Monday, November 13, 2017

Why Invest In A Self Directed IRA

By Carolyn Russell


When investing for retirement, people often have three main objectives. First, they want to preserve their savings. Secondly, they want to grow their savings. Lastly, they want to pay as little tax as possible. Unfortunately, most retirement plans expose savers to a lot of risk, mainly the volatility of the markets. A self directed IRA, however, seems to be the exception.

Between 2006-2008, consumers learned a lot of things. First, they leaned that fund managers and trustees often make poor investment decisions. After all, there are investors who lost everything during the crash. Secondly, investors learned that real estate is not as safe as most people thought. The main lesson that people took from the experience is that it is better to manage your own money than let another person do it for you.

In a traditional IRA, the trustee picks the funds or assets to invest in. This means that any poor decision on their part will affect the value of your retirement portfolio. A self-directed IRA eliminates this risk by allowing account holders to invest in asset classes they are comfortable with.

If you are comfortable with real estate investments, a self-directed IRA will give you the opportunity to invest in rental properties. Alternatively, you can invest in real estate investment trusts and get a regular income. If gold and precious metals are your thing, you can buy physical gold and hold the assets in your individual retirement account.

Please note that when you use savings in an IRA to buy real estate, you cannot live in that property or collect the rent from that property and use it for personal gain. The rent must be deposited to your IRA less any maintenance costs and property management fees. The property tax will also be paid by the IRA. It is important you learn all the rules governing these accounts before you open one.

If you decide to invest in physical gold, you cannot keep it at home in a safe as this will constitute a withdrawal, which usually comes with huge penalties. The gold must be kept with a licensed custodian. When the account matures, you will need to liquidate all your assets to get liquid cash.

It is important to note that this type of account gives the investor complete control over their retirement savings. They can team up with friends and relatives to invest in bigger assets with higher returns. For instance, they can invest in a multi-story commercial property in a strategic location for retirement purposes.

Diversifying your portfolio is a great way to hedge your investments from the volatility of the market and inflation among other risks that your portfolio may face. Ideally, you should apportion small fractions of your portfolio, say 10 percent each, to different asset classes. This will help to ensure your portfolio continues to grow regardless of market conditions.

The main benefit of managing your own retirement account is the cost savings you stand to make. This is because you will be able to avoid brokerage fees and account management fees. This will help you to free up some cash, which you can invest in your IRA and grow your portfolio.




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