The Entrust Group Review

The Entrust Group is an established self-directed IRA administrator designed for investors who want retirement-account access to alternative assets such as real estate, private equity, private lending, precious metals, cryptocurrency, tax liens, and selected privately held investments. 

The company may be a strong fit for experienced investors who are comfortable selecting and evaluating their own assets and who need specialized administration that a conventional brokerage does not provide.

Entrust is not a traditional investment brokerage or portfolio manager. It processes investment directions, maintains records, completes required reporting, and helps coordinate transactions, but the account owner remains responsible for due diligence, valuation support, prohibited-transaction compliance, and investment suitability. 

Entrust’s published fee schedule is relatively detailed, although its asset-value component can make larger accounts more expensive than providers using strictly flat annual fees.

For precious-metals investors, Entrust supports qualifying gold, silver, platinum, and palladium and publishes forms for several depository options. It does not replace the precious-metals dealer or depository, and the investor must separately evaluate bullion premiums, storage charges, insurance, and future resale spreads.

What Is The Entrust Group?

The Entrust Group provides administrative and recordkeeping services for self-directed retirement and tax-advantaged accounts. According to company information, Hubert Bromma founded the business in 1981 with the goal of expanding retirement-account access to nontraditional investments.

The company helps account owners purchase and sell assets that many banks and mainstream brokerage firms do not support. These assets can include real estate, privately held companies, promissory notes, precious metals, cryptocurrency, tax liens, crowdfunding opportunities, and investments through limited liability companies.

Entrust does not function as a marketplace that recommends the best investment. It administers accounts and processes properly documented instructions. This distinction is fundamental: a self-directed IRA provider can facilitate an investment without endorsing its price, quality, legality, financial strength, or suitability for a specific investor.

Is The Entrust Group a Custodian?

The Entrust structure separates administration and custody between affiliated entities. The Entrust Group acts as the account administrator, while The Entrust Trust Company acts as the custodian. The custodian legally holds the IRA assets and performs the fiduciary custody functions required for the account, while the administrator handles operational processing, recordkeeping, forms, statements, and service.

Investors should read the account agreement to identify the legal entity serving as custodian and the entity receiving each fee. The distinction matters when evaluating regulatory oversight, contractual duties, asset ownership, complaint procedures, and what happens if either service provider changes.

Neither the administrator nor custodian should automatically be treated as the investor’s financial adviser. Self-directed IRA agreements generally place investment selection and due diligence on the account owner.

How The Entrust Group Works

Opening an Account

An investor chooses an eligible account type and completes Entrust’s application, identity verification, beneficiary designation, fee election, and account agreements. The company supports electronic and downloadable forms, as well as a client portal and mobile app.

Funding the Account

The account can be funded with eligible annual contributions, trustee-to-trustee transfers, direct rollovers, or other permitted retirement-plan transactions. Transfer speed depends partly on the releasing institution and whether all signatures, statements, and acceptance documents are complete.

Selecting an Investment

The owner locates the asset, negotiates the terms, performs due diligence, and submits the relevant investment-direction form. Entrust reviews the request for administrative completeness and processes it through the account. That review is not necessarily a legal or financial evaluation of the investment.

Holding and Managing the Asset

The asset is titled in the name required by the IRA structure. Income and sale proceeds generally return to the account, while eligible investment expenses must be paid from IRA funds. The owner cannot personally use IRA property or pay account-owned asset expenses casually from personal funds without considering prohibited-transaction rules.

Valuation and Reporting

Alternative investments do not always have continuously available market prices. Entrust requires fair market value information for account reporting and for certain events, such as an in-kind distribution, Roth conversion, or proof that an asset has become worthless. The owner may need to obtain supporting valuation documents from an independent qualified party.

Accounts Available Through The Entrust Group

Traditional Self-Directed IRA

A traditional IRA can hold eligible alternative assets while following the same general contribution, distribution, and required minimum distribution rules as other traditional IRAs. Contributions may be deductible depending on the owner’s circumstances, and distributions are generally taxed as ordinary income.

Roth Self-Directed IRA

A Roth IRA is funded with after-tax money. Qualified distributions can be tax-free when the applicable age and holding requirements are met. Investment gains from alternative assets can potentially accumulate without current taxation inside the account, but prohibited transactions and other IRA rules still apply.

