Broad Financial Review

Broad Financial Review

Broad Financial is a self-directed IRA company that has been operating since 2004. It serves customers throughout the US and has been reviewed hundreds of times online. This is one of the most popular options for people who want to create a self-directed IRA, but are their services worth it? And are they a legitimate business?

Here are the most important things to know before you get started.

  • Product Type: Precious Metals
  • Owner: Mervyn Klein
  • Rating: 3/5

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About Broad Financial

Broad Financial Review

Broad Financial was founded by experienced finance professionals who wanted to offer real estate holdings to their clients. They began operating in 2004 and helped clients to acquire many different types of real estate. But when the 2008 economic crash happened, most of their clients had 40% of their retirement savings wiped away overnight.

This caused the company's owners to reassess. They decided that while real estate is a solid investment, it should only be one part of a balanced retirement portfolio. In 2009, they began branching out to offer a variety of other alternative and traditional assets as well. Their hopes were that clients would be protected from any severe economic downturns in the future.

As the company grew over the years, amassing a clientele of thousands of customers, they created their own IRA custodial company. Madison Trust Company is a subsidiary that is licensed to act as a custodian for self-directed IRAs. They will manage both the alternative and traditional assets held in the account.

One of the biggest things that attracts clients to Broad Financial today is their Bitcoin IRAs. Many people are investing in cryptocurrency for their retirement, in the hopes that it will keep growing exponentially over time. While this is legal, it can be difficult to find a company that has the expertise to help you get started.

Another option is to create a self-directed IRA that has checkbook control powers. This means that you open an LLC within the account, and you use the LLC's checkbook to purchase assets with the account funds. This choice is popular for people who want to have ultimate control over their account without deferring to a custodial team.

Available IRAs

Broad Financial Review

The company's entire purpose is to help you set up an IRA that works for you. It should have a balance of assets that reflects your values, risk tolerance, and goals for long term growth. As such, Broad Financial gives you access to a variety of different investment opportunities at competitive prices.

There are three main types of IRA offered through the company.

One is a basic self-directed IRA. This account will be set up with a custodian and maintained over time. When you make transactions within the account, you will have to pay a fee to the custodian. Different assets and different types of transactions have different fees.

Assuming you work with Madison Trust Company, you should be able to find a transparent explanation of their fees. Broad Financial should also be able to work with any other custodian that you prefer instead.

The second type of IRA is a checkbook IRA. While this is still a self-directed IRA, it involves significantly more paperwork. Because of this, the setup fee tends to be much higher. But at the end of it, you have a checkbook that you can use to make direct purchases with your account funds.

Some people prefer checkbook IRAs because they like to have total control over their holdings. They also like to avoid the transaction fees that come with custodial management.

But some financial advisors have recommended that people don't use checkbook IRAs. They say that these types of accounts are often used to commit fraud, which means that they have a higher chance of being audited by the IRS.

The solo 401(k) is the last account option. This is basically the type of 401(k) you'd use as a self-employed contractor. With a traditional setup, you'd use assets like stocks and bonds and other Wall Street favorites. But Broad Financial sets the account up so that you have greater flexibility.

Some examples of things that you can do with a solo 401(k) include:

  • You can take out a loan regarding your account.
  • You can move part of the assets in the account into a Roth IRA.
  • You can create a checking account to make it easier to invest in a variety of assets.

All of these things are much harder to do when you're working with a traditional IRA setup.

Broad Financial Fees

Broad Financial Review

With the majority of companies that offer self-directed IRA services, there are some fees for setup. The fee covers the convenience of having someone to walk you through the paperwork. One advantage of Broad Financial is that they have their own custodial company.

You will need to pay fees for setting up your account. The exact fees depend on the type of account. As a general rule, you can expect to pay the most for checkbook IRAs.

Broad Financial does also charge a quarterly fee for maintaining your account. This is slightly unusual in the business. Maintenance fees are common when it comes to custodians, but they tend to be charged annually or related to only certain transactions.

Here are some of the basic fees that you can expect:

  • Basic self-directed IRAs cost $100 for setup, $80 for quarterly maintenance with Madison Trust, and have individual transaction fees on top of that.
  • Checkbook control IRAs cost $1,295 for setup and $80 for quarterly maintenance with Madison Trust. They do not have transaction fees since you control your own transactions. But the setup price might fluctuate if there are high prices for establishing an LLC in your particular state.

The company's website does break down what each of these fees means and how you can decide which of the setups is the most appropriate for your needs.

They do seem to charge more fees than many other companies, especially considering the custodial maintenance fee is $360 annually. If you only want to invest in one type of alternative asset, like gold or cryptocurrency, then you can likely find a company with a much lower rate.

No matter what type of account you create, you do get a free lifetime of ongoing customer support. You can always call with questions and ask about the future of your account. It's possible that there will be fees if you buy ETFs or mutual funds from one of Broad Financial's network providers, so you should do your research beforehand.

It's possible to set up calls to customer service at a specific date and time. This is great for people who are on a busy schedule and want to make sure they won't be stuck on hold for hours.

Is Broad Financial a Scam?

Broad Financial Review

Broad Financial is not a scam. The company has served thousands of customers all over the United States. They have largely good reviews overall, with customers praising the customer service and the ease of use. If you're interested in investing in a Bitcoin IRA, it's hard to beat this option.

You might also be interested if you want to invest in any alternative asset that can be held in a self-directed IRA. The company has services that allow you to invest in real estate, precious metals, and checkbook IRAs.

But with that said, they might not be the best option if you want a precious metals IRA alone. With this type of IRA, it's much easier to work with a company that specializes in precious metals products. These companies also tend to have lower overall fees for their setup process.

Pros & Cons of Broad Financial

Pros

  • Can invest in a range of different self-directed IRA setups with assets like Bitcoin, real estate, and precious metals.
  • Positive customer reviews and great ratings with third parties like the BBB and BCA.
  • Flat fees for setup and maintenance, so you don't pay more if you're investing more.

Cons

  • Setup fees may be high if you're only investing in a precious metals IRA.
  • Different options might be a little overwhelming for inexperienced traders who want guidance.
  • It may be difficult to set your IRA up to hold cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.

Final Thoughts

Broad Financial is an extremely popular company among people who want to set up self-directed IRAs. They allow you to invest in a variety of both traditional and alternative assets. Their fees are reasonable and flatly priced based on the package, rather than being a percentage of your holdings.

Overall, Broad Financial is best known for its cryptocurrency IRA offering. According to IRS regulations, you can hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency in a digital wallet. Customers have consistently praised the management and the ease of use of the crypto IRA offerings.

If you're interested in creating a complex self-directed IRA, this company might be of interest to you. They have a very good track record with their customers and third party reviewers. Just keep in mind that the more complicated account options are best for people with a strong investment background.

In addition, this might not be the best company to invest with if you only want to open a precious metals IRA. There's nothing wrong with any of their precious metals offerings, but there are some gold IRA companies that can beat their process in terms of streamlining. These companies also often have lower overall fees.

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