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- Phone : 1-(800) 721-4900
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Madison Trust Company has been managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets since 2014. Find out if its the right IRA provider for you.
Pros:
- Solid customer reviews
- Strong management team
- Variety of alternative investing options
Cons:
- Starting fees are higher than most
- Doesn’t offer cryptocurrency
Madison Trust Company is one of the top IRA providers in America. We say that not just because it’s been around for a long time and because it offers a wide array of investment opportunities, but most importantly because the company has managed to accrue raver views from customers on many different review sites and platforms including the Better Business Bureau.
Very few other IRA providers that we have reviewed here at Sophisticated Investor. The Company may indeed be located in a small state and perhaps it doesn’t carry the same brand recognition as discount investment brokerages, but Madison Trust Company truly is one of the best options out there for retirement planning.
Like many other self-directed IRA providers, including Checkbook IRA, clients can invest in real estate and a slew of other opportunities to help grow their wealth over the long term.
Let’s explore a full review of Madison Trust Company and learn more about why it ranks among the best IRA providers in the country, alongside competitors like Horizon Trust Company.
Table of Contents
The Founders and Management Team of Madison Trust Company
Brian Finkelstein has over 25 years of experience working in global capital markets and serves as Chairman and Shareholder of Madison Trust Company.
Brian Finkelstein, Founder, Madison Trust Company
Brian Finkelstein, Founder, Madison Trust Company
He served as CEO of a company called Helix Financial systems prior to joining Madison Trust Company. Finkelstein sold products and services to major banks while there. He’s also chairman of Broad Financial and worked at UBS before too. He oversees Madison’s sales and financial infrastructure.
Finkelstein is accompanied by CEO, President, Board Member and fellow shareholder Daniel Gleich. Gleich has an entrepreneurial flare about him. He’s been launching and growing businesses for over 25 years. He’s previously served at a real estate investing company. He’s also a co-founder of Hudson Development. Gleich has helped transform Madison Trust Company into one of the highest rated self-directed IRA companies in the world and recently helped build a 400,000 square foot commercial property.
Daniel Gleich, CEO and President, Madison Trust Company
Daniel Gleich, CEO and President, Madison Trust Company
Mervyn Klein rounds out the three board members that own shares in the company. He has an extensive background in industrial real estate and is the principal owner of Hudson Development. Klein’s Hallmark project with the company includes working on a large scale production facility for Anheuser-Busch, one of the world’s largest beer brewers.
Rounding out the five member executive team of Madison Trust Company are Jim Riswold and David Timpe. They’re both board members of the company but not shareholders. Riswold has held the role of Vice President in banking before and has held the role of Chief Operating Officer of other trust companies. Timpe is retired from his career as a Certified Professional Accountant but holds board member positions at several companies due to his extensive experience.
Overall the executive team at Madison Trust Company is one of the biggest strengths of the organization. Very few self-directed IRA companies can rival what Madison Trust Company can offer.
Mervyn Klein, Board Member and Shareholder, Madison Trust Company
Madison Trust Company Investing Options
There are five main types of investing options at Madison Trust Company for clients to choose from:
- Real estate
- Private Placements
- Promissory Notes
- Cryptocurrencies
- IRA LLCs
The above options are pretty standard. Promissory notes can be both secured and unsecured investments. The unsecured variety might come with greater risk but obviously the possibility for great rewards is congruent with that.
Another interesting alternative investment would be cryptocurrencies. Many of the top self-directed IRA providers in the industry allow clients to buy into crypto, but some smaller providers or lesser-known ones don’t. Investing in digital assets comes with considerable risk, but again it’s possible to make a lot of money with that asset classes well.
LLCs allow investors to draw checks on their accounts using a company name and they can also use debit and credit cards to facilitate transactions within the account. Some IRA providers allow this and others do not. The IRS frowns upon it, but it’s not as uncommon as you may think.
Madison Trust Company Fees
Madison Trust Company is very upfront about its pricing model. The charge between $50 and $75 quarterly for account maintenance fees. While some self-directed custodians choose either a fixed or acid-based pricing model, Madison Trust Company actually offers both of them.
The Asset Based Pricing Model
Madison Trust Company’s asset-based pricing model means that an account with $25,000 in it might cost the client a fee of $330. An account valued at $250,000 cost $660 to maintain on the other hand.
The Flat Pricing Model
The flat rate fee at Madison Trust Company’s likely what’s best for most investors choosing the company as their provider. That’s because Madison Trust Company prides itself on offering some of the lowest flat fees in the industry. Clients choosing this fee means that an account valued at $25,000 pays the same fee is an account valued at $250,000.
