- Phone : 1-866-962-7657
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 1 Reviews
Founded in 2008, Strata Trust Company starts their annual fee at a lower rate than most competitors. Take advantage of the robust resource centre and a management team that is very much competent. Learn more about the company and see the pros and cons for yourself.
Pros:
- Low starting annual fees
- Solid management team
- Robust resource center
Cons:
- No individual 401(k) option
- No specific cryptocurrency offering
DiegoStrata Trust Company started out serving clients and their self-directed IRA needs back in 2008. Today the company has over 50 employees and manages over $2 billion in customer assets. Strata Trust Company is one of the few providers with a female leader as the President. That’s very rare in the retirement sector of finance. Still, that doesn’t matter nearly as much is the fact that the company has a reputation for taking care of its customers. You’ll see that in the customer reviews you read later on down this post.
What’s also intriguing about Strata Trust Company is the fact that they offer a fee schedule that’s easy to read and they do everything on an annual basis. No need to worry about how much money is in your account, and no need to pay every quarter. The downside of their fee structure is the fact that their fees for doing very small things like administrative tasks, record-keeping and transactions. Every provider finds a way to make their money, but Strata Trust Company’s fee schedule is one of the simplest and fairest in terms of what they charge customers at the end of the day.
These are just some of the highlights and things you’ll find out about Strata Trust Company as you read this review. Feel free to keep reading and don’t forget to take a look at some of the other IRA providers that might be better suited to meet your needs before you make your final decision.
Table of Contents
The Management Team and Board of Directors of Strata Trust Company
Kelli Click is the President of Strata Trust Company.
Kelli Click, President, Strata Trust Company
Kelli Click, President, Strata Trust Company
She’s one of the few female presidents in the industry. She’s been leading the company since 2009 and prior to joining, Click worked as the Vice President of Sales at Sterling Trust Company. She has an extensive background in real estate throughout her career which makes it easier for the company to serve clients with real estate investing opportunities.
Jeff Thompson is Chief Operating Officer of Strata Trust Company.
Jeff Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Strata Trust Company
Jeff Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Strata Trust Company.
He has 29 years of experience in self-directed IRA investing. He provides custodial services to the largest investors of the company. Thompson comes over to Strata Trust Company as the former President of Operations at Sterling Trust Company. He has been heavily involved in many acquisitions of other custodians in the past.
Michelle Maruri is the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
Michelle Maruri, Chief Financial Officer, Strata Trust Company
She has over 30 years of experience in the self-directed IRA industry. She has overseen accounting and information technology teams throughout her career.
The rest of Strata Trust Company’s team includes three other executives in five different managers. There are a total of 50+ employees at the company. Let’s take a look at the investing options and accounts Strata Trust Company has to offer.
Michelle Maruri, Chief Financial Officer, Strata Trust Company
Investing Account Options at Strata Trust Company
Unlike other IRA providers, such as Kingdom Trust Company, Strata Trust Company does not offer 401(k) plans. That should be okay by you if you’re just an individual investor, because 401(k) plans are usually for corporations of more than 100 people. They involve heavy administrative fees.
Strata Trust Company does offer all of the basic accounts that most people would expect to utilize at any other competitor. That includes a Traditional IRA, where investors get to write off contributions and pay income tax upon withdrawal and retirement. The Roth IRA does not allow for deductions during contribution years that saves people on taxes upon retirement. The latter option is better for those who have a significant net worth.
When it comes to businesses with employees, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are available. They both allow business owners to contribute to employee plans. Usually don’t match up to a certain percentage of the employee’s contribution and both will get to write off some of that against income tax. Remember that both of these accounts are for companies with 100 employees or less.
The Fee Schedule at Strata Trust Company
Strata Trust Company charges a $50 setup fee for three different account types: a precious metals IRA, a basic IRA, and a flex IRA. All of the fees are divided into those three categories. The annual account fees between the three are different. A precious metals IRA will only cost the investor $75 a year. $100 a year is the fee for a basic IRA and a flex IRA cost $250 a year.
A basic account is for what Strata Trust Company deems public investments. That includes things like brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, real estate investing trusts and limited liability corporations.
A flex IRA is where investors can place all of their alternative asset investments not considered public, which actually includes precious metals. That means private notes, private stock, real estate, futures and commodities are all included under that umbrella.
It makes sense than that the precious metals IRA is strictly for precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, palladium etc.
