Vantage IRA Reviews

This is a third party review of Vantage IRA. This due diligence report reviews over 100 different data points for Vantage IRA 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.

80%
Transparency Index

Information last updated on: 11/16/2025

Company certified on: 01/26/16

1

Vantage IRA

Introduction

Vantage Self-Directed Retirement Plans ("Vantage IRA") is a boutique alternative investment administrator services company specializing in serving investors who seek to diversify their tax-favored savings directly into real estate, private equity, limited partnerships, private placements, private notes and other non-traditional options. Investors and trusted financial, legal and tax advisors alike choose Vantage for their expertise, vast experience and personalized delivery of service.


2

Vantage IRA

Contact Information

Website:

Phone Number:

(866) 459-4580

Email:

Offices:

Corporate Office:

20860 North Tatum Blvd. #240, Phoenix, Arizona 85050

Business Hours:

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST (Monday - Friday)


3

Vantage IRA

Company Details

Company Classification: 

Administrator

Date Established (under current name):

2004 (former Entrust Group franchisee)

Type of entity:

LLC

Who provides custody for client assets:

Mainstar Trust (Formerly First Trust Company of Onaga)

Company is registered in: 

Arizona

Primary Line of Business

Providing self-directed IRA administrative services to clients for alternative investments

Other Lines of Business:

None

Typical Client:

(Not Disclosed)

Capable of working with Financial Advisory Firms

(Not Disclosed)

Governmental Agency Oversight: 

Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas via FTCO

Company's Last Audit: 

April 30, 2015  (by: House, Park, Dobratz & Wiebler, P.C.)

Summary of Assets Under Custody

Number of Active Clients:

6,000+

Number of Active accounts:

6,000+

Amount of assets company provides custody for:

$800 Million

Self-Directed IRA Industry Affiliations

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

None

Ownership of industry related websites:

Industry related company affiliations:

None

Industry related non-profits:

None

Industry related associations:

ADISA (Affiliate Member)

Industry related board of trustee positions:

None

Industry related publications:

None


4

Vantage IRA

Fee Schedule

Account Setup Fee:

$50

Account Termination Fee:

$150 Termination $50 Partial Transfer Out Fee

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

Flat-fee per asset plus a transaction fee to buy/sell an asset

Company Fee Schedule:

Vantage IRA Fee Schedule* (as of 1/1/16)

* Use the Vantage IRA 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

Vantage IRA

Available Account Types

Type of Account:

Available at Vantage IRA Company

Traditional IRA

Yes

Roth IRA

Yes

SEP IRA

(or SERSEP)

Yes

SIMPLE IRA

Yes

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)

Yes

Education IRA (ESA)

(Coverdell Education Savings Account)

No

Non-Qualified Account (Individual)

Yes

Non-Qualified Account (Joint Tenants)

Yes

Trust Account

Yes

Partnership / Limited Partnership

Yes

UTMA / UGMA Custodial Account

No

C-corp, S-corp, or LLC account

Yes

Other:

N/A


6

Vantage IRA

List of Allowable Assets

Type of Asset

Allowed For Custody?

Real Estate

Yes

Private Placement (Reg A)

Yes

Private Placement (Reg D)

Yes

Private Placement

(e.g. REIT, BDC, etc)

Yes

Precious Metals

Yes

Futures or Managed Futures

Yes

Options or Hedges

(non-publicly Traded)

No

Bitcoin (or other virtual currency)

Yes

FOREX

No

Hedge Funds

Yes

Limited Partnerships

Yes

Single-member LLC

(or Checkbook LLC)

Yes

Multi-member LLC

Yes

REITs

No

Annuities (fixed or Variable)

No

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)

No

Publicly Traded Options

No

Church Bonds

Yes

Mutual Funds or Closed-End Funds (CEF)

No

Livestock, Horses, or similar animals

Yes

Business Development Company (BDC)

Yes

International Real Estate

Yes

International Asset (other than real estate)

Yes

Other

N/A

 

Does Vantage IRA sub-custody certain assets at other firms:

No

Does Vantage IRA provide sub custody services to other firms:

No

Asset Specialization:

