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- Phone : 1-(949) 228-9394
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- Global Rating
- Very Good
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Sense Financial has been serving customers since 2010. Consider the company one of the few that specialize in setting up limited liability corporations for investors. Sense offers one of the best sales and support teams in the industry. Find out if it’s the right IRA company for you.
Pros:
- Specializes in LLCs
- Great follow up from sales staff
- Top notch customer reviews
Cons:
- Missing many other account options
- LLC fees are costly
Don’t let the small team of managers and client service people for you. Sense Financial is one of the top rated self-directed IRA companies we have reviewed here at Sophisticated Investor. We scoured the reviews on multiple websites and Sense Financial does well on all of them.
One of the big reasons for this is because the company stresses the advantages of investing through a limited liability corporation. A lot of people who look into self-directed investing are looking to use exactly this vehicle to try to shelter their money from taxes.
What’s also good about Sense Financial is the fact that the management team has personal experience in using self-directed IRAs. They really want to make the difference that investors are looking for.
It’s with that being said that we encourage you to take a look at Sense Financial and see if it’s the right IRA provided for you. Don’t forget to comparison shop and take a look at some other providers as well.
The Management Team and Board of Directors of Sense Financial
Dimtriy Fomichenko is the founder of Sense Financial.
Dimtriy Fomichenko, Founder, Sense Financial
Dimtriy Fomichenko, Founder, Sense Financial
Fomichenko’s vision is to build a firm that specializes in offering people self-directed accounts and checkbook control over their investments. He says that his vision for the company was inspired by many conversations he had with friends who were real estate investors. He founded the company to help clients maximize their returns and has a 13-year-old daughter.
Minna Nah, Senior Account Manager, Sense Financial
Minna Nah, Senior Account Manager, Sense Financial
Fomichenko is supported by Minna Nah, Senior Account Manager. Nah directs the processing of retirement accounts that Sense Financial creates for clients. She also coordinates communications and education related efforts surrounding IRA accounts and 401(k)s so that customers can start their journey on the right track and those still looking into self-directed accounts can stay on their growing edge and be informed. She values excellence and integrity.
Edward Synicky, Senior Advisor, Sense Financial
Edward Synicky, Senior Advisor, Sense Financial
Edward Synicky is the company’s Senior Advisor. Synicky has more than 30 years of experience working in finance. He specializes in helping clients get the most return they can for their real estate investments and their interests in non-traditional assets using checkbook control accounts. He actively looks for opportunities outside of the stock market and investment options that may be tax-free.
The rest of Sense Financial’s team is rounded out by three other employees who manage communications and day-to-day interactions with customers. Overall Sense Financial has one of the smaller teams of all the companies we have reviewed.
Investing Account Options at Sense Financial
All it takes to understand Sense Financial’s focus when it comes to investing account options is to read the above section about the management team. You’ll notice that the founder of the company loves checkbook control IRA accounts.
This is a controversial area of IRA investing. That’s because the IRS frowns upon the idea of investors using their retirement accounts to earn profit as if they are running a business. Governments in general usually frown upon that because they don’t want business profits to be tax deferred.
That said, most of the IRA providers we are reviewing here at Sophisticated Investor offer checkbook control anyway. Checkbook control means having the ability to write checks against an account or withdraw from an account regularly under a business name through a limited liability corporation. This means gaining greater flexibility without having to deal with tax -related consequences nearly as much.
Take it for what it is, it’s possible but frowned upon by government agencies.
The other option as far as account types go is to open a 401(k) plan. 401(k) plans allow businesses to match up to 3% of their employees contributions for retirement. Most people will deal with these accounts because 401(k) plans come with significant administrative costs and are intended for companies with more than 100 employees.
Investment Options at Sense Financial
Sense Financial offers the chance to put money into six different types of investments including:
- Precious metals
- Real estate
- Private business
- Stocks and other securities
- Private lending opportunities
- Tax Liens and Deeds
The above investments are available with almost any other IRA provider. Some providers offer the opportunity to invest in things like digital currencies. One even allows you to work with airBNBs, but those types of investments aren’t as common as the above.
Yes it is possible to make money both investing and lending money to other people/entities. That’s what private lending and liens are all about.
