- 40 years in business
- A+ BBB rating
- IOS and Apple mobile app
- $5 billion in AUM
- Limited account access
- U.S. investors only
Given all the uncertainty in the economy, the financial markets, the national debt, and the geopolitical situation, many investors are looking to diversify their retirement portfolios away from paper assets and into true alternative assets.
This Entrust Group review will help you decide if Entrust is the right IRA provider for you.
But they go beyond IRAs, and also offer SEP IRA & SIMPLE IRAs, individual 401(k)s, health savings accounts, and even education savings accounts (ESAs) for your children.
The Verdict for The Entrust Group
I’ve given them a rating of 8.3 out of 10.
| Category | Rating (out of 10) |
|---|---|
| Investment Options | 9.5 |
| Pricing & Fees | 6 |
| Account Setup & Maintenance | 8 |
| Customer Service & Support | 9.5 |
| Security & Compliance | 9 |
| Reputation & Reviews | 7 |
| Resources & Tools | 9 |
| Overall Rating | 8.3 |
In this review of The Entrust Group, I’ve followed GIC’s detailed criteria for evaluating the self-directed IRA custodian.
About The Entrust Group
The Entrust Group was founded in 1982, and is based in Oakland, California.
Hubert Bromma is the founder and CEO of the company, and is well recognized in the field of alternative investments in tax-free and tax-deferred environments.
He has previous backgrounds in banking, financial institutions, consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate investing.
The company provides administrative services for self-directed IRAs, commonly referred to as SDIRAs.
This is a type of retirement account that allows you to hold alternative assets that are not commonly traded on public exchanges.
The Entrust Group provides their services to clients in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. 45,000 investors trust the company to manage more than $5 billion in assets under management.
Investment Options
The Entrust Group offers the following five general investment options for your SDIRA:
Precious Metals
Often referred to as a gold IRA, you can hold precious metals in your SDIRA.
Available metals investments include gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion coins, rounds and bars.
Like other companies sponsoring precious metals IRAs, Entrust offers metals only in bullion form, since numismatic coins are not IRS compliant.
When you open a precious metals SDIRA , it’s important to understand that The Entrust Group serves only as the IRA provider.
That means they handle documentation to establish, fund, and complete transactions for your plan. They also maintain record-keeping and required IRS reporting.
Real Estate
One of the advantages of an SDIRA is that you can purchase and hold real estate in your retirement account.
This is a complicated process that requires a firm specializing in real estate IRAs, which The Entrust Group does.
You can use your SDIRA to purchase and hold single or multi-family homes, real estate investment trusts (REITs), raw land, or any other type of real property.
Because the property is held in an IRA account, both net rental income and capital appreciation can accumulate on a tax-deferred basis.
Private Equity
Private equity is generally any type of investment that is not available to be traded on a public exchange.
You’ll need to set up your SDIRA with The Entrust Group, fund your account, locate a satisfactory private equity opportunity, then make your investment through the SDIRA.
Like a real estate IRA, all income from the private equity investment must be retained in the account, and all expenses paid from the account.
No funds can pass through to you on a personal basis.
Private Lending
Similar to private equity investing, private lending involves making loans to private individuals and entities.
As these are complicated investments with significant tax penalties for noncompliance, you’ll need the guidance of an SDIRA provider like The Entrust Group to make it work properly.
That will include no personal connection between you and the borrower.
Cryptocurrency
The Entrust Group provides the opportunity to invest directly in cryptocurrency.
This can be done either through a cryptocurrency fund, or by an LLC within your SDIRA.
Pricing & Fees
SDIRA fees are based on the value of your assets, but The Entrust Group does have a fee cap for large accounts.
The company indicates the following fees associated with an SDIRA:
| Setup fee for IRA | $50 |
| Wire transfer fee | $30 |
| Record-keeping (single asset) | $199/year |
| Record-keeping (multiple assets) | $299/year |
| Purchase and sale of assets | $95 – $250 |
Account Setup & Maintenance
To set up an IRA with The Entrust Group you’ll need to open a self-directed IRA (SDIRA) using the five-step process is outlined below:
- Find an SDIRA provider, like The Entrust Group
- Confirm they’re able to gold your preferred investment
- Choose whether you’d prefer a traditional or Roth SDIRA
- Set up the account and pay your account establishment fee
- Fund your account via a transfer, rollover, or contribution
Customer Service & Support
The Entrust Group customer contact is available by phone at 1(800)392-9653.
