples Need to Know About Spousals IRAs

With Valentine's Day around the corner, couples everywhere are gearing up to impress their partners. Buckling down on finances may not be the first things that comes to mind, but maximizing savings for retirement can be a joint effort for m...

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Blog Articles

Tales From The Crypt: Self-Directed IRA Horror Stories

With Halloween 2016 around the corner, we want to take this opportunity to open up Entrust's locked-away crypt of horror stories! These are not just any ordinary horror stories, but self-directed IRA stories that may have the ability to kee...

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Blog Articles

How to Rollover Your Old 401(k) in 4 Simple Steps [Video]

Funding a self-directed IRA is the first step to investing with tax-advantaged savings. It's a necessary part of holding alternative investments in your retirement account. Let's take a look at how a rollover works:

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Blog Articles

3 Tax Advantages of Self-Directed IRAs

Retirement accounts have a number of tax advantages for savvy savers. With a self-directed IRA, you can put these advantages to use toward alternative investments. Here are some of those advantages.

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Blog Articles

What is a Self-Directed IRA?

It used to be, if you wanted a souvenir of your vacation in Italy, you asked another tourist to snap your photo standing in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Today, all you have to do is smile into your smartphone and take a selfie.

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Blog Articles

Save For Retirement Week 2015: How Retirement Might Look without a Savings Plan

It's National Save for Retirement Week 2015 and we're doing our part in raising awareness about the importance of your current, or future retirement plan. It's the perfect time to check your plan to see if your goals are being met, and if y...

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Blog Articles

Getting Smart: Retirement Savings Stratgeis For Mom

Mothers save a lot of things: The card that spells out “LOVE” in macaroni. An outgrown soccer jersey. Baby shoes and graduation photos. What mothers—and all women, for that matter—aren’t as good at saving is money for their retirement.

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Blog Articles

Put Your Investments Where Your Heart Is With Self-Directed IRAs

Imagine using investment funds from an IRA to invest in the kind of dream project that can really make a difference in the world by listening to what the heart wants. Now it's possible. Self-directed IRAs put the power of investing back int...

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Blog Articles

How Investors Take Advantage of Self-Direction With Entrust

Can you invest in the assets you want to invest in, or are your choices limited? How easy is the website to navigate for your investments, and can you make the transactions you want to make? When you want to talk to a real person, how frien...

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Blog Articles

6 Pre-Retirement Tips for Your 20s

It's Day 3 of Save for Retirement Week 2015! We want to encourage our readers to take this week to reflect on their savings plans, which may or may not be in place -- and that's OK. It's never too late, nor too early to start planning for y...

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Blog Articles

5 Easy Ways to Learn to invest with a Self-Directed IRA

The first step self-directed investors take when they consider investing for retirement is research. What assets can you invest in? What types of accounts are available? Who offers these accounts? Are they truly self-directed? How do you op...

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Blog Articles

How to Leave a Legacy With Your retirement Plan

Many people wonder if they have enough in their retirement savings plans to sustain themselves during retirement. On the other hand, some people have more than enough. Beneficiaries of these retirement plan accounts need to be aware of thei...

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FAQs

You Asked, We Answered: Self-Directed IRA Live Q&A for Ivestors

For July's national webinar, we opened the lines for anyone looking to get educated about self-directed IRAs. Beginner and advanced investors who participated in the free webinar had the opportunity to ask their questions during our live Q&...

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Blog Articles

How Retirement Can Be A Piece of Cake With A Self-Directed IRA

With a self-directed IRA, a well-deserved retirement can be a piece of cake (and just as rewarding) if you pay attention to these three simple reminders:

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Blog Articles

The Valentine's Day Gift That Lasts a Lifetime: The Spousal IRA

The future is getting more expensive, and advances in medicine and nutrition mean that we are living active lifestyles longer than ever. These are positive developments, but they also indicate that retirement is much more expensive and long...

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Blog Articles

This Labor Day, We're Thinking About Retirement Security

No matter what the calendar says, Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer here in the U.S. and students are back in school. The college football season is underway. For fashionistas, it marks the last day one should wear white, linen, or ...

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Blog Articles

Have You Considered a Self-Directed IRA?

Have you been considering self-directed investments in your IRA? Do you feel stuck? Are you in the pattern of thinking about it, doing all the research, and then doing nothing about it? If so, it’s probably because you have some preconceive...