Most IRA providers that promote being self-directed don’t really talk much about stocks and mutual funds, but they will offer it to you if you want included in your account.
The Fee Schedule at Sense Financial
Sense Financial’s fee schedule doesn’t break down that much but it does mention an establishment fee of $2,000 and an annual fee of $150. The $2,000 establishment fee is for registering a corporation and setting up the account.
For a 401(k) plan the annual fee is $200 and the establishment fee is $1,000. While these rates are cheaper the long-term administrative costs of a 401(k) plan usually put this kind of account out of reach for the individual investor.
Sense Financial does not offer any public information regarding fees beyond what’s listed above. For more information, see below for customer support details.
Customer Support at Sense Financial
We had to email Sense Financial just to get a basic outline of the company’s fees. It was actually a really positive experience and answered very quickly. Bonus points for that. As far as contacting the company goes, the email is simply contact@sensefinancial.com. The phone number is (949) 228-9394. The office is open from 8 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time.
Sense Financial Customer Reviews
Sense Financial has a total of nine customer reviews on its better business profile and those nine customers give the company a five star rating. That’s a good start as far as customer reviews are concerned. The company has been in business for 10 years now and has zero complaints on their BBB profile. That’s a very good sign.
Even more impressive though is that the company has no less than 110 reviews on the review site birdeye.com with an impressive 4.9 out of five rating. That’s an incredible rating for that number of reviews. Definitely something worth noting. It’s clear that Sense Financial targets customers who really want checkbook control of their IRA and that those customers love Sense Financial.
The company even does well on Yelp, which is a historically difficult website to rank on. 20 reviews give the Sense Financial a five out of five star rating.
Sense Financial Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most pressing questions people have about Sense Financial.
Where is Sense Financial Headquarters?
Sense Financial is located in Chino Hills, California at 4195 Chino Hills Parkway Suite 626.
Can I Set Up an LLC With Sense Financial?
As we’ve clearly established in the review above, Sense Financial specializes in this. The advantage of a limited liability corporation housing an IRA account is that you can invest and withdraw from the account with limited tax consequences. The IRS doesn’t like this but many other self-directed IRA providers, like Checkbook IRA offer this service.
How Can I Cash A Check from Sense Financial?
Sense Financial allows you to cash checks just like you would from anywhere else. You can go to a bank, credit union or cash advance business to get your hands on your money. Most IRA companies charge a fee of between $25 and $50 to issue you a check. You will also likely pay a fee to sell the assets in your account in order to get the cash. It will usually cost you more than $100 to sell your assets and then also get a check on top of that.
What Kinds of Investments are Not Allowed in an IRA?
Investing in collectibles like art or coins is not allowed in an IRA. Neither is creating an S Corporation or investing in a life insurance policy. The basic reason behind the solid is that governments don’t want investors to treat retirement accounts like an excuse to shelter money from business activities.
Should You Choose Sense Financial for your Self-Directed IRA?
Sense Financial doesn’t have the brand-name power that some other soft directed IRA companies have. We know of companies that are bigger, or perhaps do better marketing. But if we’re being honest, the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth and while we can’t hear the customers talking ourselves, the reviews they have left on various websites are top-notch. Just based on that we have to rank Sense Financial is one of the top IRA companies in America. It’s really cool that they take care of their customers, especially considering they have a small staff.
One of the few downsides we can pinpoint about Sense Financial is that they don’t really have a section on their website for explicitly listing their fees. That said we at least know that they charge everything on an annual basis, so anybody that doesn’t want money taken out of their account quarterly, which can slow down the compounding of interest, will benefit from going with Sense Financial over other providers.
Overall we still have to recommend Sense Financial is one of the top IRA providers to choose from when it comes to self-directed investing. But as always, please look at other options as well and find the best one for you.
- Phone : 1-(949) 228-9394
- URL :
- Global Rating
- Very Good
User Rating
- 0 No reviews yet!
Sense Financial has been serving customers since 2010. Consider the company one of the few that specialize in setting up limited liability corporations for investors. Sense offers one of the best sales and support teams in the industry. Find out if it’s the right IRA company for you.
