GoldStar Trust Company provides excellent customer service to their IRA holders at a very competitive price. GoldStar focuses on the customer experience and puts a lot of resources towards opening and funding the accounts so the directed investment can be made in a timely manner. They are a competent, regulated company that will strive to earn and retain your business. Goldstar Trust Company is a trust only branch of Happy State Bank.

* Use the Goldstar Trust Fee Calculator (click button below) to calculate your estimated fees based on the company's published fee schedule. This is a useful tool when comparing different custodians based on your cost to use them. Please note, if you have never before used a self-directed IRA custodian or administrator to administer your account, the fees will be different than most broker dealers that provide transactional services for stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

Compare Company's Fees to other Custodians & Administrators

Process for setting up a new account:

Obtain new account documentation from client; complete CIP (Customer Identification Program - OFAC) check on client; establish account on system and collect fees; deposit contribution or process transfer/rollover request to fund the account

Process for adding a new asset to client account:

Require a copy of the PPM or other offering documents; have a Fair Market Valuation Form completed which indicates how the annual FMV is determined and who provides; require IRA holder to complete an Investment Direction for Privately Offered Investments for certification that a prohibited transaction is not involved; Officer Trust Committee reviews asset and determines if GoldStar will accept the asset

Procedures in place to protect client information:

SS# are truncated on tax forms; clients must pass a security check of identifying information in order to receive information on account; access to account via the internet requires unique username and password; Shred of documents once scanned into a secured document repository

Procedures for annual valuations:

Require a Fair Market Valuation Form on the front-end of any new asset to determine how and who will provide the annual valuation. Send reminder letters in the 4th quarter of each year requesting year-end valuations. Mail follow-up letters and resign from the account if a annual valuation is not received.

Procedures for when an investment is suspected to be or is found to be fraudulent:

Complete a SAR; notify client(s) of information received regarding the investment being fraudulent (as appropriate); no longer accept new investments in the investment

• John Johnson - President

• Jeff Worley - Senior Vice President

• Dave Schnierle - Senior Vice President

• Daisy Balderaz - Vice President

• Rhonda Cox - Vice President

• Josh Duckworth - Assistant Vice President

• Rachel Garman - Trust Officer

• Kelsea Heiman - Trust Officer

• Carla McCaslin - Trust Officer

• Jeremy Self - Trust Officer

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Glassdoor Ratings: (How company rates as an employer) (No Profile Available)

The Self Direct Your Retirement Transparency Index is a metric we have developed to indicate how transparent self-directed IRA custodians and administrators are about their company. We value transparency as an ideal trait from a company that is providing custody or administration of your retirement accounts. It shows that the company has nothing to hide about their activities. You should consider this when you are making your choice.

The Self Direct Your Retirement Transparency Index is split into two parts. The first part is whether they voluntarily provided this information to us or whether we had to find this data on our own. Companies that provided us with the data were given the "company certified seal". If they did not participate, the seal does not show up in their profile. The second part of the index is how transparent the companies were in providing us with this information. A higher transparency number indicates a more transparent company. A number above 80% is ideal. There may be legitimate reasons companies do not want to share certain information, but you should consider this when making your decision.

Below the seal, we have listed the last time the company provided us with information. As long as the company has the certified seal, the information should be considered up-to-date. We contact the company periodically to ensure the information is accurate. If the company chooses not to verify the information, then we remove the seal. Transparency is only one factor you should consider when choosing a self directed IRA custodian or administrator.

Visit the Self-Directed IRA custodian & administrator comparison page to see how Goldstar Trust compares to its peers.

We asked Goldstar Trust to provide their individual insight into the following questions. This section is a bit more personal. The idea is that it will give you more insight into the company you are considering to provide custody of your investments. 

Company's view of important of the following items (ranked in order of importance)

1. Legitimacy - Prevention of fraudulent investments and schemes
2. Transparency - Providing clients with transparent information
3. Visibility - Creating greater visibility about self-directed IRAs to investors
4. Coordination - Coordinating with other custodians, administrators, and professionals

Goldstar Trust has a high level of transparency. This is exactly what we look for in a custodian or administrator. Without this high level of transparency, we would not have access to the information we would need to make the best decision possible.

Looking for companies with this high level of transparency is only the first step in the process of finding a suitable self-directed IRA custodian or administrator. With this information, you can make a determination about whether Goldstar Trust is the best choice for your retirement investing needs. 

Please use our Self Directed IRA Custodian & Administrator Comparison Tool to help you assess whether Goldstar Trust is the right choice for you.

One of the biggest areas of frustration we see from self-directed IRA investors is when they realize they have chosen the wrong self-directed IRA custodian or administrator. It takes time to set up an account and fund your investment. The last thing you want to do when you are trying to fund your investment is to think about changing to a different custodian. Choose your Self-Directed IRA custodian or administrator wisely. If you put the time in now to find the right company, you will save time, money, and aggravation later. Read our Choosing a Self-Directed IRA Custodian report for more information.

Next Steps... Once you have located your ideal Self-Directed IRA Custodian or Administrator, you will be on your way to self-directing your retirement. If you decide that this process seems too complex and you need assistance or financial advice, feel free to contact us. Our firm specializes in providing financial advice pertaining to alternative investments held in self-directed IRAs and 401ks. We are fiduciaries and provide unbiased financial advice to our clients. Contact us if you want to learn more about our wealth management services.