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- Phone : 1-877-742-1270
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 2 Reviews
New Direction Trust Company has been serving IRA investors since 2004 with a diverse group of executives. The company’s precious metals products are so popular, the company is experiencing shipping delays on a regular basis. Take the good with the bad and find out if it’s the right IRA provider for you.
Pros:
- Diverse executive team
- Fantastic customer reviews
- Variety of account options
Cons:
- No live chat options
- Precious metal shipping delays
Darrel Handke Vic Richardson New Direction Trust Company is one of the best self-directed IRA firms that we have reviewed here at Sophisticated Investor. When you read through this review yourself, you’ll see the proof is in the pudding.
The company has a strong executive team and great customer reviews across many different platforms. They also provide all the account types and investment types that an investor could ask for.
There fees are in line with many other competitors in the industry and they offer a combination of annual administration fees, fees based on account values or fees based on the number of assets the investor owns. Having all those options is a big one for the investor and it proves that New Direction Trust Company prides itself on being flexible to everyone who walks through their doors.
As you work through this review you’ll see answers to frequently asked questions, details on the features, advantages and benefits of products, and gain an overall sense of where this company is headed.
Choosing New Direction Trust Company for your retirement planning might be the step you need to make in order to live your golden years a little bit sooner than most do. But of course before making the decision to choose New Direction Trust Company, we encourage you to check out all of our other reviews as you work your way through this one. Enjoy!
Of all of the executive and management teams that we have reviewed here in the IRA landscape, New Direction Trust Company actually has just as many female executives as male ones. That’s very rare in the investing industry, and it’s definitely something that New Direction Trust Company deserves a lot of credit for.
Table of Contents
The Management Team and Board of Directors of New Direction Trust Company
Catherine Wynne, President and Co-Founder, New Direction Trust Company
Catherine Wynne, President and Co-Founder, New Direction Trust Company
Perhaps the gender representation at the organization has a lot to do with the fact that the President and Co-founder is female. Catherine Wynne is her name. She is keenly aware of the regulatory environment surrounding IRA accounts and the IRS. She handles the structuring of the company’s investments and ensures the company’s compliance is second to none.
Bill Humphrey, President, New Direction Trust Company
Bill Humphrey is the Co-Founder. He has more than 20 years of experience in accounting and teaches about IRA law and health savings accounts. He’s been specializing in IRA accounts for a long time as well.
Bill Humphrey, President, New Direction Trust Company
Nikki Sisneros, Vice President of Trust Accounting, New Direction Trust Company
Nikki Sisneros, Vice President of Trust Accounting, New Direction Trust Company
Nikki Sisneros is the Vice President of Trust Accounting. Sisneros has a Masters degree in finance and is keenly aware of IRS compliance regulations and also manages client account statements and tax documents.
Jessica Brooks is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. She oversees the operational efficiency of the company and is committed to building out investment technology that makes investing easier for clients. Brooks is also an expert in banking law.
Kevin Dodson is the Chief of Staff at New Direction Trust Company. He implements the company’s strategic initiatives and helps with strategic planning and consulting.
Aaron Benway rounds out the executive team as the Vice President of Strategy and Marketing. He’s a Certified Financial Planner and has significant experience investing in private equity firms.
Investing Account Options at New Direction Trust Company
New Direction Trust Company offers any and all of the account types an investor might be interested in when it comes to their retirement planning. Here they are below:
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- SIMPLE IRA
- 401(k) plans
- Inheritance IRAs
- Cloverdell Education Savings Account
- Health Savings Accounts
The Traditional and Roth IRA account are generally for people looking to save for their own individual retirement. Going the Traditional route means getting income tax write offs during contributing years and paying taxes upon withdrawal. Going the Roth route means not taking tax write offs during contributing years and not paying income tax upon withdrawal. This is ideal for wealthier investors who don’t want to worry about being in a high income tax bracket when they retire.
Inheritance IRAs are for people looking to benefit from IRA accounts that have been passed down to them I deceased relatives. Not every IRA provider offers this service but it’s not an uncommon thing to ask for. Investors should read more reviews before deciding on a company if they need to go this route for any reason.
SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs and 401(k) plans are specifically for businesses that want to benefit from contributing to employee plans and employees that want to obviously get their employer’s help in planning for their retirement and saving for the future. 401(k) plans are usually dedicated towards larger corporations because the administrative fees are much higher. SEPs can be for self-employed individuals running their own business and SIMPLE IRAs are for companies in between with fewer than 100 employees.
Investment Options at New Direction Trust Company
New Direction Trust Company offers many of the same investing options as other self-directed IRA providers. Here’s a brief list of the options that clients have:
- Real Estate
- Precious Metals
- Private Lending
- Private Equity
- Checkbook IRA
- Other Investments
Real Estate Investing
Real estate investing is probably the biggest reason investors choose a self-directed IRA account. Most providers, New Direction Trust Company included, allow investors to benefit not only off the appreciation of a property, but also on mortgages and private lending deals.
Precious Metals Investing
Perhaps an equally popular form of investing in a self-directed IRA is choosing to invest in precious metals. New Direction Trust Company like many other IRA providers offers the opportunity to invest in gold, silver and many other kinds of metals.
Checkbook IRA Investing
The label of Checkbook IRA really points to flexibility. Registering an IRA account under the name of a limited liability corporation allows investors to draw checks on their accounts and make frequent deposits or withdrawals. Many IRA providers offer this and New Direction Trust Company is no exception.