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Blog Articles

Funding Your IRA With a Transfer - Here's How It's Done

Transferring an IRA from another provider is tax-free and easy. We are here to help you every step of the way. Whether you are frustrated with your current provider, paying too much in fees, or want more investment freedom, an Entrust Self-...

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Blog Articles

3 Examples of Self-Directed IRA Partnering Gone Wrong

Self-directed IRA owners can partner with others to take advantage of larger alternative investment opportunities, such as multifamily real estate properties. However, this strategy can only be successful when working within self-directed I...

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Infographics

[Infographic] What Is A Self-Directed IRA

The retirement industry has been dominated by custodians who are focused on a narrow spectrum of IRA investments, limiting you to stocks, bonds, CDs, and other traditional investments. While these retirement accounts may be right for some, ...

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Infographics

[Infographic] Selling Your Real Estate IRA Property

As with any asset in a retirement plan, there are numerous reasons to sell or trade. What’s true with stocks and bonds also holds true with alternative assets, such as real estate. Perhaps the asset is underperforming and you would like to ...

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Blog Articles

Why Do Americans Save More for Vacation Than for Retirement?

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, when people start planning their vacations—a family reunion, a camping trip, a week at the beach. Americans like their vacations so much that they are three times more likely to save for a sho...

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Blog Articles

Funding Your IRA with a Contribution - Here's How It's Done

You have options when it comes to funding your Entrust self-directed IRA. Once you’ve decided which option is best for you, you can open an account in under . Did you know cash or check contributions can help fund your self-directed IRA? Ma...

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Blog Articles

Take the Wheel to Self-Direct Your Retirement Savings (We Can Help)

Heights. Public speaking. Snakes. People have lots of fears, but planning for retirement shouldn’t be one of them. To the contrary, you should be afraid of not planning. Being in control is the best route to a comfortable retirement, and se...

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Blog Articles

Why Capturing Direct Rollovers is Essential in Today's Retirement Market

With 6 million Americans still unemployed and over 78 million approaching retirement age, there are opportunities to capture rollovers from employer-sponsored plans. According to the Investment Company Institute, out of the 27....

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Blog Articles

Back-to-School: How an Education Savings Account Pays for Your Child's Education (Tax-Free)

For the month of August, parents and children are gearing up for one event in particular: back-to-school! With the new school year starting again, we, at Entrust feel like it's the right time to educate our readers about a special s...

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Blog Articles

How to Pick a Precious Metals Dealer for Your IRA

Gold IRAs, or self-directed IRAs that allow for investing in precious metals, may require you to choose a dealer to make a purchase. Looking for the best precious metals dealer can seem like a daunting task, but following a few simple steps...

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Blog Articles

No More Excuses: Small Business Solutions to Retirement Saving

Think your business is too small to have a retirement savings plan? That you’ll be tied down to specific contributions or a limited range of investments? Concerned you can’t cover the fees for a self-employed retirement plan? Stop worrying....

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Blog Articles

A Look at the Senate's Tax Reform Proposal

Following up on our recent article on the proposed House Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, here’s a look at the Senate Republicans’ proposal, focusing on how it differs from the House version.

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Blog Articles

Right to Marry Ruling: How it Affects Beneficiary Rights

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the ban on same sex-marriages in the 13 states that still had them, passing a federal legislation to offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This validation of same-sex marriage in all 50...

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Blog Articles

Choosing a Depository for Your Precious Metals Investment

The IRS requires all physical metals invested with a Precious Metals IRA to be securely stored in an approved metals depository or vault for safe keeping. Taking physical possession of metals held by your IRA is not allowed by the IRS until...

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Blog Articles

Diversifying Your Investment Portfolio? How to Invest Your Retirement Funds in Private Placements

Looking to diversify your retirement portfolio? "Private Placements" is a term that refers to investing in privately-held entities, such as companies or small businesses. Investing in Private Placements using a self-directed IRA can be a si...

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Blog Articles

How to Correct a 2014 Excess Contribution to a Self-Directed IRA

What happens when you make a mistake and contribute more to your Traditional or Roth IRA than the rules allow? Don’t worry there are ways to correct the error.

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FAQs

You Asked, We Answered: Yield Alternatives for IRA Investors - Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

For May's national webinar we discussed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Participants who joined our free webinar had the opportunity to ask Bill Neville, Business Development Manager at The Entrust Group and Jon Bren, our guest and e...

