- Phone : 1-(800) 486-6888
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Good
User Rating
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Established in 1989, GoldStar Trust Company holds over $2 billion in assets. Find out if its the right self-directed IRA provider for you. The company has built its reputation over the last 30+ years and manages over $2 billion in assets.
Pros:
- Over 30 years in business
- $2 billion in assets under management
- Wide variety of alternative investments
Cons:
- Fees grow with account value
- Low ratings from customer reviews
GoldStar Trust Company first began opening IRAs for customers in 1989. The company markets itself as a leader in self-directed IRAs and custodianship. It also states on the company’s website that GoldStar Trust Company acts as a trustee and escrow/paying agent for clients.
GoldStar Trust Company offers unique retirement planning and investing solutions to individuals looking to diversify their IRA portfolios beyond stock, bonds and mutual funds.
In total, the company lists 34 employees on LinkedIn, but it’s not known if that’s the exact number of people that worked for GoldStar Trust Company. The executive team is headed by three different people supporting those employees.
As we move throughout this review, prospective investors will recognize that GoldStar Trust Company specializes in a lot of the same areas as different IRA competitors, but it is a lesser-known provider. Still, GoldStar Trust Company does offer a unique value proposition acting as a trustee for a small six employee bank purchased in 1990.
Learn more about this and other unique features of GoldStar Trust Company and his comprehensive review.
Table of Contents
The Founders and Management Team of GoldStar Trust Company IRA
John Johnson, Vice President of Business Development, GoldStar Trust Company
Matt Peakes, Vice President of Business Development, GoldStar Trust Company
GoldStar Trust Company is actually run by three different vice presidents. John Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Business Development. Matt Peakes is the Vice President of Business Development and Dave Schnierle is also a Senior Vice President of Business Development. They all have experience in various forms of alternative investing through self-directed IRAs and real estate investments.
GoldStar Trust Company is definitely considered to be one of the smaller IRA providers in the country and as such has a small bare-bones team of employees and executives. They know exactly compare to the bigger companies we are reviewing. But again, like many smaller providers, the executive team at GoldStar Trust Company prides itself on offering personalized service to clients.
Dave Schnierle, Vice President of Business Development, GoldStar Trust Company
GoldStar Trust Company IRA and Investing Account Types
GoldStar Trust Company offers four different self-directed IRA account types to investors and a slew of different investing options. First, let’s go over the account types:
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- Simple IRA
Traditional IRAs at GoldStar Trust Company
Like Traditional IRAs and any other provider, the ones offered by GoldStar Trust Company allow investors to do further taxable income until retirement, assuming that they withdraw after the age of 59 ½.
Roth IRAs at GoldStar Trust Company
A Roth IRA is for investors who think they might have a high net worth when they retire. Individuals contributing to a Roth IRA don’t get to write off those contributions against their income tax while they are working, but once they are retired they do not pay taxes on their withdrawals.
SEP IRAs at GoldStar Trust Company
A Simplified Employee Pension at GoldStar Trust Company allows employers to contribute on to retirement funds behalf of employees. The benefit for the employer’s obvious. They get to write off their contributions as a business expense. There are definitely terms and conditions worth considering, including a 10% fee for early withdrawals. That said, penalties are not a reflection on GoldStar Trust Company, those are instituted by the IRS.
A Simple IRA at GoldStar Trust Company
Simple IRAs are available to employers who have 100 employees or less. Again, the benefit is that employers can write off contributions they make to employee pension accounts. Employees can also contribute up to $13,500 in 2020 into the plan. The plan itself follows Traditional IRA rules, meaning all contributors can write off contributions and taxes are deferred until withdrawal.
GoldStar Trust Company IRA Investing Options
Just like any other self-directed IRA provider, GoldStar Trust Company aims to provide a plethora of options outside of traditional securities like stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Here’s a list of everything the company has to offer:
- Perth Mint Certificates
- Charter School Boards
- Church Loan and Extension Funds
- Secondary Market Annuities
- Structured Cash Flows
- Limited Liability Companies and Partnerships
- Money Market and Mutual Funds
- Bank Certificates of Deposit
- Secured Promissory Notes
There are a host of options in the above list that other IRA companies don’t necessarily promote, like the idea of earning a return for supporting charter schools or churches. GoldStar Trust Company clearly aims to offer a broad number of exotic or alternative options that other competitors don’t. What’s surprising is that they don’t promote typical residential and commercial real estate deals. They do however mention at the bottom of their sales page that investors interested in putting money into things that are not listed on their website can contact their investor services department and discuss options for how to include those things in an IRA. That’s a neat way of approaching customer service. That very much scores points for GoldStar Trust Company as far as putting the customer first.
GoldStar Trust Company IRA Fees
GoldStar Trust Company offers a comprehensive fee schedule directly on its website. Money market funds, mutual funds, and other publicly traded traditional securities carry a one-time establishment fee of $25 and an annual maintenance fee of $65. They also charge a hedge fund annual asset holding fee of $50 and a trading fee of $25 per trade plus brokerage fees. While those are many different kinds of fees they are fairly reasonable one stacked against the competition. Paying $100 or $200 in annual fees is not uncommon among smaller IRA providers, like IRA Resources, when it comes to investment in traditional assets.
GoldStar Trust Company’s approach to charging fees on non-traditional assets is where the fees start to vary. Here we will provide a quick rundown of how fees are administered among different kinds of alternative assets:
Real Estate
GoldStar Trust Company’s real estate fees come with an initial account setup fee and then the annual maintenance fees are depended on the value of the real estate in the IRA account. The initial setup fee is $50. The annual maintenance fee starts at $200 for properties worth less than $200,000.