Private Companies (LLC, LP, Private Placements, Reg D, Convertible Notes)

Most popular assets held:

  1. LLCs
  2. Promissory Notes
  3. Real Estate

7

Vantage IRA

Operations

Client account title format:

Vantage FBO Jane Doe [ Client Name ] IRA

Number of full-time employees:

21

Process for setting up a new account:

(Not Disclosed)

Process for adding a new asset to client account:

(Not Disclosed)

Procedures in place to protect client information: 

(Not Disclosed)

Procedures for annual valuations: 

(Not Disclosed)

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

(Not Disclosed)


8

Vantage IRA

Technology

Does company participate in DTC system:

No

Details of DTC:

N/A

Does company accept Fed Funds wires:

Not Disclosed

Fed Funds wire details:

Routing Transit Number (ABA): 121107882 Beneficiary Account Number: 19902328 Beneficiary Account Name: IRA Services Trust Company For Further Credit: [FBO: Participant Name and Account Number]

Client account access: 

HWA TNet (TNet Online)

Accounting:

Quickbooks

Account reporting:

HWA TNet

Trading investments:

N/A

Safekeeping of client assets:

Not Disclosed

Record keeping of client assets:

Not Disclosed

Document storage:

Not Disclosed

Compliance:

Not Disclosed

Security and client information protection:

Not Disclosed


9

Vantage IRA

Management Team

  • J.P. Dahdah, CEO
  • Sherri Quintana, Director of Operations
  • Tim Heller, Controller

Access Company Management Profiles

Glassdoor Ratings: (How company rates as an employer) (profile not available)


10

Vantage IRA

Client Protection

Insurance coverage limits for client assets:

$250,000 FDIC insurance per account

Coverage for uninvested cash balances:

$250,000 FDIC insurance per account

Errors & Omissions coverage (E&O):

$2,000,000 in Aggregate ($1M per incident)

Additional or supplemental insurance coverage for client accounts:

Employee Dishonesty & Theft, Directors & Officers

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

No

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

No


11

Vantage IRA

Customer Satisfaction

Better Business Bureau: (click to review BBB overview)

Accredited Business since:

01/15/2010

BBB Rating:

A+

Yelp Ratings: (click to review yelp ratings)

Number of people on customer service team:

12+

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

5

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

3

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

2 Days

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

2 Days

Method of client account access:

Online access & physical statements

Is client education provided by company:

Yes (Live and Pre-recorded Workshops, White Papers, Webinars, YouTube Channel, Blogs, Articles)

Is financial advice provided by company to client:

No


12

Vantage IRA

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. All companies were given a chance to participate. 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.

80%
Information Transparency

Willingness to provide information - Very High

Company Certified Information

Information last updated on: 01/26/2016


13

Vantage IRA

Compared to Peers

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


14

Vantage IRA

Company Spotlight - Industry Trends

We asked Vantage IRA 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 custody your investments. 

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

FinTech offerings (alternative asset portals), Crowdfunding Sites, Online service solutions, Peer to peer lending

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

Peer to Peer lending, Private Secured Lending (i.e. alternative higher yield fixed income), Private Equity

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

Insurability

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

Crowdfunding Fraud and Scams

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

They will want lower fees and more technological driven service solutions

What are your company's biggest challenges?

Consolidation of larger SDIRA firms by Banks and Private Equity firms will make it harder to compete on technology investments and marketing spend. Both Pensco and Millennium Trust were recently acquired in >$100M transactions.

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

Proposed Regulatory Changes

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

Not Disclosed

How could the Self-Directed IRA Industry improve?

Not Disclosed

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

Great customer service

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

15

Vantage IRA

Conclusion

Vantage IRA 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 Vantage IRA is the best choice for your retirement investing needs. 

Please use our Self Directed IRA Custodian & Administrator Comparison Tool to help you assess whether Vantage IRA 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. 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 wealth management firm specializes in providing financial advice pertaining to alternative investments held in self-directed IRAs and 401ks. We are fiduciaries and provide unbiased advice. Contact us if you want to learn more about our services.


Copyright 2026 Self Direct Your Retirement LLC

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