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One-Size Does Not Fit All in Retirement Savings

Anyone who’s ever strained the seams of a ‘one size fits all’ T-shirt knows there really is no such thing. The same is true for families and retirement planning.

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Investing 101: Building Your Precious Metals Portfolio

One of the biggest questions for new buyers of precious metals is "What should I buy?" The first rule often addressed is to avoid collectible or numismatic coins and the exceptionally high premiums that dealers charge for them. This discuss...

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Top 3 Reasons to Perform Due Diligence on Self-Directed IRA Invetments

Holding alternative investments, such as real estate, in a self-directed IRA can help build retirement funds. However, because these accounts allow for more investment freedom, they are also associated with increased risk.

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If You're Self-Employed It Pays to Understand 401 (k) Rules

Uber and Lyft drivers. Housecleaners. Photographers and freelance writers. What’s being called the “gig economy” is having an impact on the number of people who are self-employed. In 2013, 6.8 percent of U.S. workers were self-employed, acc...

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Infographics

[Infographic] Crowdfunding with a Self-Directed IRA

A self-directed IRA is the only retirement savings vehicle that allows you to have full control over your investments. With this type of account, you have access to a wide range of alternative investments, from real estate and precious meta...

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Spring Into Saving With A Self-Directed IRA

Baby birds are chirping in their nests. Vivid tulips and perky daffodils enliven the garden. The first tender peas and fresh asparagus are appearing in the farmers market.

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What 20 Years in the Retirement Industry Has Taught Me

After being a retirement consultant in the financial services industry for over 20 years, I often wonder if I am making a difference in the lives of people I come in contact with. Over the years I have taught retirement professionals about ...

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3 Ways Self-Directed IRAs Emplower You

Have you ever felt like your future is out of your control?

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Establish and Contribute to SEP or SIMPLE IRA in September

September and October are significant months for small business owners who make employer contributions to retirement plans for themselves or their employees. If you filed for a tax extension, your return is now due, and your employer contri...

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Blog Articles

3 Things Keeping You from Saving for Retirement

Collectively, Americans have $7 trillion invested in their IRA accounts. But on an individual level, a recent survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that the typical worker’s retirement account has a balance of onl...

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Blog Articles

3 Reasons Why Gold Doesn't Collapse Like the Stock Market

There are probably as many investment theories as there are investors. Apart from the obvious — buy low, sell high — these theories, or strategies, may be driven by data, by advice received from advisors, by personal experience, or even by ...

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New Study: Gold Proves to Stay Strong Year After Year for Investors

Even without the recent stock market convulsions, investors big and small are seeing the value of precious metals as part of a well-rounded portfolio. The World Gold Council maintains one of the world’s oldest assets—gold—pairs well with on...

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Funding Your IRA with a Rollover - Here's How It's Done

Like many Americans, you may have a 401(k) from previous jobs. When you left your old job, did you leave your retirement savings behind? Cashing out will leave you with paying fees, and leaving the funds untouched prevents you from reaching...

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5 Steps to Take Before Retiring Overseas

Retiring overseas may be a great idea, but there are various steps you should take before making your final decision.

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Infographics

[Infographics] SEP, SIMPLE, and Individual 401 (k): Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

Do you know which self-directed retirement plan could be right for your business and retirement goals? Imagine yourself investing with a SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA or Individual 401k with these visual representations of the different types of smal...

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Why IRA Academy 2018 is Importatnt for Financial & Retirement Professionals to Stay Competitive

This year, we have both a new tax year and a new tax law that could change many people’s approach to investing and saving. Financial and retirement professionals will have a lot to learn about the new tax law. While you’re in student mode, ...

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Blog Articles

New Year, New Site: Find Out What's Changing at Entrust

We've enhanced our website and we’ve kept you in mind the entire time! With our new changes, we’re making it easier to help you find exactly what you need. See what we're updating below:

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Blog Articles

Gold Demand Down, But It Still Glows for Precious Metals Investors

It is a truism that the price of gold and the stock market often work in opposition: when the stock market surges, gold prices decline. In the first quarter of 2018, while the stock markets had their volatile moments, overall returns were p...

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Protect Your Future with Green Investments

You recycle. You carry your own reusable bag to the grocery store. You turn out the lights when you leave the room.