Let’s break down the fee schedule in more detail below.
Madison Trust Company’s Fee Schedule
Madison Trust Company does offer the opportunity to set up a Limited Liability Corporation. This comes with an initial setup fee of $50 and another $50 fee to pick an investment for a total of $100.
In addition, Madison Trust Company charges a $30 cash disbursement fee for withdrawals and a $50 fee on the sale of assets. The most costly fees at Madison Trust Company involve a minimum $100 fee for precious metals storage. That fee goes up the more precious metal you’re storing. Closing an existing account will cause you to incur a $150 termination fee.
While Madison Trust Company does propose several different types of small fees for the above services and for things like shipping metals or delivering checks, all in all the cost of doing business with Madison Trust Company is very competitive and they really do offer some of the lowest fees and rates in the self-directed IRA industry as their website states.
Take a look at a summary of the most notable fees Madison Trust Company charges in the table below:
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
|---|---|
| One-time setup fee | $50 |
| Quarterly Custodial Fee | $75 |
| Additional Asset Custodial Fee | $25 per quarter |
| IRA LLC Setup Fee | $100 |
| Investment Fee | $50 |
| Cash Disbursement Fee | $30 |
| ACH Disbursement Fee | $10 |
| Re-registration Fee | $50 |
| Sale of Asset Fee | $50 |
| Precious Metals Storage Fee | $100 minimum |
| Account Termination Fee | $150 |
Customer Support at Madison Trust Company
Madison Trust Company can be reached at 1-800-721-4900 and via email through a Contact Us form. Unfortunately, there is no option to contact a live customer support representative to get help right away. But as an alternative Madison Trust Company does offer the opportunity to book an appointment with a customer service representative in advance so that there is no waiting to get a hold of someone.
Madison Trust Company Customer Reviews
Of all the self-directed IRA companies and custodians we have reviewed here at Sophisticated Investor, no company has more positive reviews on its Google business profile than Madison Trust Company. The company boasts a very impressive 4.9 at a five star rating with no fewer than 98 customers leaving a review and a slew of positive comments to go with those reviews.
What’s even more impressive is that Madison Trust Company has 48 reviews on the Better Business Bureau website and all of those reviews are five star ratings. The company has been registered on the website since 2014 and hasn’t incurred a single negative review or customer complaint that needed to be addressed. Considering that almost every other IRA provider we have reviewed list at least some concerns on a few review websites, Madison Trust Company really is ahead of most competitors.
Frequently Asked Questions About Madison Trust Company
Let’s take a look at some of the questions you might have about Madison Trust Company answered below.
What is Madison Trust Company?
Madison Trust Company is one of the top self-directed IRA custodians in America. They offer retirement planners the opportunity to invest in alternative assets that most big discount brokerages would not. The company is led by a team of five senior executives with wide varieties of experience in real estate and other facets of finance.
Can I set up an LLC with Madison Trust Company?
Yes. While some IRA companies and the IRS frown upon investors setting up company names as a way to invest in their retirement, it is indeed possible to do that with Madison Trust Company. Regular registration fees and account maintenance fees apply. In general, using an LLC is right for investors who want regular access to the IRA and the ability to make changes to it as if the account itself is a checkbook.
How can I convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA with Madison Trust Company?
There are two ways to convert an account from a Traditional to a Roth IRA. One is to initiate a rollover. A rollover moves assets from one account to the other within a 60 day period guaranteeing that the investor won’t pay income tax because the rollover doesn’t count as a withdrawal. The downside of this is that the investor does not get the chance to touch or manipulate the assets when making the move.
Investors interested in doing that must initiate a transfer from one account to the other. This gives the investor the chance to hold onto cash and other assets and reallocate their investing options before moving to the new account.
Should You Choose Madison Trust Company for your Self-Directed IRA?
Without question, Madison Trust Company is one of the best self-directed IRA companies and investor can choose for their long term or time and planning. Their track record for customer service is impeccable. There are investing options are comparable to any other competitor, and their executive team is experienced in many different facets of alternative investing.
Five star reviews across many different websites and a commitment to serving people with the best possible outcomes in mind is what makes Madison Trust Company one of the better retirement investing custodians we’ve ever reviewed. For a closer look at the other top companies in the self-directed IRA space, check out our list of the Top IRA Providers today.
- Phone : 1-(800) 721-4900
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 0 No reviews yet!
Madison Trust Company has been managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets since 2014. Find out if its the right IRA provider for you.