Other Investing Options
New Direction Trust Company promotes the idea that anything that can be invested in outside of an IRA account can be invested in within one. They point to an example of an investor being interested in green technologies and state that it’s possible to invest in those things. Investing in other opportunities requires connecting with the staff directly and stating what you might be interested in. It’s as simple as that.
The Fee Schedule at New Direction Trust Company
New Direction Trust Company makes its money in much the same way that other IRA providers do. By charging clients fees. Now of course there are many different approaches to take when deciding how to charge clients. An IRA provider can charge based on the number of assets the investor is investing in. They can also charge a percentage based on the total value of the clients IRA account, they can charge flat monthly, quarterly or annual fees, or they can do a combination of all three.
New Direction Trust Company’s fee schedule is incredibly detailed. Click the hyperlink to see the whole thing. We won’t go through every single little fee here but we can highlight the most important parts.
Annual Administration Fees
New Direction Trust Company’s first set of fees are dubbed as annual administrative fees. These apply to precious metals, publicly traded securities, digital currencies and discount brokerage accounts. The actual fee charged to each individual investor again depends on the account value. In general, higher fees are triggered once an account value reaches over $100,000.
The annual administration fee for a precious metals account value below $100,000 is just a $95 flat fee. The annual fee for online trading for an account over $100,000 in value featuring precious metals is $150. Fees for similarly valued accounts in the digital currencies base start at $250. That probably has more to do with the volatility of the digital currency market and the fact that it is unpredictable. The annual fee for trading publicly traded securities is $95.
Each of these annual fees is within reason when compared to other IRA providers, like Accuplan, and as you can see, it’s partly just an annual flat fee structure and partly based on account value.
For other privately held assets, New Direction Trust Company offers investors the opportunity to pick whether they want to be charged based on the number of assets they are holding versus the account value. Fees paid out based on account value range anywhere from $195 for an account worth less than $14,999 all the way up to $1850 for an account valued at greater than $750,000. This fee structure and the corresponding amounts are very similar to a few other IRA providers we have reviewed here at Sophisticated Investor.
Precious Metals Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
|---|---|
| Below $100k in Value | $95 |
| $100k Value and Above | $145 |
| Online Trading | $150 |
Digital Currency Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
|---|---|
| Below $100k in Value | $250 |
| $100k Value and Above | $500 |
| Above $250k Account Value | $750 |
Processing Fees and Other Fees
Like any other financial institution, New Direction Trust Company does have to charge clients for things like processing checks, bank wire transfers, late fees, statements, void checks and mail delivery. Those fees range from five dollars to $40 depending on the task required. Any special services not covered by the fee schedule are billed at a rate of $150 per hour.
Customer Support at New Direction Trust Company
It’s easy to reach New Direction Trust Company by phone. The phone numbers displayed right at the top right corner of the homepage. It’s 1-866-377-3311. The company also offers the opportunity to email in a question using the contact form and interested parties can also schedule a consultation in advance. There is no option to speak to somebody live via chat. This shouldn’t be a big deterrent for most retirement planners because the majority of IRA companies don’t offer this. But it is a feature that’s nice to have.
New Direction Trust Company Customer Reviews
Just like any other IRA provider, New Direction Trust Company has tons of positive reviews on some websites and some negative reviews on other websites. Customer reviews always have to be taken with a grain of salt. That’s because uncertain platforms like the Better Business Bureau, most customers that reach out already have a complaint. Yet on other platforms like Google business profiles, the reviews will generally be more positive.
It makes sense then that New Direction Trust Company has a 4.7 out of five star rating on Google with 155 reviews making up for that total. That’s a really impressive number and ranks among the best when compared to other IRA providers.
On the Better Business Bureau website, the company has a perfect five star rating and lists itself as having been in business for 16 years. As a result, New Direction Trust Company maintains an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website.
The only area of improvement for New Direction Trust Company when it comes to customer reviews is when it comes to Yelp. Only 16 reviews have been collected on that website and the company rates a 2.5 out of five stars there.
Overall it seems that customers love New Direction Trust Company and it’s solely worth working with New Direction Trust Company for your self-directed IRA needs.
New Direction Trust Company FAQs
Here’s a list of frequently asked questions about New Direction Trust Company.
Can I Set Up an LLC With New Direction Trust Company?
Yes, New Direction Trust Company allows customers to set up a limited liability corporation allowing for checkbook control of your account.
Should You Choose New Direction Trust Company for your Self-Directed IRA?
When it comes to customer reviews, we’ve already established that New Direction Trust Company ranks among the best. If word-of-mouth is the strongest form of advertising, then there’s no reason not to take a serious look at New Direction Trust Company.
They offer pretty much all of the account types that an IRA investor would hope to find all under one roof. They have a diverse executive team of both male and female leadership that guide the company to its next strategic goal and ultimately guide clients to their overall objective, to retire as soon as possible. What more could any investor ask for?
As with any service provider, New Direction Trust Company always has room for improvement just like any other IRA company, but overall we would definitely recommend working with them or at least giving them strong consideration in comparison to other competitors.
But as always, do your research and check out some of our other reviews before making your final decision.
See our Top IRA Reviews page for more company reviews and a comparison table of self-directed IRA providers.
- Phone : 1-877-742-1270
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 2 Reviews
New Direction Trust Company has been serving IRA investors since 2004 with a diverse group of executives. The company’s precious metals products are so popular, the company is experiencing shipping delays on a regular basis. Take the good with the bad and find out if it’s the right IRA provider for you.
Darrel Handke Vic Richardson 
