Asset classes
Commonly held categories
Availability depends on your plan document, your custodian's policies and the specific asset. Nothing here is an endorsement of any category.
Real estate
Rental property, land and interests in property-holding entities. Titling, expenses and income all run through the account, and personal use is off limits.
Private lending
Notes secured or unsecured, made by the account to unrelated parties. Documentation, servicing and default risk are the account's responsibility.
Private companies and funds
Interests in operating businesses, syndications and private funds. Disqualified-person tests and offering-document restrictions both apply.
Precious metals
Only metals meeting the applicable fineness standards, held with an approved depository. Physical possession by the account holder is not permitted.
Market assets
Publicly traded stocks, bonds, ETFs and funds through a brokerage account in the plan's name - self-direction does not mean giving these up.
Selected digital assets
Where the custodian, exchange and platform involved will support retirement-account ownership and reporting. Support varies widely and is confirmed case by case.
Cautions
Six things that catch people out
Most problems in self-directed accounts come from these six areas rather than from a bad investment thesis.
Custody
Assets are titled to the plan or the account's entity, held at a bank, custodian, depository or brokerage. Never in your name, never at your house.
Valuation
Illiquid assets still need an annual value for reporting. Getting a defensible valuation for a private note or a fund interest is real work.
Liquidity
Private assets can be slow or impossible to exit. Required distributions and account expenses still arrive on schedule.
UBTI and UDFI
An active trade or business inside an account, or debt-financed property, can create taxable income for the account and a filing obligation.
Prohibited transactions
Dealings with disqualified persons, personal use and self-dealing carry severe consequences. Check before, not after.
Diligence
Self-direction shifts responsibility to you. Nobody vets a private deal on the account's behalf unless you hire them to.
All investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Alternative assets can be illiquid, hard to value and, in some cases, fraudulent. No outcome is guaranteed and nothing on this page is investment advice.
Scope
Our role, stated plainly
What we provide
- Explain in plain language what a self-directed plan or IRA LLC may hold
- Explain how custody, titling and expense flow have to work
- Point out where prohibited-transaction and UBTI/UDFI questions arise
- Ensure your plan documents actually permit the activity you intend
What we never do
- Recommend, endorse, select or offer any investment or sponsor
- Perform due diligence, or verify a promoter's claims for you
- Act as a broker-dealer, registered investment adviser or fiduciary
- Value assets, custody assets, or guarantee any return
Questions
Alternative-investment FAQs
Next step
Check what your account is actually permitted to do
Bring the asset type you have in mind to a consultation. We will tell you what the documents allow, what the custodian will need and where the compliance questions sit - then you take the investment decision to your own advisers.