SEP IRA

A SEP IRA may suit self-employed individuals and qualifying small-business owners seeking employer-funded retirement contributions and alternative investments. Contribution limits and employer eligibility rules apply.

SIMPLE IRA

A SIMPLE IRA is available to eligible small employers and employees. Transfers and rollovers can be subject to special restrictions during the first two years after initial participation.

Individual 401(k)

Entrust provides materials for Individual or Solo 401(k) plans intended for eligible owner-only businesses. These arrangements can have different contribution, loan, plan-document, and filing requirements than IRAs.

Health Savings Account

An eligible individual may use a self-directed HSA for alternative investments. HSA contribution eligibility and qualified medical distribution rules remain applicable.

Coverdell Education Savings Account

Entrust also supports Coverdell ESAs, which can hold eligible investments for qualified education expenses. Contribution, beneficiary, age, and distribution rules differ from IRAs.

Investment Options

Real Estate

An Entrust self-directed account may purchase residential or commercial property, land, rental property, tax liens, mortgage notes, and other eligible real-estate interests. The IRA must be shown as the owner, and income and expenses generally flow through the retirement account.

The owner and other disqualified persons cannot personally live in, vacation at, or otherwise use IRA-owned property. Transactions with disqualified people can jeopardize the account’s tax status. Debt-financed real estate generally requires a nonrecourse loan and may create unrelated business income tax.

Private Equity

The account may invest in eligible privately held companies, startups, LLC interests, partnerships, and private funds. These assets can be illiquid and difficult to value, and disclosure standards may differ from public securities. Entrust’s willingness to process the investment does not establish that the issuer is financially sound.

Private Lending

An IRA can lend money through secured or unsecured notes, trust deeds, or other eligible lending arrangements. The owner must evaluate borrower credit, collateral, lien priority, documentation, default remedies, and servicing. Loans to the account owner or other disqualified persons are generally prohibited.

Precious Metals

Entrust supports qualifying gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products. Eligible metals must meet applicable federal requirements and be accepted by the custodian. IRA bullion generally must remain under qualified custody rather than being delivered to the account owner’s home.

Cryptocurrency

Entrust identifies cryptocurrency as a supported alternative-asset category. Digital assets involve price volatility, custody, cybersecurity, platform, liquidity, and regulatory risks. Investors should understand the exact trading and custody arrangement and all embedded transaction costs.

Crowdfunding and Other Alternatives

The company also supports selected crowdfunding platforms, tax liens, and other eligible alternatives. Not every asset is permitted, and processing requirements may vary. Account owners should ask Entrust to confirm administrative acceptance before entering a binding agreement.

The Entrust Group Fees

Entrust publishes a fee schedule based on the number of asset types and the value of noncash assets. Fees are generally billed quarterly.

Account Establishment Fee

The current published charge to open a self-directed IRA is $50 per account. Each additional account may generate a separate setup and annual fee.

Annual Recordkeeping Fees

For noncash asset value below $50,000, Entrust currently lists an annual recordkeeping fee of $219 for an account with one asset type and $329 for an account with two or more asset types. The number of units may not equal the number of asset types. For example, multiple identical coins can be treated as one asset type, while different years or products may be treated as separate types under Entrust’s examples.

For accounts with at least $50,000 in noncash asset value, the base charge remains $219 or $329, plus 0.17% of the value above $50,000. Entrust states that uninvested cash is excluded from this percentage calculation and that annual recordkeeping fees are capped at $2,299.

Asset Purchase and Sale Fees

Entrust currently lists $175 for a real estate purchase, sale, or exchange; $175 for a real estate note; and $250 for real estate involving a nonrecourse loan. Purchases, sales, exchanges, or additional funding of many other alternatives carry a published $105 fee. The company currently lists no Entrust purchase or sale fee for precious metals, although third-party costs still apply.

Transaction Fees

Current published transaction charges include $10 for a check, $30 for a wire transfer, $30 for a cashier’s or official bank check, and $40 for standard overnight delivery, with the possibility of additional carrier charges. Entrust also lists charges for returned items, stop payments, asset re-registration, special research, expedited processing, and account termination.

