Finding a reputable investment company can be tricky for those new to gold and precious metals investments. After all, there are multiple IRA companies out there, and each claims to be the best. One of the companies that might be on your radar is New Direction Inc.
And frankly, we’re not surprised. New Direction Trust Company is an established IRA firm that offers individuals self-directed IRAs, ranging from real estate and precious metals IRAs to private equity and private lending IRAs.
Is it the best place for your gold or silver IRAs, though? That’s what we decided to find out.
New Direction Trust Company Overview
New Direction IRA’s beginnings date back to 2003. At first, the company was an independently owned national retirement provider, quickly becoming one of the industry leaders. In 2010, New Direction IRA had over $300 million in cash and assets under administration. By 2014, that number had grown to over $1 billion.
As of today, New Direct Trust Company boasts of over 51,000 accounts and 10,000 unique assets that accumulate to over $3 billion in assets under administration.
The advantage New Direction IRA has over its competitors is the diverse portfolio of available investments. While most IRA companies focus on precious metals, New Direction also offers real estate, private equity, private lending, and other investments, such as livestock or oil IRAs.
That wide selection of available IRAs makes New Direction an exciting choice for investors seeking extensive portfolio diversification. It may also raise the question of whether the company doesn’t offer too many investment options. Let’s discuss these in more detail, shall we?
New Direction IRA Inc. Products and Services
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to the IRA products and services offered by New Direction Trust Company. Let’s start with the ones that interest us the most – precious metals IRAs:
Precious Metals IRAs
As befits a reputable IRA company, New Direction offers those seeking precious metals IRAs a wide range of exceptional investment opportunities. Essentially, you can invest in four allowable precious metals – gold (99.5% pure), silver (99.9% pure), platinum (99.95% pure), and palladium (99.95% pure).
When it comes to specific coins & bars you can own through your IRA account, these include:
- American Gold Eagle
- American Gold Buffalo
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf
- Australian Gold Kangaroo
- All gold bars with minimum finesse requirements met
Silver Coins & Bars:
- American Silver Eagle
- Austrian Silver Phillarmonic
- Mexican Silver Libertadas
- Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
- All silver bars with minimum finesse requirements met
Platinum Coins & Bars:
- American Platinum Eagle
- Australian Koalas
- Isle of Man Noble Coins
- All platinum bars with minimum finesse requirements met
Palladium Coins & Bars:
- American Palladium Eagle
- All palladium bars with minimum finesse requirements met
So, overall, New Direction offers a nice selection of coins and bars to build your precious metals IRA account.
Real Estate
New Direction Trust Company also offers individuals real estate IRAs. That way, you can further diversify your investment portfolio and enjoy the benefits of real estate investment. Through New Direction IRA, your tax-advantaged plan can hold:
- Rental properties
- Residential and commercial property
- Fix-and-flip real estate projects
- Mineral rights
- Raw and undeveloped areas
- And much more
Furthermore, with New Direction focusing on self-directed plans, you can decide whether you’d like to own an actual physical property or invest in the Real Estate Investment Trust (EAIT).
Private Equity
Private equity investments refer to acquiring an ownership stake in a private firm, typically a startup. Such investments can generate quite a yield on themselves, and the tax-advantaged nature of IRAs makes private equity IRAs even more attractive.
New Direction IRA allows individuals to purchase private equity through private stocks, pre-IPOs, and equity crowdfunding.
Private Lending
New Direction also allows investors to lend money to businesses and individuals through their self-directed IRAs. Essentially, you can loan funds through third-party platforms and earn returns from the paid interest. Through New Direction, you can opt for home loans and business startup loans or even buy out existing loans.
Checkbook IRA/LCC
This is an interesting option. Essentially, New Direction allows you to use your IRA to open a new LCC, LP, or C-corp entity and fund it using your retirement savings. This can provide an excellent level of flexibility but also requires a lot more responsibility from an investor.
Other Investments
As if that wasn’t enough, New Direction IRA also allows you to invest in many other assets through their platform, such as oil, timber, livestock, air and space, and many more.
New Direction IRA Fees & Costs
New Direct Trust Company has to make money somehow. And like most other IRA companies, New Direct Inc. does that by charging its customers fees. The primary two fee categories are administration fees and processing fees.
