List of Self Directed IRA Custodians

There are only a handful of Self Directed IRA custodians in the US which allow investing in real estate, real estate options, contracts, notes, mortgages and trust deeds.  We have worked with many of these IRA custodians.  Here is the list and IRA Company reviews.

IRA Resources, Inc.
(858) 459-1212
La Jolla, CA
Good service, cheap, fast, they are mostly an IRA custodian for private placements, but will consider trust deeds and real estate for some clients.

Sterling
(800) 955-3434
Waco, TX
Slow but cheap, always on hold for 15min before I reach a person.

Trust Administration Services Corp.
(800) 455-9472
Carlsbad, CA
Through First Regional Bank, I’ve had good service with them.  First Regional Bank was closed by the FDIC on January 29, 2010, their SDIRA accounts are now managed by Sterling Trust.

Equity Trust
(44) 323-5491
Elyria, OH
Probably the cheapest if you do more than 10 transactions a year.  Flat annual fee, no transaction fees, reportedly fast & good service.

Polycomp Admin Services
(800) 952-8800
Roseville, CA
two CA offices, no personal experience.

Pensco
(800) 969-4472
San Francisco, CA
Big and reportedly fast and good service, but not cheap.

Entrust Administration, Inc.
(800) 392-9653
Offices nationwide
Many offices, good service, prices have gone up drastically in the last few years.

Guidant Financial Group, LLC
(888) IRA-XCEL
Bellevue, WA
Unique solution, very flexible, but can’t justify the price without 500K funded, no personal experience.

Lincoln (now called Fiserv)
(800) 521-6974
Denver, CO
One of the biggest, and reportedly slowest

IRAservices.com
(650) 593-2221
San Carlos, CA
no personal experience