Termination Fee

The current published account termination processing fee is $250. Investors planning to transfer to another custodian should include this amount, plus any asset re-registration, shipping, legal, or third-party cost, in their comparison.

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Entrust Precious Metals IRA

Entrust provides forms for purchasing and selling precious metals and for selecting among published depository relationships. Its current forms identify Dakota Depository Company for segregated storage and Delaware Depository Services Company, Idaho Armored Vaults, and A-M Global Logistics for available allocated or segregated arrangements.

Depository availability, fees, insurance, and storage terminology can change. Investors should review the current depository agreement rather than relying on the name listed in an older review.

How a Precious Metals Purchase Works

The account owner selects an independent dealer, obtains a quote, and submits Entrust’s Precious Metals Buy Direction Letter. Entrust sends IRA funds according to the approved instruction, and the dealer ships the metal to the selected depository. The depository confirms receipt, while Entrust records the asset in the account.

Precious-Metals Costs Beyond Entrust’s Fee

Entrust currently lists no asset purchase or sale fee for precious metals, but that does not mean the transaction is free. The dealer’s premium and bid-ask spread, depository storage, shipping, insurance, wire charges, and distribution costs can materially affect returns.

Before purchasing, request the exact product, weight, purity, unit price, spot-price reference, total premium, and immediate hypothetical repurchase bid. A small administrative saving can be overwhelmed by an excessive bullion markup.

Storage Requirements

IRA-owned precious metals generally must remain with an eligible trustee or custodian under an approved storage arrangement. Personal home possession can be treated as a distribution and may create taxes and penalties. Investors wanting physical delivery can generally request an in-kind distribution, after which the metal leaves the IRA and becomes personally owned.

The Entrust Group Advantages

Long Operating History

Entrust traces its operations to 1981, giving it a longer history than many alternative-asset account administrators. Longevity does not guarantee future service, but it provides a substantial record for prospective clients to examine.

Broad Alternative-Asset Support

The platform supports a wider investment range than most conventional brokerage IRAs. This can be useful for investors combining real estate, private lending, private companies, metals, and other specialized assets.

Detailed Public Fee Schedule

Entrust publishes its main setup, annual, asset-processing, transaction, and termination charges. This makes preliminary cost comparison easier, although asset-specific and third-party expenses still require separate investigation.

Multiple Account Types

The company supports several IRA types as well as Individual 401(k)s, HSAs, and Coverdell ESAs, allowing qualifying investors to use similar administrative infrastructure across different tax-advantaged accounts.

Educational Resources and Forms

Entrust maintains a learning center, account kits, transaction forms, knowledge-base articles, webinars, and client-portal instructions. These materials can help experienced investors understand operational requirements.

Depository Choice for Precious Metals

The published forms identify multiple precious-metals storage providers and include both allocated and segregated options, subject to the current agreements and availability.

The Entrust Group Limitations

Asset-Based Fees for Larger Accounts

The 0.17% charge on noncash asset value above $50,000 can make Entrust more expensive than a strictly flat-fee administrator as the account grows, although the company publishes an annual cap.

Investor Bears Due-Diligence Responsibility

Entrust processes self-directed investments but does not automatically verify their financial merits. Investors must evaluate issuers, borrowers, property, dealers, promoters, risks, pricing, and potential conflicts independently.

Alternative Assets Can Be Illiquid

Real estate, private equity, promissory notes, and specialty metals may take time to value and sell. Illiquidity can complicate distributions, transfers, Roth conversions, and required minimum distributions.

Additional Transaction and Closure Charges

Wire, check, expedited-service, re-registration, special-research, and termination fees can increase the total cost. Investors should model their expected transaction activity, not compare only the base annual amount.

Administrative Review Is Not Investment Approval

Customers may mistakenly believe that custodian acceptance proves an investment is legitimate or safe. A self-directed IRA administrator normally checks documentation and eligibility rather than guaranteeing value or performance.

Complexity and Compliance Risk

Self-directed accounts require careful attention to prohibited transactions, disqualified persons, proper titling, expense payments, income routing, valuations, and tax filings. The flexibility creates additional responsibility for the owner.

Reputation and Customer Reviews

The Entrust Group’s Better Business Bureau profile currently shows BBB accreditation and an A+ rating. The profile also contains both positive and negative customer reviews. A BBB grade is not government approval, an investment recommendation, or an audit of the company’s fee value.