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Privatizing Social Security: A Rare Topic of Agreement Amoung the 2016 Presidential Candidates

So far, I’ve set the political and demographic context for a discussion of the presidential candidates’ positions on retirement savings for Americans. This post will present a few of those positions. The most important positions address wha...

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Blog Articles

How Super Bowl 50 Can Help You Save for Retirement

We here at The Entrust Group are especially excited about Super Bowl 50because it’s happening here in our backyard. The game will be in the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and the parties and hoopla have taken over a good part of San Fran...

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Blog Articles

10 Presidents Day Quotes for the Savvy Investor

Presidents Day is coming up on Feburary 17. Did you know this day originally falls on George Washington's birthday? In honor of this great American holiday, we became inspired to research timeless quotes uttered by some of the greatest Amer...

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3 Ways the Year of the Monkey Can Help Investors

Welcome to the Year of the Monkey. More specifically, to the year of the fire monkey, which starts on February 8. The monkey is the ninth of 12 signs in the Chinese zodiac, and the fire monkey is the most active and aggressive of the playfu...

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Infographics

[Infographic] A Simple Path to Retirement Wealth

Retirement preparation is quickly becoming a priority as many face an uncertain financial future. Those looking to take the lead role in directing their futures are exploring the many tax advantages and investment options available through ...

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Blog Articles

Retirement Plans for Your Small Business Your Employees Will Appreciate

How does your small business attract and retain the best talent? Offering competitive salaries, good working conditions, opportunities for advancement or a flexible work schedule are all good ideas. Have you thought about adding a retiremen...

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Blog Articles

Rising Rents: An Opportunity for Self-Directed IRA Owners

If you’ve been glossing over the headlines about high rents, think again. Historically high rents and low vacancy rates offer an investment opportunity for owners of self-directed IRAs. You can buy rental property through your IRA and benef...

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Guide: Retirement Planning for Dad This Father's Day

You’re well past the age when an IOU for 50 hugs or a weekend of yard work is a cute Father’s Day gift. And how many “greatest dad” mugs can one man use? This article suggests a gift that your dad will appreciate long after the Father’s Day...

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Blog Articles

Tick-Tock the Boss is on the Clock - Devising an Exit Strategy for Small Business Owners

I am often asked by business owners about succession and exit planning. The harsh reality is that the landscape is littered with leaders and owners who chose – yes chose – to imperil their legacy and family’s security. Some failed to change...

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Blog Articles

Moving from Sucessfull Small Business Owner to Satisfied Retiree

Today’s retirees are more likely to be rock-climbing than sitting in a rocking chair. People may be working longer—59 percent of small business owners plan to work past age 65, according to a 2013 study by the Transamerica Center for Retire...

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Blog Articles

Selecting the IRA Plan That Works Best For You

“Which IRA is best for me?” is a common question taxpayers ask when determining which IRA to set up. Most people have two choices: Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. (Small business owners and people who are self-employed can open SIMPLE or SE...

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Blog Articles

Attract and Retain Employees with a Small Business Retirement Plan

Hiring and wages are both picking up: 72 percent of businesses hired employees in 2014 and 74 percent of them raised salaries in the same time period. That gives potential employees more options, and it makes holding on to your current staf...

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Maximize Your Retirement Savings With Your Own Expertise

Are you a real estate maven? Passionate about small business or start-ups? Partial to the security of investing in precious metals?

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Blog Articles

Presidential Candidates Agree on Americans Not Saving Enough to Reitre

Those of you who’ve hung in there with me through this six-part analysis of presidential campaign politics and retirement saving know that we’ve already set the stage with my first post in the series What the 2016 Presidential Candidates Ha...

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Blog Articles

4 Spending Lessons to Follow This Holiday Season

Are you one of those parents (or grandparents, aunts, uncles) who will spend more that you should on your children over the holidays? You won’ be alone. A majority of 62% of parents surveyed by T.Rowe Price for its 2015 Parents, Kids & Mone...

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Apply These 4 Strategies to Start Saving for Retirement now

Far too many Americans are not financially ready for retirement: nearly half have no retirement savings at all. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, two out of three working households with income providers between ag...

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The Difference Between Transfers and Rollovers

If you are one of the many individuals who want alternative investment choices for your retirement plans, assets like real estate, precious metals, and notes, not typically offered by other firms—The Entrust Group’s recordkeeping services a...

