Have you ever heard of the Millennium Trust Company? If you're interested in investing, there's a good chance that you have. This financial institution is one of the premier custodians for self-directed IRAs in the country. Many people use their services as a default since they're so well-known.
But when you take the marketing away, the company's reputation is a little more shaky. What should you know about Millennium Trust Company before you invest? Are they actually the best custodian to work with?
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About Millennium Trust Company
Millennium Trust Company has been in business since 2002. While they're best known for helping with self-directed IRAs, there are other services as well. Their financial management services can apply to individual investors, financial advisors, and other large institutions.
A typical customer with Millennium Trust can have four IRAs managed. That includes both traditional IRAs and self-directed ones. A self-directed IRA needs a special custodian because it can hold alternative assets that aren't eligible for a traditional IRA.
Another service that Millennium Trust offers is helping to register official corporate companies. Investors can create limited liability corporations within their investment portfolio, either as part of their retirement account or part of their regular portfolio.
According to the company website, there are several roles that they play as a custodian:
Investment Platform
When you open an account managed by Millennium Trust Company, you also get access to their digital platform. This is a place where you can access information about all of your holdings. There are quite a few things that you can do from the platform to manage and grow your investments.
Review Details
You can review the details of your account. The setup is meant to make it easy to see your self-directed investments, even if you don't have a strong financial background. You can check the balances of your different accounts, as well as look at the different investment types.
The account platform will tell you about how much of your portfolio is allocated to each investment. It will even break down whether these are traditional or alternative investments.
You can view transaction histories to see when you've bought and sold items. It's also easy to download tax forms and print statements. There's no limit to how many documents or times you can download for free.
Use Resources
The digital platform is a good place to find online resources about investment. One of the most daunting things about a self-directed IRA is that there's no financial advisor at the helm. You have full control over the things you buy. That means that it's up to you to diversify your portfolio, invest wisely, and remain compliant with basic IRS regulations.
You can find educational resources about investment on the platform. These include articles, blogs, and videos.
Millennium Trust Company does not have live chat support for customers. If you're having issues, they recommend that you use these resources to look for an answer. That can be frustrating for people who want their custodian to be a little more active in their trades.
Among the resources, you'll find information about how Millennium Trust Company operates and what services they offer. There's a lot of marketing copy explaining how the company can get clients closer to financial independence. But it's important to note that they're far from the only custodian who offers all of these services.
Trade
You don't have to worry about accessing complicated global financial markets. The MTC platform allows you to trade right from your account. Keep in mind, though, that the market is only built for trading traditional assets. In addition, you should definitely read the user guide prior to diving in.
Some of the assets that you can trade include:
You won't be able to trade items like precious metals, cryptocurrency, and real estate. These are all alternative assets. While there are some custodial platforms that let you buy and sell precious metals, Millennium Trust Company's doesn't seem to be one of them.
Research Portfolio Options
Prior to making any trades, it's a good idea to research the market. As mentioned, you have complete control over your investments in a self-directed fund. It's easy to make mistakes if you don't have a strong investment background.
That's why Millennium Trust Company offers so many ways to learn about different portfolio options. You can read up on how investors diversify their savings, how different assets perform in the market, and how a diverse portfolio can protect your retirement.
MTC works with a company called Morningstar Incorporated, which gives clients information about funds and market data. Not only can you learn about the different types of investments, but you can find out which investments are performing best at any given moment.
Company Management
Part of why Millennium Trust Company is so well known is because of their experienced management. Recently, they were acq uired by a larger corporation. They continue to do business under their name with their previous clients.
The MTC website makes it easy to access information about the corporate executives. Though there are very poor reviews from customers, they do have a rating of more than 3.5 stars on Glassdoor, which is where employees can review their company. It seems like they have a relatively good work culture.
The Millennium Trust Company CEO is Gary Anetsberger. He has been with the company since the beginning, back when it first opened in 2002. But he only became CEO in 2016. Prior to this, Gary had an additional two decades of financial industry experience. He is one of the most seasoned professionals in the business.
The Chief Financial Officer of the company is Dan Laszlo. He takes care of all of the company finances. When a company is a financial institution in charge of handling the wealth of their customers, that's a big deal. Prior to being part of the Millennium Trust Company, Dan worked as a corporate manager for financial firms like Goldman Sachs.
The Chief Technology Officer is Bob Kunimura, who has been working at the company for eight years. Prior to that, he worked in the fintech industry for more than 30 years. Before being a part of the Millennium Trust Company, Bob was also the Chief Technology Officer for a Swiss banking corporation.
The company that acquired MTC is called Parthenon Capital Partners. This is a much larger conglomeration that does its best to acquire technology and financial companies to create better organizations.
Services and Products Available
Millennium Trust Company is a custodial company that can handle self-directed IRAs and traditional IRAs alike. They help clients to set up and maintain a variety of different retirement accounts and investment portfolios.
