alternative investments Archives - Innovative Advisory Group

28 Smart Questions to Ask Your Self Directed IRA Custodian

Self Directed IRA / By Kirk Chisholm / 04/11/2022

Are you looking for a new self-directed IRA custodian or administrator? Perhaps you are already using one and are not happy with their performance or service. Whatever your reason may be, this report should provide you with a better understanding of self-directed IRA custodians and help you assess which one is the best fit for your investment needs.

The process of choosing a self-directed IRA custodian can be challenging. There are a lot of things to consider, the financial industry jargon can be confusing, and it is hard to find unbiased information. In order to make things easier for you, let’s start off by defining…

The $100 Million Dollar Mitt Romney IRA – How You Can Use These Strategies to Build One Yourself

Self Directed IRA / By Kirk Chisholm / 04/28/2021

The Big IRA and the recent Government Accountability Office report

In 2012, during the presidential election campaign between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the issue was raised about Mitt Romney’s over-sized IRA. At one point the IRA is reported to have had as much as $102,000,000 in it. Yes, you read that correctly.

Mitt Romney’s IRA was worth $102,000,000.

Even compared to his reported $250 million net worth, this is a sizable chunk of capital to have accrued in his IRA given his approximate 40 years of working experience. How did he do it?

The recent Government Accountability Office report

In October 2014, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, “Individual Retirement Accounts – IRS could bolster enforcement on multi-million dollar accounts, but more direction from congress is needed”. According to the GAO, they found that there were 314 taxpayer IRAs which had an account balance of over $25,000,000 and 791 taxpayers with balances between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000. That is a total of 1105 people who have been great investors, extremely lucky, or both. Either way, they have found a way to capitalize on the tax benefits of a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA by growing their capital in a tax-deferred or tax-free manner.

While it may not be easy to accumulate over $100 million in your IRA, you can still use the same strategies that Mitt Romney used to accumulate a sizable IRA account balance.

10 Top Alternative Investments You Probably Have Never Heard of

Alternative Investments / By Kirk Chisholm / 08/10/2015

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people” – Leo Burnett

Most people are familiar with the stock market. There are TV stations which have the stock market and stock market related information on 24 hours every day. It is hard to escape it. When the stock market crashes, it makes the headlines in every newspaper, news station, and media outlet. When it reaches all time highs, it is on every magazine cover, even the shoeshine boys are talking about it. But what about other investments?

Huh? There are other investments?

Yes there are investments outside of the stock market. There is no rule that says you have to invest in the stock market, pitting yourself against the best and brightest investors in the world. Investors compound this problem by investing in areas that they are not experts in. Do you think that is a good idea?

Maybe there is a better way to invest…

Can You Invest Outside the Stock Market?

Peter Lynch famously said , “Invest in what you know.” While he was referring to stocks, the concept is sound. If you are an expert in technology then why not apply your knowledge and expertise into your investments. Invest in technology. Don’t invest in horses, or diamond mines. That would minimize your advantage with your investments. This does not mean you should not diversify your investments, rather it means you should take advantage of your particular skill set and expertise and ply it to your investments to make good choices.

While the stock market provides investors easy access to a wide variety of companies, it is somewhat limited to publicly traded companies. These companies cover a wide range of investments: technology, timberland, transportation, real estate, commodities, health care, etc. , but they are still stock shares in companies run by other people.

You could also invest in bonds of these companies. This is also an investment strategy many people and institutions use to invest their capital. It is a good strategy to use, but why stop there? What else can you invest in?

There is a whole world of investments outside the stock market that individuals and institutions invest in. There are no limits to these investments except for your creativity.

What are Alternative Investments?

The term alternative investments requires some explanation due to its lack of definition in popular media. The term alternative investments does not actually refer to any specific group of investments. It is only a descriptive term typically used to describe investments outside the stock market. This includes assets that are also available in the stock market, but available individually. The first investment on the list is a good example of that.

Worried About Fraud with your Self Directed IRA? SEC says, Ask a Financial Advisor

Self Directed IRA / By Kirk Chisholm / 01/14/2015

In their September 2011 Investor Alert, Self Directed IRAs and the risk of fraud , the SEC outlined typical fraud risks when using a self directed IRA.

If you are worried about the risks of fraud when using a self directed IRA, then do as the SEC recommends in their Fraud Alert, “Ask a professional”.

The top three fraud risks with self directed IRAs that they focus on are:

Misrepresentations regarding custodial responsibilities
Exploitation of tax-deferred account characteristics
Lack of information for alternative investments

While these may be common fraud risks that the SEC sees with their enforcement efforts, the risks attributable to alternative investments inside self directed IRAs expand beyond just fraud risks. There are other risks which are important to consider when using a self directed IRA. Investors should also consider:

8 Common Mistakes Using a Self Directed IRA

Self Directed IRA / By Kirk Chisholm / 09/18/2014

I decided to write this post because over the years while working with clients, I have come across the same mistakes over and over again. Some of these mistakes are from a misinterpretation of the rules, some are through a lack of knowledge in certain areas, and the most common one being unaware of the capability to invest in alternative investments inside a self directed IRA. While most of the rules are easy to find, unfortunately they don’t all appear in one place. I wrote this post to help address these common mistakes using a self directed IRA.

What is a self directed IRA?

I want to define “self directed IRA” for people who are unaware of the definition. A self directed IRA is an account with preferential tax treatment, which is capable of investing in alternative investments. These alternative investments could be assets such as real estate, tax liens, private mortgages, gold & silver, horses, livestock, farmland, medical equipment, and more. While a self directed IRA can invest in traditional assets such as stock, bonds and mutual funds, it is typically used to invest in alternative investments. For further information about what a self directed IRA is, please read the following post about self-directed retirement accounts

My Story: How I Learned About Self Directed IRAs

Self Directed IRA / By Kirk Chisholm / 09/15/2014

Self Directed IRAs are not a widely known or understood area in the investment community. The term is typically used to describe what an IRA is, an Individual Retirement Account, which is self directed by the account owner. Most people know that this type of account can be used to invest in stocks bonds and mutual funds. What is not widely known is that this type of account can also be used to invest in real estate, tax liens, private mortgages, private businesses, medical equipment, horses, gold and silver coins, and more.

Most people who know me have been aware of my interest in investing in alternative assets with a self directed IRA for many years. What they may not be aware of is…

alternative investments