The whole scheme is much more complex than that, though. So, without going into too much detail, let’s discuss the most important fees to keep in mind when investing through New Direction Trust Company:
Annual Administration Fees
These are fees charged for holding an account at New Direction Trust Company. How much the company will charge depends on the type of assets you hold.
For example, for precious metals IRAs, you’ll be charged a flat annual fee of $150. That, however, doesn’t include storage or shipping fees, which are charged separately. You’ll also be charged $150 a year for an online trading account.
On the other hand, if you were to take advantage of a real estate IRA, New Direction would charge you an annual flat fee of $335 per asset. The same goes for all other investments, such as private equity, private lending, and checkbook LCC IRAs.
Processing Fees
New Direction Trust Company also charges processing fees. These are charged where the funds leave your account and range from $0 on ACH payments to $30 for international wire transfers and void checks.
Customer Support
Given you’ll be trusting New Direction IRA with your own savings, it’s imperative that you gain access to instant support whenever you need it. When it comes to that, you can contact their customer service via phone (displayed at the top of their homepage) or an online form.
One thing the platform lacks is the live chat option. It may be considered a downside, but given how complex IRAs are, we doubt that anyone would use a chat option for support.
Their website also has a dedicated FAQ section, which is pretty extensive and easy to navigate. There’s also a massive selection of educational resources, with extensive reports, webinars, videos, and much more.
New Direction Trust Company Reviews
While, in our opinion, New Direction Trust Company is an excellent place to trust with your IRAs, we’re merely one of many voices here. So, what do other customers and entities think about New Direction IRA? As with most other IRA companies, there’s a mixed bag of positive and negative reviews.
On the one hand, we have an excellent Google score of 4.7 out of 5 from 155 customer reviews. On the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website, New Direction has a perfect five out of five score, resulting in an A+ BBB rating.
On the other hand, the company has an average Yelp rating of 2.1 out of 5 from 44 reviews. To say it’s a terrible score would be an understatement.
So, what can we conclude about New Direction Trust Company from such mixed reviews? That like in the case of any other IRA or investment company, we need to take these with a pinch of salt. The problem here is that many people tend to give such companies bad reviews and call them ‘scammers’ when they lose money on their investments. In most cases, that’s not those companies’ fault.
Every investment comes with its own risks and rewards. There’s no bulletproof investment that will always provide returns. Sometimes, you’ll lose money, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been scammed.
Getting Started with New Direction IRA
A straightforward and hassle-free registration is always much appreciated when talking about an IRA company. Luckily, that’s precisely what New Direction IRA offers, providing new users with a simple and fast account opening experience.
All it takes is filling out a simple form with your personal information and banking data. You’ll also be asked which type of account you want to open (IRA, 401(k), Roth IRA, etc.) and what kind of investment you’d like to take advantage of.
Once done, you only need to click submit and log into your new account. Oh, and the good news is that the registration process is 100% free.
Pros and Cons
As we slowly approach the inevitable end of our review, let’s take a quick look at all the pros and cons of New Direction Trust Company summarized:
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Final Thoughts
So, given all we’ve covered above, is New Direction IRA legit? Definitely. Is it the best IRA company around? That depends on how you look at it.
If you’re looking for an IRA company that allows you to invest in multiple assets, New Direction Trust Company is an excellent choice. They offer numerous types of investments, providing investors with several ways to diversify their savings accounts.
However, if you want to focus on gold or silver IRA, it might be better to consider companies that focus on precious metals investments. In many instances, New Direction can be seen as a bit too much, especially for novice investors.
And if you’re wondering how New Direction IRA compares to gold and precious metals IRA companies, be sure to read more of our comprehensive reviews, including:
- Augusta Precious Metals (Recommended)
- Advantage Gold
- Regal Assets
- Noble Gold Investments
- Goldco Precious Metals
- Patriot Gold Group
Article Sources
At Gold IRA Blueprint, we dive deep into the world of gold IRAs, using trusted sources to back up our insights. Our sources range from official documents to expert interviews, ensuring our content is both accurate and reliable. We also draw on research from reputable publishers to give you the most comprehensive understanding possible. Check out our editorial policy to see how we maintain our high standards for accuracy and fairness. Also make sure to check out our Financial Review Process to have a better understanding of our process.
- https://www.yelp.com/biz/new-direction-trust-company-louisville
- https://www.bbb.org/us/co/louisville/profile/financial-services/new-direction-trust-company-1296-1000107111/complaints
- https://ndtco.com/
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