It should be noted that in the flex IRA there’s a $100 annual fee for holding real estate and a $50 annual fee for holding private notes. There’s also a $100 fee for storing precious metals every year and those looking to store those metals in a segregated fashion pay $140 for the same service.
Overall, in comparison to other providers it seems that Strata Trust Company charges fairly low fees. The tricky part is that there are many $50 fees for record-keeping and wire transferring and things like that. So it seems like when people really need to get things done, the have to pay for it. Still, Strata Trust Company’s fee structure is easy to understand and competes very well with others.
Here’s a summary of the fees in a chart:
| Fee Type | Precious Metals IRA | Basic IRA (for public investments) | Flex IRA (for alternative investments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Set-up Fee | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Annual Account Fee | $75 | $100 | $250 |
| Paper Statements Mailed | $30 | $30 | $30 |
| Late Fee | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Real Estate Holding Fee | - | - | $100 |
| Private Investment Holding | - | - | $50 |
| Commingled Precious Metals Storage | $100 | $100 | $100 |
| Segregated Precious Metals Storage | $140 | $140 | $140 |
| Real Estate Purchase or Sale | - | - | $125 |
| Private Investment Purchase or Sale | - | - | $50 |
| Precious Metals Purchase, Sale or Exchange | $40 | $40 | $40 |
| Precious Metals Shipping | $10 + estimated costs | $10 + estimated costs | $10 + estimated costs |
Customer Support at Strata Trust Company
One cool feature on Strata Trust Company’s website is that customers can pay their fees directly online. They can also submit inquiries and questions directly through an online form. The phone number for customer support is 1-866-237-2356.
Strata Trust Company Customer Reviews
Strata Trust Company doesn’t have a Google business profile that collects reviews or feedback from customers, but they do highlight some of their best testimonials on the company website.
Of course we all know that third-party reviews count for a lot more, because a company website will always brag about its own services. Still Strata Trust Company fares well there anyway. Trustpilot.com gives the company a 3.75 rating out of five. That rating isn’t the most impressive but the fact that those ratings come from more than 700 customers is a reflection of the fact that an overwhelming majority of clients who did business with Strata Trust Company are happy with their service. That’s good news!
Then there’s the Better Business Bureau profile. Strata Trust Company has only had to deal with five complaints in 12 years on the site and the BBB gives it an A+ rating, which is great!
Overall we would recommend Strata Trust Company as an option given that they do take care of their customers.
Strata Trust Company FAQs
Below are frequently asked questions about Strata Trust Company.
Can I Set Up an LLC With Strata Trust Company?
Strata Trust Company will totally allow you to set up an LLC for your investments. The advantage to doing this and that you can use your IRA like a check mark. This is really a grey area of investing as the IRS frowns upon it, yet many providers offer this option. Use it at your own discretion.
How Can I Cash A Check from Strata Trust Company?
Strata Trust Company allows you to cash checks just like you would from anywhere else. You can go to a bank, credit union or cash advance business to get your hands on your money. Most IRA companies charge a fee of between $25 and $50 to issue you a check. You will also likely pay a fee to sell the assets in your account in order to get the cash. It will usually cost you more than $100 to sell your assets and then also get a check on top of that.
What Kinds of Investments are Not Allowed in an IRA?
IRAs can’t be used to generate profit perpetually as you would in a business, so the IRS has controls in place to not allow that kind of activity. This means investors can’t register S-corporations. They also can’t invest in life insurance policies or rare collectibles like art. That has nothing to do with Strata Trust Company, It has more to do with the law.
Should You Choose Strata Trust Company for your Self-Directed IRA?
Given that Strata Trust Company has fantastic customer reviews and offers all kinds of self-directed IRA services that are on par with competitors, there’s no reason not to choose them. They have a strong, small executive team that seems to really care about how clients are treated and everybody on that team has tons of experience.
The account options available themselves are pretty standard and the organization’s more than willing to allow clients to use LLCs and other kinds of accounts in order to give their clients the best options possible.
Before choosing Strata Trust Company for your self-directed IRA, make sure you do your research and look at some other options to. There are plenty of great ones out there!
See our Top IRA Reviews page for more company reviews and a comparison table of self-directed IRA providers.
- Phone : 1-866-962-7657
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 1 Reviews
Founded in 2008, Strata Trust Company starts their annual fee at a lower rate than most competitors. Take advantage of the robust resource centre and a management team that is very much competent. Learn more about the company and see the pros and cons for yourself.
Diego
