Mainstar Trust Reviews (formerly First Trust of Onaga)

 This is a third party review of Mainstar Trust, formerly First Trust of Onaga. This due diligence report reviews over 100 different data points for Mainstar Trust to provide you with a thorough due diligence report of the company to help you make a better decision. The public version provides only 20 of these data points. If you want to see the full version of this review, you can click the button below.

1

Mainstar Trust

Introduction

Since 1978, Mainstar Trust has been helping customers take control of their financial futures by providing them the flexibility and opportunities they need to make the investment decisions they want. Rebranded from First Trust Company of Onaga, Mainstar is one of the larger self-directed IRA custodians nationally with more than 120,000 customers and $8.5 Billion in custody assets.

Mainstar is committed to providing exceptional customer service, prompt and personal client contact. By serving as a custodian of self-directed IRA accounts, Mainstar is well-versed with a broad range of traditional and non-traditional assets, allowing account holders to diversify and maximize their long-term investment objectives.


2

Mainstar Trust

Contact Information

Website:

Phone Number:

(800) 521-9897

Email:

Offices:

Corporate Office:

214 West 9th St, Onaga, KS 66521

Administrative Offices:

5901 College Blvd, Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 66211

Business Hours:

7:30 AM - 4:30 PM CST (Monday - Friday)


3

Mainstar Trust

Company Details

Company Classification: 

Custodian

Date Established (under current name):

Not Available in Public Version

Type of entity:

Not Available in Public Version

Who provides custody for client assets:

Not Available in Public Version

Company is registered in: 

Not Available in Public Version

Primary Line of Business

Not Available in Public Version

Other Lines of Business:

Not Available in Public Version

Typical Client:

Not Available in Public Version

Capable of working with Financial Advisory Firms

Not Available in Public Version

Governmental Agency Oversight: 

Not Available in Public Version

Company's Last Audit: 

Not Available in Public Version

Summary of Assets Under Custody

Number of Active Clients:

Not Available in Public Version

Number of Active accounts:

Not Available in Public Version

Amount of assets company provides custody for:

Not Available in Public Version

Self-Directed IRA Industry Affiliations

Self-Directed IRA industry affiliations (outside of this company):

Not Available in Public Version

Ownership of industry related websites:

Not Available in Public Version

Industry related company affiliations:

Not Available in Public Version

Industry related non-profits:

Not Available in Public Version

Industry related associations:

Not Available in Public Version

Industry related board of trustee positions:

Not Available in Public Version

Industry related publications:

Not Available in Public Version


4

Mainstar Trust

Fee Schedule

Account Setup Fee:

$25

Account Termination Fee:

$150

Service Fee Classification: (flat, transaction-based, asset-based, hybrid)

Not Available in Public Version

Company Fee Schedule:

* Use the Mainstar 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.


5

Mainstar Trust

Available Account Types

Type of Account:

Available at Mainstar Trust

Traditional IRA

Yes

Roth IRA

Yes

SEP IRA

(or SERSEP)

Yes

SIMPLE IRA

No

Individual 401(k)

No

Defined Contribution Plan

(Group plan e.g. 401k, 403b 457)

No

Defined Benefit Plan

(pension)

No

ESOP

(Employee Stock Ownership Plan)

No

Health Savings Account (HSA)

No

Education IRA (ESA)

(Coverdell Education Savings Account)

No

Non-Qualified Account (Individual)

No

Non-Qualified Account (Joint Tenants)

No

Trust Account

No

Partnership / Limited Partnership

No

UTMA / UGMA Custodial Account

No

C-corp, S-corp, or LLC account

No

Other:

N/A


6

Mainstar Trust

List of Allowable Assets

Type of Asset

Allowed For Custody?

Real Estate

No

Private Placement (Reg A)

Yes

Private Placement (Reg D)

Yes

Private Placement

(e.g. REIT, BDC, etc)

Yes

Precious Metals

No

Futures or Managed Futures

Yes

Options or Hedges

(non-publicly Traded)

No

Bitcoin (or other virtual currency)

No

FOREX

No

Hedge Funds

Yes

Limited Partnerships

Yes

Single-member LLC

(or Checkbook LLC)

Yes

Multi-member LLC

Yes

REITs

Yes

Annuities (fixed or Variable)

Yes

Viaticles or Life Settlements

No

Insurance (other)

No

Trust Deeds

Yes

Tax Liens

Yes

Private Lending (Unsecured Notes)

Yes

Private Lending (Secured Notes)

Yes

Private Company Stock

Yes

Public Company Stock (or ETFs)

Yes

Publicly Traded Options

Yes

Church Bonds

Yes

Mutual Funds or Closed-End Funds (CEF)

Yes

Livestock, Horses, or similar animals

No

Business Development Company (BDC)

Yes

International Real Estate

No

International Asset (other than real estate)

No

Other

N/A

 

Does Mainstar Trust sub-custody certain assets at other firms:

Not Available in Public Version

Does Mainstar Trust provide sub custody services to other firms:

Not Available in Public Version

Asset Specialization:

Not Available in Public Version

Most popular assets held:

Not Available in Public Version


7

Mainstar Trust

Operations

Client account title format:

Not Available in Public Version

Number of full-time employees:

Not Available in Public Version

Process for setting up a new account:

Mainstar Trust has online new account opening here. here. Paper account forms are available as well. The company focuses on automation and is willing to link to other sites to improve user experience.