You can also contact the company by email at [email protected], which can also be done through the website email form.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific time. Customer service is not available on weekends for on legal holidays.
The company can also be contacted through its social media channels at Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Security & Compliance
All IRAs are held under the administration of The Entrust Group, which is regulated by federal and state agencies as listed below.
The company is chartered as a non-depository bank in compliance with 26 U.S. Code Section 408 Individual Retirement Accounts.
Uninvested cash held in an SDIRA is not FDIC insured, but is placed only in government-insured institutions and is insured for up to $5 million.
Physical storage of precious metals is done through recommended depositories.
Security provisions are provided by each individual depository.
Reputation & Reviews
The Entrust Group has the following ratings among various third-party sources:
- Better Business Bureau: A+, the highest rating given by the agency.
- Trustpilot: 2.3 out of five stars (Poor) among 8 reviews.
- Google listing: 3.3 out of five stars based on 51 reviews
- Yelp: 2.3 out of five stars among 84 reviews
Resources & Tools
The Entrust Group website offers readily available resources to help you fully understand alternative investments and the SDIRA process – including the disadvantages.
The online Learning Center provides access to an IRA guide, the company blog, a comprehensive and detailed FAQ page and other resources.
Those resources include webinars and educational videos – several hundred, in fact – covering nearly every topic related to alternative asset IRAs.
The Entrust Group Alternatives
If The Entrust Group isn’t the right alternative assets IRA provider for you, check out the following competitors:
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Our Rating:
4.8
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Our Rating:
4.5
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Our Rating:
4.2
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Setup fee for IRA:
$360-$600
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Setup fee for IRA:
$85
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Setup fee for IRA:
$50
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Rocket Dollar
Rocket Dollar is a competing provider of SDIRAs and individual 401(k) plans that accommodate alternative asset classes.
They offer investments in real estate, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, private equity, peer-to-peer loans, and small businesses and startups.
Get started with Rocket Dollar today!
Alto IRA
Alto IRA is a self-directed IRA platform where you can invest in alternative assets, including precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and just about any other alternative investment you can think of.
They offer a flat fee billing structure of $37.50 per quarter for account balances less than $30,000, and $100 per quarter for account balances above.
Equity Trust Company
Equity Trust Company provides SDIRAs for investing in real estate, mortgages, notes, promissory notes, peer-to-peer lending, private equity, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative investments.
You can also invest in conventional asset classes on the platform, like stocks and funds, as well as open a trading account for foreign currencies.
Is The Entrust Group a good company?
Based on our reviews of multiple alternative asset providers, The Entrust Group is one of the top providers in the space.
The company provides multiple account types, as well as multiple alternative asset classes.
This provides investors with the best possible combination of alternative assets for their retirement portfolios.
The major limitation investors need to be aware of is that The Entrust Group is not an investment broker, and cannot provide direct investment advice.
Investors must use third-party dealers to secure the assets to be held in their IRAs, and must therefore be educated about how those investments work and the unique risks each presents.
FAQs
Where is The Entrust Group located?
The Entrust Group is located at the following address:
The Entrust Group
555 12th Street
Suite 900
Oakland, CA 94607
Does The Entrust Group have any pending lawsuits or complaints?
We conducted a web search using the words “lawsuit” and “scam”, and no actions or reports involving The Entrust Group turned up within the past 10 years, as of the date of this review. (A couple of lawsuits older than 10 years appeared, but both have long since been dismissed.)
Does The Entrust Group hold my retirement funds?
Not directly. Instead, your assets are held with a depository The Entrust Group works with.
The company gives you the option to choose one of four depositories, including A-Mark Global Logistics, Dakota Depository Company, Delaware Depository Services Company, and Idaho Armored Vaults, LLC.
The Entrust Group
The Entrust Group is the leading self-directed IRA administrator and an acknowledged authority in the field of alternative investments and retirement savings.
Product Brand: The Entrust Group
4.1
The Entrust Group
The Entrust Group is the leading self-directed IRA administrator and an acknowledged authority in the field of alternative investments and retirement savings.
Product Brand: The Entrust Group
4.1