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Madison Trust is the custodian I hear the fewest complaints about, and in the self-directed IRA business that is saying something. After twenty years of reading custodian horror stories, the pattern I care about most is not marketing polish but whether a company’s phone support and fee schedule survive contact with real accounts. This 2026 update covers Madison Trust’s new fee schedule (it changed in January), its ratings, and exactly who the flat-fee model does and does not favor.
Quick company snapshot
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota (SD chartered trust company) |
| Assets under custody | $6.5+ billion |
| Clients | 20,000+ across all 50 states |
| Fee model | Flat: $556 per year for the first asset, not tied to account value |
| Setup / termination | $50 setup / $225 termination |
| BBB | Accredited since 2015; ★★★★★ ~4.8 / 5 customer reviews |
| Google reviews | ★★★★★ ~4.8 / 5 (1,000+ reviews) |
Want flat fees and support that answers the phone?
Check the current fee schedule against your account size; for single-asset accounts it is one of the best deals in the industry.
What Madison Trust actually does
Like every directed custodian, Madison Trust holds the alternative assets in your IRA, handles IRS reporting, and executes your instructions; it does not sell investments or give advice. The menu covers real estate, precious metals, promissory notes, private placements, startups, and crowdfunding. If you want checkbook control through an IRA LLC, or crypto, those run through its affiliated firm Broad Financial, a structure worth understanding because the LLC route trades convenience for responsibility, as the IRS’s IRA investment rules put the prohibited-transaction burden on you.
Pros and cons
👍 What I like
👍 Flat fees that do not grow with your account value
👍 Outstanding service scores: ~4.8 / 5 on Google and BBB, with only a few complaints in years
👍 Only ~$556 per year for a single-asset account of any size
👍 Clean record: no regulatory actions, steady growth from $4.8B to $6.5B+ in custody
👎 What I don’t
👎 Fees rose with the January 2026 schedule (the old $105 quarterly rate is gone)
👎 Per-asset and per-transaction charges stack up for active, multi-asset accounts
👎 Younger firm than the legacy custodians
👎 Crypto and checkbook LLCs require going through sister company Broad Financial
👎 $500 minimum cash balance sits idle in the account
The 2026 fee schedule
| Setup | $50 one-time |
| Custody, first asset | $139 per quarter (~$556 per year) |
| Each additional asset | $30 per quarter |
| Investment purchase | $75 ($150 for real estate) |
| Investment sale | $75 ($175 for real estate) |
| Wire / ACH | $30 / $10 |
| Metals storage | From $100 per year ($1 per $1,000) |
| Termination | $225 |
| Minimum cash balance | $500 |
Run your own numbers before choosing a custodian, because the flat-versus-tiered decision is worth real money. A $500,000 IRA holding one rental property pays about $556 a year here; the same account at an asset-tiered custodian like Equity Trust runs roughly $1,500. Reverse it for a $60,000 account holding five small notes with frequent transactions, and the per-asset charges here can erase the advantage.
What customers say
This is where Madison Trust shines: ★★★★★ ~4.8 / 5 across 1,000+ Google reviews, ★★★★★ ~4.8 to 4.9 / 5 with the BBB (accredited since 2015, roughly three complaints in three years), ★★★★★ 4.4 / 5 on Yelp, and 4.9 / 5 on Shopper Approved. Reviewers consistently name their account specialists and praise phone support, which is rare in this niche. The scattered negatives involve third-party deals that went bad inside accounts and occasional paperwork slips, plus grumbling about the 2026 fee increase.
Who Madison Trust fits
Larger accounts holding one or two assets, gold IRA investors who want a highly rated custodian behind their dealer (pair it with a dealer from our best gold investment companies guide, or a low-spread bullion shop like JM Bullion or American Bullion), and anyone who prioritizes reachable, well-reviewed support. Very active multi-asset traders, and investors who want a boutique alternative to compare, should also look at IRA Club before deciding.
Madison Trust review: frequently asked questions
Is Madison Trust a legitimate IRA custodian?
Yes. Madison Trust is a South Dakota chartered trust company founded in 2014, now holding more than $6.5 billion in custody for over 20,000 clients across all 50 states. It has been BBB accredited since 2015 and carries some of the strongest customer scores of any custodian: about 4.8 out of 5 on Google across 1,000+ reviews and 4.8 to 4.9 with the BBB, with only a handful of complaints on record.
What are Madison Trust’s fees in 2026?
A $50 one-time setup fee, then flat quarterly custody of $139 for your first asset (about $556 per year) plus $30 per quarter for each additional asset. Investment purchases cost $75 ($150 for real estate), sales $75 ($175 for real estate), wires $30, ACH $10, and account termination $225. A $500 minimum cash balance applies. Fees are flat, not based on your account value.
Why do flat fees matter?
Asset-tiered custodians charge more as your account grows: a $500,000 account can pay roughly $1,500 per year elsewhere versus about $556 at Madison Trust if it holds one asset. The math flips for accounts holding many small assets, where the per-asset and per-transaction charges stack up.
What can I hold in a Madison Trust IRA?
Real estate, precious metals (its Gold IRA program), promissory notes, private placements, startups, and crowdfunding deals. Checkbook-control IRA LLCs and crypto are handled through its sister company Broad Financial.
What are the downsides of Madison Trust?
It is younger than the legacy custodians (2014 versus the 1970s and 80s), fees rose with the 2026 schedule, per-transaction charges add friction for very active accounts, and as a passive custodian it will not vet the third-party deals you put in the account. The rare serious complaints in its record involve failed outside investments, not the custodian itself.
Madison Trust vs Equity Trust: which should I pick?
Larger accounts with few holdings usually pay far less at Madison Trust; investors wanting traditional and alternative assets consolidated on one platform, or maximum institutional history, lean Equity Trust. Price both against your actual account size and asset count.
My verdict
Madison Trust is my favorite kind of financial company: boring, transparent, and consistently well reviewed. The flat-fee model is a genuine bargain for large single-asset accounts, the service reputation is the best I have seen among custodians, and the complaint file is nearly empty. Price it honestly against the tiered incumbents for your specific account, and if the math is close, the support quality is the tiebreaker.
Amine Rahal is an entrepreneur and investor. He is passionate about alternative investments, Bitcoin, precious metals and startups. He enjoys covering US politics, retirement investing, alternative investing and geopolitics.
