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What is a Self-Directed IRA?
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| Guest post by: Jess Wells |
Article Overview: What is a Self-Directed IRA? If you’ve got a certain market knowledge and savvy that you’ve gained over the years, then a Self-Directed IRA might be the best option to help fund your retirement account. Read on to find out how…
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What is a Self-Directed IRA?
A Self-Directed IRA is a nontraditional, tax advantaged
retirement account that allows an investor who already understands
certain markets to take a more active role in choosing how and what to
invest in, rather than going the more traditional route of hiring an
account custodian to make those decisions on the investor’s behalf. A
Self-Directed IRA puts the investor in direct control of making
investment decisions. Here the investor conducts his or her own research
and chooses where to invest, and leaves just the more administrative
duties to the account custodian. If you’re someone who has been already
making investment decisions outside of your IRAs, or someone who
already holds a solid understanding over market conditions, then a
Self-Directed IRA can empower you to build your retirement account much
faster than more traditional approaches.
What Can You Invest In with a Self-Directed IRA?
Before deciding that a Self-Directed IRA is what’s right for your
retirement plan, you need to understand what exactly you can invest in.
Things like residential and commercial properties, land, renovation or
new construction, passive rental income, mortgages and other loans,
hedge funds, precious metals, Limited partnerships, and commercial paper
and notes are just a handful of examples of the things you can invest
in with a Self-Directed IRA. The broader selection of allowable
investment options can really open up doors for the savvy investor with
real market understanding during economic dips and downturns. For
example, investing in Real Estate during times like now when market
conditions have dropped can really boost one’s retirement earnings
quickly if you know what you’re doing, making a Self-Directed IRA a
remarkably powerful retirement fund building tool. It’s not uncommon
for a person to buy a piece of property and flip it when conditions
improve a bit for a tidy profit of around $50,000 - $100,000 and all of
that profit remains in their Self-Directed IRA without having to pay
taxes on the profit or the interest. That’s a lot more than you could
earn waiting for a bunch of bonds to mature as with more traditional IRA
accounts!
Is a Self-Directed IRA the Right Choice for Your Retirement?
If you’re someone who already has a strong understand of certain
markets, and perhaps has already been investing in these markets as part
of your overall approach towards funding your retirement, then perhaps
you’ve got what it takes to run a Self-Directed IRA account. After
opening your own account that you manage, you’ll be able to do things
like own rental property as a retirement investment, to invest in
certain commodities such as precious metals, or become an angel investor
to another company. You’ll even be able to make personal loans to
certain family members or friends, and keep the interest earned in your
retirement account without having to pay taxes on it.
So How Do I Open a Self-Directed IRA for Myself?
Even though a Self-Directed IRA lets you start making your own
retirement investment decisions, and empowers you to shape your own
financial destiny based on market expertise you already have, the
account itself will need to be administered by neutral third party
professionals, called account custodians or administrators. Your
account custodian/administrator will understand all of the ins and outs
surrounding the tax codes, regulations, and paperwork requirements,
allowing you to safely and securely make your investment decisions,
without getting mired down in the tedium of filing paperwork, and will
free your mind from worrying about whether the IRS will come knocking on
your door at 3 in the morning because you’ve been making improper
investments. Your Self-Directed IRA account custodian/administrator will
take all of this off of your shoulders and let you focus on the market
you’ve grown so knowledgeable of over the years, and make use of that
knowledge to invest aggressively yet wisely for your retirementSummary:
Article Tags: how to retire comfortably, self directed ira advice, the best retirement investment options, what is a selfdirected ira
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About the Author: Jess Wells RSS for Jess's articles - Visit Jess's website Jess Wells, Editorial Director of Cisco's Innovators Forum, and her team of guest bloggers interview experts, entrepreneurs and authors on how to run a small business better. To learn more about small business best practices and the technologies behind them, visit www.CiscoInnovators.com. Click here to visit Jess's website How to Bring a Partner Cofounder or COO into Your Business What is a Traditional IRA Create marketing messages for customers not lawyers What The Obama Healthcare Proposal Means for Small Business How to Use Barriers to Entry to Your Business Advantage |
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