If you have ever tried to put real estate, private notes, or physical gold inside an IRA, you have almost certainly run into Equity Trust. It is one of the oldest and largest self-directed IRA custodians in America, and in the twenty-plus years I have covered this space it has been the default answer to the question “who will actually hold this weird asset for me?” Size cuts both ways, though, and this 2026 update covers both the scale and the service friction that comes with it.
Quick company snapshot
| Founded | 1974; IRA custodian since 1983 |
| Headquarters | Westlake, Ohio |
| Assets under custody | ~$73 billion (mid-2026) |
| Accounts | ~368,000 |
| Model | Directed (passive) custodian; no investment advice or products |
| Setup fee | $50 online ($75 by paper) |
| Annual fee | $350 to $2,500, tiered by account value |
| BBB rating | A+, accredited (customer reviews ~3.1 / 5) |
Thinking about self-directing your IRA?
Open the fee schedule next to your account size and asset list before you commit; the tiers decide whether Equity Trust is your best deal.
What Equity Trust actually does
Equity Trust is a directed custodian: it holds the assets in your self-directed IRA, files the IRS reporting, and executes the transactions you instruct. It does not vet your deals, sell investments, or give advice, and that distinction is the single most misunderstood thing in this industry. If a promoter sells you a bad private placement held at Equity Trust, that is on the promoter, not the custodian. The IRS explains the rules and prohibited-transaction traps in its self-directed IRA guidance.
The 2024 launch of its Universal IRA is the biggest recent change: traditional assets (stocks, ETFs, mutual funds) and alternatives (real estate, notes, crypto, metals) now live on one platform, which used to require two providers. Partnerships added through 2024 and 2025, from Swan Bitcoin to BiggerPockets-adjacent real estate platforms, keep extending that reach.
Pros and cons
👍 What I like
👍 Fifty years of history and ~$73B under custody; this is the institutional choice
👍 Widest asset menu in the niche, traditional plus alternative, on one platform
👍 No per-transaction fees on most investments
👍 A+ BBB rating with accreditation
👎 What I don’t
👎 Asset-based annual fees get expensive as accounts grow ($1,500+ per year over $500K)
👎 Service complaints scale with size: hold times, slow disbursements, tax-form delays
👎 BBB customer score (~3.1 / 5) and polarized Trustpilot feedback tell you to expect friction
👎 $250 full-termination fee and $30 wires add up
👎 No advice; you are on your own for due diligence
Fees in detail
| Setup | $50 online / $75 paper |
| Under $50,000 | $350 per year |
| $50,000 to $100,000 | $500 per year |
| $100,000 to $250,000 | $750 per year |
| $250,000 to $500,000 | $1,000 per year |
| $500,000 to $1M | $1,500 to $2,000 per year |
| Over $1M | $2,500 per year |
| Metals storage | $110 non-segregated / $160 segregated |
| Wires / termination | $30 per wire / $250 full termination |
The tiering is the strategic point. A $600,000 account pays roughly $1,500 a year here regardless of how simple it is. A flat-fee custodian like Madison Trust would charge that same account around $556 if it holds a single asset. Flip side: if you want stocks and alternatives consolidated, or you value institutional depth over price, the tiers buy you one-platform convenience that flat-fee shops cannot match.
What customers say
The review record is honestly mixed and you should know that going in. The company rating is A+ with the BBB, but customer scores run ★★★★★ ~3.1 / 5 there, and Trustpilot snapshots of its ~800 reviews have swung between the low 2s and mid 4s depending on when you look. The complaint themes are stable: long hold times, slow rollovers and disbursements, and surprise fees. My read after decades of watching custodians: none of this is scandal, it is big-company friction, and it matters most when your deal has a closing deadline. Build in lead time.
Who Equity Trust fits
Diversified investors with multiple alternative assets, people who want everything under one custodian, and anyone whose gold dealer (see our Goldco review) or crypto platform (see BitIRA) routes accounts here anyway. Smaller, single-asset accounts should price-compare against flat-fee custodians, and metals-only investors should start with our top self-directed IRA companies to see the full custodian landscape.
Equity Trust review: frequently asked questions
Is Equity Trust Company legitimate?
Yes. Equity Trust traces its roots to 1974, has acted as an IRA custodian since 1983, and now reports roughly $73 billion in assets under custody across about 368,000 accounts (mid-2026). It is BBB accredited with an A+ rating. As a passive custodian it holds and reports assets; it does not sell investments or give advice.
What are Equity Trust’s fees?
A $50 online setup fee, then an annual fee based on account value: from $350 per year on accounts under $50,000, rising through tiers to $2,500 per year above $1 million. Precious metals storage runs about $110 to $160 per year, wires are $30, and a full account termination costs $250. There is no per-transaction fee on most investments.
What can I invest in through Equity Trust?
Nearly everything the IRS allows: real estate, private notes and lending, private equity, crypto, precious metals, plus conventional stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds through its Universal IRA platform launched in 2024. That one-stop breadth is its main differentiator.
Why does Equity Trust have mixed reviews?
Scale. With 368,000 accounts, service friction shows up in volume: the common complaints are long phone hold times, slow rollovers and disbursements, and fee-schedule surprises. Its BBB customer score sits around 3.1 out of 5 even while the company rating is A+. Deals with deadlines need lead time with any large custodian.
Equity Trust vs Madison Trust: which is better?
Equity Trust charges by account value; Madison Trust charges flat fees per asset. Large accounts with one or two holdings are usually cheaper at Madison Trust, while investors who want traditional and alternative assets consolidated in one place, or who value a 50-year institutional track record, lean Equity Trust.
Does Equity Trust work with gold IRA dealers?
Yes, it is one of the most common custodians used by major gold dealers, including Goldco. The dealer sells you the metals; Equity Trust holds the IRA and coordinates with the depository that stores them.
My verdict
Equity Trust is the establishment pick in self-directed IRAs: unmatched history, the broadest asset menu, and real institutional depth, priced at a premium that grows with your account and delivered with big-company service friction. For complex, multi-asset portfolios it is hard to beat. For simple accounts, do the fee math against a flat-fee rival before signing; five minutes with both schedules usually settles it.