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3 Benefical Tips About Investing in Hedge Funds With Your IRA

One way that individuals can diversify their portfolios is to use self-directed IRAs to invest in hedge funds. Investors can amplify the potential for financial growth by making investments in such entities hedge funds which can be consider...

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4 Tips for Holding Real Estate Offshore With Your Self-Directed IRA

One of the most popular investments held by self-directed IRAs and other similar retirement accounts is real estate. Many investors are unaware that it is permitted to hold offshore real estate in a self-directed IRA. Individuals seeking gr...

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5 Hard Truths About Women and Retirement Security

International Women's Day, originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8th. People from across the world are stepping up this year to #BeBoldForChange by taking groundbreaking action that truly drives the gre...

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5 Last-Minute Ways IRA Holders Can Reduce Taxes

Don’t stress over taxes. Even though the tax deadline is getting closer, there are still things you can do to make filing your tax return easier. Better yet, you have time to open an IRA (three extra days—until April 18, 2017) or to take ad...

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Blog Articles

5 Tips for Property Managers Working With Self-Directed IRAs

Having real estate in a self-directed IRA has many benefits, especially if the property is an income producing property. Although there are ways for IRA holders to manage the property themselves, many choose to hire the expertise of a prope...

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5 Unique Real Estate IRA Investments

Self-directed IRAs offer the ability to use real estate investments to build retirement funds. Here are 5 extraordinary ways to take advantage of this alternative investment opportunity.

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Blog Articles

6 Tips for a Financially Secure Retirement in 2017

While two-thirds of Americans surveyed by the Employee Benefits Research Institute are confident that they are financially prepared for retirement, nearly one-half of them have never tried to calculate how much money they will need for a co...

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Blog Articles

7 Essential Tips for Taking Distributions From Your Self-Directed IRA

If you’re approaching the age of 59, you will soon be eligible to begin taking distributions from your self-directed IRA without being subject to an early distribution penalty. And if you’re about to turn 70½, it won’t be long until you mus...

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7 Ways to Take Early IRA Withdrawals Without Penalty

Generally, if a self-directed IRA owner takes an early distribution from a retirement account, meaning he/she withdraws money before reaching the age of 59 ½, the IRS will impose an additional tax penalty on any taxable distribution. Howeve...

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Blog Articles

Are You Certain You Want to Convert to a Roth IRA in 2018?

Starting tax year 2018, taxpayers must be very certain when they initiate converting their Traditional IRAs or a Direct rollover of non-designated Roth accounts from their 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b) plans to a Roth IRA. Reason be...

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Blog Articles

Beginner's Guide: Purchasing a Rental Property with a Self-Directed IRA

First and foremost, what is a self-directed IRA? A self-directed IRA is an individual retirement account that gives you complete control over your investment choices. Unlike other IRAs, you’re not limited to stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. ...

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FAQs

FAQs: Reporting a Fair Market Valuation for Your IRA

Every year, the IRS requires a report of the value of your IRA assets. This is where the fair market valuation (FMV) comes in. A fair market valuation is used to assign or change the value of an asset in a self-directed IRA. A Fair Market V...

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Getting Smart with Self-Directed IRA Distributions

Participating in a traditional self-directed IRA can provide you with diverse investing options and tax benefits. If you have had the opportunity to establish one of these self-directed, tax-advantaged savings accounts and make contribution...

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How Retirement Accounts Are Impacted By Divorce

Divorce is a topic not often discussed by retirement account administrators or investors. According to the Population Association of America, currently, 22 percent of women and 21 percent of men have ever been divorced in 2016. If current d...

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Blog Articles

How to Avoid Unintended IRA Distributions for Real Estate Investments

IRA owners investing in real estate have quickly learned they can invest not only in commercial and residential property, but also vacant land, private Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), non-performing notes, self-storage facilities and...

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How to Ensure Your IRA Savings Go Where You Want After Your Death

It was a horror story—a man planning for the future of his grown children before losing his life to cancer, only to have the $400,000 in his IRA go to his wife of two months, who cut the children out the wishes of his will. Leonard Smith ha...

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Blog Articles

How to Report a Fair Market Valuation for Your Self-Directed IRA

Every year, the IRS requires a report of the value of your IRA assets. This is not a special addendum to self-directed retirement acco