Process for adding a new asset to client account:

Not Available in Public Version

Procedures in place to protect client information

Not Available in Public Version

Procedures for annual valuations

Not Available in Public Version

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

Not Available in Public Version


8

Mainstar Trust

Technology

Does company participate in DTC system:

Not Available in Public Version

Details of DTC:

Not Available in Public Version

Does company accept Fed Funds wires:

Not Available in Public Version

Fed Funds wire details:

Not Available in Public Version

Client account access: 

Not Available in Public Version

Accounting:

Not Available in Public Version

Account reporting:

Not Available in Public Version

Trading investments:

Not Available in Public Version

Safekeeping of client assets:

Not Available in Public Version

Record keeping of client assets:

Not Available in Public Version

Document storage:

Not Available in Public Version

Compliance:

Not Available in Public Version

Security and client information protection:

Not Available in Public Version


9

Mainstar Trust

Management Team

  • Jean Meyer - President & CEO
  • Marleen Holthaus - VP Customer service
  • Nueva Bean Smith - VP Income Control
  • Stacy Schwartz - VP Securities
  • Carmen Matzke - VP Asset Control
  • Kelly Starkey - VP Compliance
  • Thomas Schmidt - Business Development Officer

Access Company Management Profiles

Glassdoor Ratings: (How company rates as an employer)


10

Mainstar Trust

Client Protection

Insurance coverage limits for client assets:

Not Available in Public Version

Coverage for uninvested cash balances:

Not Available in Public Version

Errors & Omissions coverage (E&O):

Not Available in Public Version

Additional or supplemental insurance coverage for client accounts:

Not Available in Public Version

Have any owners or managing members of the company been charged with a felony, theft, or fraud:

Not Available in Public Version

Has the company itself ever been investigated, charged, or convicted of a felony, fraud, theft, or industry related violation:

Not Available in Public Version


11

Mainstar Trust

Customer Satisfaction

Better Business Bureau: (click to review BBB overview)

Accredited Business since:

Not Accredited

BBB Rating:

A

Yelp Ratings: (click to review yelp ratings)

Read Yelp Ratings (No profile available)

Number of people on customer service team:

Not Available in Public Version

Number of people on the "premier" or " institutional" customer service team:

Not Available in Public Version

Number of people on the team that performs investment reviews for client assets:

Not Available in Public Version

Average turnaround time for a client's new investment (assuming all documents required have been send in by client):

Not Available in Public Version

Average turnaround time for setting up a new client account (assuming all documentation required has been sent in by client):

Not Available in Public Version

Method of client account access:

Not Available in Public Version

Is client education provided by company:

(Not Disclosed)

Is financial advice provided to client by company:

No


12

Mainstar Trust

Self Direct Your Retirement Transparency Index

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.

0%
Information Transparency

Willingness to provide information

Not Available in Public Version

self directed ira custodian

Information last updated:

Not Available in Public Version


13

Mainstar Trust

Compared to Peers

If you want to compare different self-directed IRA custodians and administrators, we have created a resource to assist you in this process, The Ultimate Due Diligence Guide to Self Directed IRA Custodians and Administrators

This resource will help save you time and will help simplify the process of setting up and maintaining your self directed IRA. It will allow you to compare different self directed IRA custodians and administrators via over 50+ data points. All of this information is not part of this page, but if you want to learn more about this resource, click the link below.


14

Mainstar Trust

Company Spotlight - Industry Trends

We asked Mainstar 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. 

What trends do you see in the self-directed IRA industry?

Not Available in Public Version

What trends in asset types do you see at your firm?

Not Available in Public Version

What is your firm's biggest concern about the self-directed IRA industry?

Not Available in Public Version

Please list some additional concerns your firm has about the industry?

Not Available in Public Version

Do you see any changes in regards to what investors want from custodians and administrators?

Not Available in Public Version

What are your company's biggest challenges?

Not Available in Public Version

What are the self-directed IRA industry's biggest challenges?

Not Available in Public Version

What needs to be changed in the Self-Directed IRA industry?

Not Available in Public Version

How could the Self-Directed IRA Industry improve?

Not Available in Public Version

What is the biggest reason for the company's success?

Not Available in Public Version

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

Not Available in Public Version

Other relevant information:

Not Available in Public Version


15

Mainstar Trust

Conclusion

 

Not Available in Public Version


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.


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