Once an investment is worth more than $200,000, the maintenance fee moves to $300 a year. GoldStar Trust Company also charges a fee on the sale or purchase of real estate which is $100 and charges separate administrative legal fees for any documents that need to be rushed or reviewed around $50-$100.
Precious Metals
Setting up an IRA for precious metals investing involves a $50 setup fee. There is also a maximum annual maintenance fee of $275 for accounts worth up to $100,000 in value. There is also a minimum depository storage fee of $100 but there is no fee for buying, selling or exchanging assets within the account. Any distribution of precious metals comes with a $40 charge plus shipping costs.
Here’s a chart of all the fees investors care about:
Standard Fees
| One-time Establishment Fee | $25 |
|---|---|
| Annual Maintenance Fee | $65 flat fee |
| Hedge Fund Annual Asset Holding Fee | $50 |
| Transaction Fees for Security Trades | $25 transaction fee |
Real Estate Fees
| Establishment Fee | $50 |
|---|---|
| Annual Maintenance Fee | $200-$300 |
| Purchase or Sale Fee | $100 |
| Legal and professional fees | $150 minimum per hour |
| Minimum cash balance | $500 |
| Same day rush service | $75 |
Precious Metals Fees
| One-time Establishment Fee | $50 |
|---|---|
| Annual Maintenance Fee | $75 flat fee |
| Annual Depository Storage Fee | $100 minimum/no maximum |
| Buy, Sell or Exchange | NO FEE |
| Partial Distribution or Transfer-In-Kind | $40 +cost of shipping |
Perth Mint Certificates
Again, the one-time setup fee here is $50. Subsequent fees include an annual asset holding fee of $150, an annual account maintenance fee of $75, and a $40 fee for any sales or trades of assets within the account.
Bank Accounts and Annuities Outside of America
GoldStar Trust Company does allow investors to put money in accounts outside of the United States where the funds or assets can still be held within an IRA account. For this service they charge up to $275 in annual fees based on the value of the account and $50-$75 for liquidating assets or surrendering annuities.
Church Loans and Church Bonds
Believe it or not, IRAs at GoldStar Trust Company allow investors to put money into church loans and bonds. This is a very unique kind of investment that to our knowledge, no other self-directed IRA provider really promotes. As far as fees go, GoldStar Trust Company charges a flat fee of $45 annually for maintaining such an investment. They also charge fees from $25-$50 for maintaining or shutting down accounts related to any changes in-kind or transfers.
Customer Service and Support at GoldStar Trust Company
GoldStar Trust Company’s customer service team is available from 7 AM to 5 PM Central Standard Time. The phone number to call us toll-free at 1-800-486-6888. The company can also be reached via email at info@goldstartrust.com.
GoldStar Trust Company Customer Reviews
GoldStar Trust Company is not officially accredited by the Better Business Bureau but it does maintain an A+ rating. Unfortunately the company doesn’t seem to be collecting a lot of customer reviews online so it’s hard to tell what people who do business with GoldStar Trust Company really think about their experience. That said the company only scores a 1.9 out of five on 17 customer reviews on GoldStar Trust Company’s Google business profile.
GoldStar Trust Company FAQs
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions people have about GoldStar Trust Company.
What types of retirement accounts can be moved into a GoldStar Trust Company IRA?
Here are the different account types investors can use to their advantage at GoldStar Trust Company:
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- Simple IRA
Can I Take a Possession of my IRA Assets?
While some other IRA companies offer investors the opportunity to maintain control of their assets through limited liability corporations, GoldStar Trust Company does not participate in this. The IRS looks to crack down on investors holding assets related to their retirement in their homes, regardless of how they do it, so GoldStar Trust Company doesn’t allow it to happen through their services.
Do You Need a Property Manager to Invest in Real Estate?
GoldStar Trust Company requires real estate investors in their IRA accounts to work with property managers. Property managers must sign a formal agreement with GoldStar Trust Company in order to officially register as the property manager and profit from any gains they may be entitled to.
There are many other answers to frequently asked questions on GoldStar Trust Company’s website. Most of them pertain to legalities surrounding real estate investing. Those interested in learning more can click here.
Should You Choose GoldStar Trust Company IRA for your Self-Directed IRA?
Perhaps the best reason to go with GoldStar Trust Company is that the company is very upfront about the fees it charges. Many competitors don’t show fees prominently on their website, and if they do, they only show a bare-bones version. GoldStar Trust Company actually shows off every fee that it has for any type of investment investors might be interested in. It’s rare for investment companies to be so upfront about their fees.
The downside of using GoldStar Trust Company is that it just doesn’t have the same market share that other competitors do. There aren’t as many public customer reviews on this company as there are others and many of the reviews are actually negative. Still despite a negative presence on their Google business profile, for example, GoldStar Trust Company maintains an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website.
Overall, investors would be well served to shop around that some of the other smaller IRA providers out there before making a final decision. From an investing standpoint, the fact that GoldStar Trust Company promotes annuities and church loans is something really unique that investors may not find anywhere else. If they’re interested in that particular might be good to invest.
See our Top IRA Reviews page for more company reviews and a comparison table of self-directed IRA providers.
- Phone : 1-(800) 486-6888
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Good
User Rating
- 0 No reviews yet!
Established in 1989, GoldStar Trust Company holds over $2 billion in assets. Find out if its the right self-directed IRA provider for you. The company has built its reputation over the last 30+ years and manages over $2 billion in assets.