You have the option of opening a traditional or Roth IRA. Both of these accounts are eligible to hold many of the same assets. The difference is that with traditional IRAs, you don't pay taxes until you take distributions. But with Roth IRAs, you pay taxes on your contributions so that you don't have to pay any taxes on distributions.
Individuals are far from the only people that MTC serves. They also create massive retirement plans for corporations. These 401(k)s are compliant with all IRS regulations, and they can be implemented at both small and large corporate scaling.
In fact, large companies get a better return on investment than smaller companies. Millennium Trust Company is also capable of coordinating retirement plans for institutions like local governments, contractors, and other financial analysts.
There's another option for small business owners who want to help their employees with retirement. You can invest in an SEP IRA. This type of plan is significantly less expensive than a corporate 401(k), and it allows you to scale your contributions. If money is tight, you don't have to put so much in. If business is good, you can make up the difference.
Similarly, when there are medium-sized companies that have less than 100 employees, the SIMPLE IRA is an option. Though this type of account has contribution limits, it does make it easier for employees to invest. Some self-employed people set up a SIMPLE IRA for their retirement plan.
Most of the services offered by Millennium Trust Company are related to retirement accounts and plans. But there are also accounts created specifically for high net worth individuals who want to grow their wealth outside of a retirement plan.
Fees
There have been quite a few complaints about the company's fees and billing. People say that the company is not transparent about their costs, and that they make it difficult to move to a different custodian. The feedback regarding Millennium Trust Company's customer service is not good.
But here's a basic breakdown of what you need to know. There are three different categories of fee that you might incur.
Account Fee
When you set up an account with MTC, you will need to pay an account fee. This is basically a one time fee for both setup and activation. Most custodians have a setup fee for creating an account with them.
Similarly, you will need to pay an annual fee for maintenance. This is also common with other custodians. You're paying the company to maintain your account and make sure that your assets are kept safe.
Millennium Trust Company has an account setup fee of $50. There is also a flat $100 fee for annual account maintenance. However, you might incur extra fees if you have tangible assets. For example, precious metals need to be stored in a secure facility, and the storage depository might have annual fees as well.
Custody Fee
There is a custody fee that you have to pay in addition to your annual maintenance fee. The custody fee refers to the money you're paying to have the company keep your investment portfolio safe and secure. Most IRA custodians charge some form of custody fee.
It's most common for this fee to be billed on a quarterly or monthly basis. However, Millennium Trust Company has decided to bill it annually. The custody fee varies based on the investor. It is calculated around the total number of assets that you hold.
The custody fees are broken down based on whether you use traditional or alternative assets. You pay $50 for every order you make over the phone for certificates and bonds. Similarly, you'll pay $25 for every mutual fund you buy into over the phone. If you buy stocks over the phone, each purchase will run anywhere from $10 to $25.
With alternative assets, the fees vary much more. It depends on whether you have precious metals, foreign currencies, real estate, or other alternative options.
If you invest in financial futures of any kind, you'll pay $200 for every involved account. To keep real estate in your account, you'll pay $600 for every plot. Private debt and hedge funds cost $100. Other alternative assets might cost anywhere from $75 through $200.
Processing
There are some processing fees for things like renewal of paperwork. If you renew a certificate of deposit, you'll pay a processing fee of $25. For processing fees related to real estate holdings, the cost is $350 instead.
Is Millennium Trust Company a Scam?
Millennium Trust Company is not a scam. The company is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating. It has been in the finance industry for over two decades, indicating that the services provided are legitimate.
But the company's reputation is horrifying. Even if they're not a scam, they have absolutely terrible reviews. There are hundreds of people who have given them 1 out of 5 stars across sites like the BBB and Yelp. There have been a staggering 55 complaints filed with the BBB during the last three years, 24 of which were filed just in the last year alone.
Right away, that's enough to tell you that this isn't a company you want to do business with. Millennium Trust Company doesn't have more than 1.5 stars in total on any of the sites we've investigated. And there aren't just one or two complaints. There are hundreds.
Pros & Cons of Millennium Trust Company
Pros
Cons
Final Thoughts
Millennium Trust Company is a popular option for people seeking a custodian for their precious metals IRA. But once you get past the familiar name and popularity, there's an entirely different world under the surface. Nearly every online review is negative, and there are hundreds to go through.
The company has been plagued by constant complaints. Though they maintain an A+ rating with the BBB, many of their customers have indicated dissatisfaction with their resolutions. The same policies and practices have been cited in complaints over and over again, indicating that the company has no interest in changing the problem.
If you need a custodian for your precious metals IRA, there are a lot of competitors that are much better reviewed. These competitors tend to be significantly more transparent about their fees and data.
Another option is to look for a precious metals dealer that specializes in gold IRAs. They may be partnered with some custodian companies already. The most streamlined of these companies can even handle the application paperwork for you, so you never have to contact the custodian yourself.
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