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.

* 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.

Compare Company's Fees to other Custodians & Administrators

Process for setting up a new account:

Mainstar Trust has online new account opening here. Paper account forms 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:

Mainstar Trust performs administrative reviews of all new assets to ensure the asset can be held and that appropriate tax reporting and recordkeeping can be provided for the asset.

Procedures in place to protect client information: 

Customer authentication during phone calls based upon accountholder attributes and standard password protected sign on security/privacy protection protocols for web account access

Procedures for annual valuations:

As part of the asset administrative review, we request names of transfer agent and pricing agent. Our valuation requests are sent to pricing agent which includes rigorous follow up to ensure a valuation is provided. Ultimately, after multi-step customer communication process, we distribute any assets without a current value.

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

If deemed to be public information, we communicate with the account owner. If deemed to have no value, it is removed from the account. We will use discretion in contacting regulatory, legal or government organizations. Typically, we are notified that the asset is fraudulent, we are not the identifying party

• 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)

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 Mainstar Trust compares to its peers.

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?

We anticipate continued growth in the self-directed IRA industry. Based upon investor age demographics, baby boomers retiring etc., there will be an increasing need for alternative asset options for investors who rollover their their 401(k)s into an IRA. We are committed to providing a quality service offering of self directed IRA custodian assets. Increasingly alternative types of assets are no longer custodied by large banks or broker/dealers which creates an opportunity for RIAs, independent advisors, large net worth investors and ultimately credible custodians. The long anticipated fiduciary rule is creating new opportunities for some parties within the self directed IRA ecosystem. There are also trends in new platforms like marketplace lending and equity crowdfunding which will be a new means for both advisors and account holders to do business. Other trends include expansion of both account types and asset types supported by custodians.

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

We are seeing an increasing demand for a broader list of alternative asset types. We plan to continue to expand the list of assets that we provide custody for. We will partner will firms to expand our list of supported assets, providing that we can receive and provide fair and reasonable valuations for the assets under custody. Accurate valuation is critical for the reputation of the parties within the self directed IRA industry. Our approach is conservative and must comply with IRS and custodian regulation and ultimately must be in the best interest of the account holder.

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

It is critical that account holders are allowed to expand the options available to them through self directed IRAs. This expansion is important for the future of the industry. With that said, the industry reputation is critical for all participating parties. Parties must act in the best interest of account holders. Scandal or inappropriate handling of account holder assets will ultimately stunt the growth of the industry with emerging asset types, if appropriate industry and regulatory due diligence is not in place.

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

Same as above answer

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

We continue to focus on high quality service, technology advances and on ease of doing business for both advisors and account holders. As the industry grows in complexity we feel these items will be increasingly critical. We have a very tenured, high quality team committed to providing service to account holders and advisors. Technology wise, we continue to look for ways to provide better solutions for account holders and advisors which includes possible integration with other sites etc. Process wise, custodians need to continue to handle account holder transactions efficiently and timely. Custodians must be able to handle transactions as timely as other financial service firms.Turnaround times on rollovers and transfer of assets need to continue to be reduced without impact on quality or service. Ultimately custodians need to be focused on quality people, sound processes and strong technology.

What are your company's biggest challenges?

We have a great reputation for providing quality service where we are known. We are focused on brand recognition and are now actively building the business through business development.

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

Industry reputation, valuations for non traditional assets, risk, regulatory compliance, managing the industry growth

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

Increased automation, expansion of account and asset types, reputation of high quality asset types and customer experience. Turnaround times on more complex transactions needs to continue to decline.

How could the Self-Directed IRA Industry improve?

Custodians need to ensure that assets are appropriately valued; standardization of what is required for handling different types of alternative assets to improve accountholder and advisor experience

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

Great Customer service - Our staff has been repeatedly recognized by many advisors and account holders for our expertise and focus on customer experience.

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

Mainstar Trust has an extremely high transparency rating. 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 Mainstar 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 Mainstar 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.