When examining reviews, focus on repeated themes involving processing time, communication, fee explanations, account closure, document handling, and asset transfers. Some delays may originate with another custodian, investment sponsor, depository, title company, or incomplete paperwork. The most informative complaints identify the responsible party, dates, documents, financial effect, and company response.

Reviews written immediately after account opening provide limited information about long-term administration. Comments from customers who have completed purchases, valuations, distributions, sales, and account transfers can offer more relevant insight.

Is The Entrust Group a Fiduciary?

Investors should not assume that Entrust acts as an investment fiduciary selecting or recommending assets in the account owner’s best interest. The company performs custodial, administrative, recordkeeping, and transaction-processing functions. The owner generally directs the account and bears responsibility for the investment decision.

The Entrust Trust Company may have legal and contractual duties regarding custody and administration without accepting responsibility for an asset’s price, performance, legitimacy, or suitability. Investors seeking allocation advice should consult an independent fiduciary adviser. Legal and tax questions should be addressed by qualified professionals familiar with self-directed retirement accounts.

Prohibited Transactions and Disqualified Persons

A self-directed IRA cannot be used to provide a current personal benefit to the account owner or certain related parties. Disqualified persons generally include the IRA owner, spouse, ancestors, lineal descendants, spouses of lineal descendants, certain fiduciaries, and entities controlled by disqualified persons.

Potential prohibited transactions include selling personal property to the IRA, buying IRA assets personally, borrowing from the IRA, lending IRA money to a disqualified person, using IRA real estate, paying oneself for managing IRA property, or personally guaranteeing a loan to the account.

The consequences can be severe. Depending on the facts, an IRA can lose its tax-advantaged status as of the first day of the year in which the prohibited transaction occurred. Entrust may provide educational information, but the account owner should obtain independent guidance before completing a transaction involving a related party.

Fair Market Valuation Requirements

Entrust requires fair market values for annual reporting and certain account events. Publicly traded assets have observable prices, but private companies, real estate, notes, and alternative investments may require a qualified independent valuation.

An updated valuation can be needed for Form 5498 reporting, required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, in-kind distributions, account transfers, or removal of a worthless asset. Valuation services are generally separate from ordinary administration and may create additional costs.

Account owners should plan valuation procedures before buying an illiquid investment. Waiting until a distribution deadline or account closure can create delays and expense.

Who Is The Entrust Group Best For?

Entrust may be suitable for experienced alternative-asset investors who want a broad selection of supported assets, are comfortable performing independent due diligence, understand prohibited-transaction rules, and value an administrator with a long operating history and extensive educational materials.

It may also appeal to investors who hold multiple types of alternatives and prefer using one provider for real estate, notes, private equity, precious metals, or digital assets, provided the asset-based fees remain competitive for their account size.

Who Should Consider an Alternative?

Entrust may not be ideal for investors who want personalized investment recommendations, automated portfolio management, fast online trading of conventional securities, or guaranteed liquidity. A conventional brokerage IRA may be more appropriate for low-cost funds, stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded products.

Large-account investors seeking a strictly flat annual fee should compare Entrust’s value-based schedule with competitors. Investors holding only precious metals should also compare specialized custodians whose flat account and storage packages may be less expensive.

Final Verdict: Is The Entrust Group Worth It?

The Entrust Group is worth considering for knowledgeable investors who need a well-established administrator for alternative assets that conventional brokerages rarely support. Its broad investment menu, multiple account types, extensive forms and educational resources, published fees, and long operating history are meaningful strengths.

The tradeoff is cost and responsibility. Asset-value-based fees can rise as an account grows, and alternative investments introduce greater due diligence, valuation, liquidity, and compliance burdens. Entrust administers the account but does not remove the risks associated with a private company, property, borrower, bullion dealer, cryptocurrency platform, or promoter.

Before opening an account, calculate fees using the expected asset value and number of asset types, add all third-party expenses, and plan how the investment will be valued and eventually sold. 

Investors who understand those obligations may find Entrust a capable administrative platform. Those wanting low-cost conventional investing or personalized portfolio management will likely be better served by a traditional brokerage or fiduciary adviser.