3 Things They Don’t Tell You About IRAs

When it comes to planning for retirement, conventional IRAs are often the go-to option for many investors. While they offer access to public market investments like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, many don’t realize the limitations put in place by the company where you open the IRA. These constraints can quietly undermine your ability to grow and diversify your portfolio.

Keep reading to learn more about what they don’t tell you about IRAs and how you can open up additional possibilities.

1: Limited investment choices

Conventional IRAs traditionally offer public market investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. While these investments are good options, they don’t include other diverse investments considered by the modern, ultra-wealthy investor.

According to a recent study, 69% of ultra-high-net-worth investors invest in alternative assets such as real estate, private equity and crypto. If you want to diversify your portfolio to include these asset classes, you may be limited with most financial institutions that only offer conventional retirement accounts.

However, even if you open an account with a self-directed IRA custodian, some don’t offer a simple solution for adding traditional investments alongside alternatives. This means you must open multiple accounts at different institutions to diversify with both asset classes, which can be time-consuming and inefficient.

2: Lack of flexibility for quick investing moves

Investing can sometimes require the ability to act and move quickly in order to capitalize on opportunities as they arise, especially for investments like real estate. If your funds are tied up in stocks and mutual funds at a different financial institution, transferring the funds to a self-directed IRA elsewhere can cause delays. This could result in missing out on a valuable opportunity.

For example, imagine discovering a real estate investment that fits perfectly within your self-directed IRA strategy. However, your capital is still held in traditional investments elsewhere. The process of liquidating those assets and transferring the funds between custodians can take days or even weeks, during which time the opportunity may no longer be available.

With many investments, time is of the essence, and delays caused by transferring money between custodians can lead to missed opportunities. The inability to seamlessly access funds for both traditional and alternative investments can create a struggle, preventing you from acting quickly when needed.

3: No access to diverse investments

Conventional IRA custodians offer some choices for diversification. They contain different types of stocks, bonds and mutual funds for investing; however, this list is still limited to public market assets. To find other options, investors have to go beyond traditional platforms to access alternative investments. This forces those who want broader opportunities to seek out custodians that offer these investment types.

Historically, some alternative investments were only available to the ultra-wealthy or accredited investors, which created a barrier for average investors. Regulations and high entry thresholds meant that only a select few could participate. However, with more information available, new investors now can discover alternative investments.

Other investors simply haven’t been aware that private market assets are options because they aren’t offered at most traditional institutions. These companies tend to focus on public market assets. As a result, many investors are unaware that they could include real estate or crypto in their retirement portfolio through a self-directed IRA.

The solution: Universal IRA

The Universal IRA is unlike any conventional IRA because it enables you to invest in both traditional and alternative assets, all in one IRA. Through a linked brokerage account, you can invest in traditional investments, and your IRA can also hold a wide range of alternative investments.

This flexibility eliminates the need to manage multiple IRAs across different institutions, simplifying your investment strategy and allowing you to diversify your portfolio efficiently.

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If you find an opportunity, you can easily move funds without the long wait of transferring from one custodian to another. With the Universal IRA, you avoid the delays and frustrations that often come with moving funds between IRAs.

Whether it’s an attractive real estate investment or an emerging cryptocurrency, you can act quickly, moving your funds seamlessly within the same IRA to capture investment opportunities in real-time.

Equity Trust provides direct access to a range of investment options through WealthBridge. Traditional investing opportunities like stocks and mutual funds can be found in Wealth Station, provided by affiliated broker dealer ETC Brokerage. Alternative investment options like cryptocurrency, real estate, private equity, and more are available through connected platforms.

This access helps you to benefit from the stability of traditional investments while tapping into the diversification that alternative assets can offer.

Get started with a Universal IRA today

Ready to take control of your retirement investments with the flexibility of a Universal IRA? Download the guide now to learn how the Universal IRA can work for you and begin building a more flexible financial future.