Rollover Process with Equity Trust for Precious Metals IRA
Equity Trust Company is the largest self-directed IRA custodian in the United States by assets under custody, holding over $45 billion for more than 250,000 accounts. It supports the broadest range of alternative assets of any major custodian — real estate, precious metals, cryptocurrency, private equity, private lending, and more. Direct rollover processing typically takes 7–10 business days.
1Expert Analysis: Equity Trust
A deep dive into platform competence. Equity Trust is the oldest and largest self-directed IRA custodian in the United States — founded in 1974, predating most other SDIRA custodians by decades. Its scale (250,000+ accounts, $45+ billion AUC) provides institutional credibility that newer custodians lack. For a retiree making a first-time SDIRA rollover, the combination of established history and dedicated educational resources (Equity University) reduces the learning curve meaningfully compared to smaller custodians.
When opening a Precious Metals IRA, selecting your custodian determines your overhead cost and execution speed.Equity Trust's fee structure is the most important factor in evaluating it versus competitors. Its asset-based annual fee means a $400,000 SDIRA pays approximately $600–$700/year in custodian fees — meaningfully more than Directed IRA's flat $295/year. For large single-asset accounts (one rental property, one Gold IRA position), the flat-fee custodians are almost always cheaper. Equity Trust's fee advantage emerges in multi-asset accounts where the per-transaction fees across real estate, metals, and private lending are bundled into one custodian relationship.
- First-time SDIRA investors who want education resources and a broad asset platform
- Real estate SDIRA investors who want an established custodian with strong real estate transaction experience
- Precious metals IRA investors — strong depository relationships and metals-specific service team
- Multi-asset SDIRA investors who want one custodian for both real estate and metals
- Investors who prioritize custodian longevity and institutional scale over lowest fees
2Equity Trust Fee Schedule
Fees compound over the life of your Precious Metals IRA. Always evaluate the total cost basis.
Setup Fee
$0 online account opening
Charged one-time upon account initiation.
Annual Fee
$225/year
Equity Trust uses asset-value-based annual fees rather than a flat fee. Fees increase with account value. Verify current schedule at trustetc.com before opening.
Incoming Rollovers
$0 — no fee for incoming direct rollovers
Direct rollovers are typically free to originate on the receiving side.
3Precious Metals IRA Considerations
How Equity Trust specifically handles the Precious Metals IRA asset class and structure.
Supports all four IRS-approved metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium). Separate storage tracking by metal type. Metal purchase process: Investment Direction Letter → Equity Trust contacts dealer → dealer ships to depository.
Tax Destination Character: Traditional: tax-deferred growth. Roth: tax-free growth and distributions. All physical precious metals held in an IRA — regardless of metal type — are taxed as ordinary income when distributed (not at capital gains rates). This is a meaningful tax disadvantage relative to holding physical metals outside an IRA, where long-term capital gains rates of 28% (collectibles rate) apply.
4Rollover & Account Opening Process
Moving funds via direct rollover into your new Precious Metals IRA.
- Complete online application at trustetc.com — 15–20 minutes. Requires: SSN, government-issued ID, banking information for initial contribution if needed.
- Select account type (Traditional SDIRA, Roth SDIRA, etc.) and receive account number — typically same day to 1 business day.
- Initiate rollover: provide Equity Trust's FBO information to the distributing plan. Direct rollover check should be made payable to: 'Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO [Your Name] IRA Account #[Account Number]'.
- Equity Trust posts the incoming rollover contribution within 1–3 business days of receiving the check or wire.
- Submit an Investment Direction Letter to instruct Equity Trust to purchase the target alternative asset (real estate, metals, etc.).
- Equity Trust reviews and executes the investment direction — timeline varies by asset class.
5Common Equity Trust Pitfalls
Mistakes specific to the Equity Trust platform.
Submitting an incomplete Investment Direction Letter and causing a processing delay
Equity Trust's Investment Direction Letter (IDL) requires specific fields depending on the asset class — real estate IDLs require property address, purchase price, title company information, and vesting instructions. An incomplete IDL is returned to the account holder for correction, adding 3–5 business days to the transaction timeline. Download Equity Trust's asset-specific IDL templates from myEquity before initiating any transaction to ensure all required fields are complete.
Using the wrong FBO payee format on the incoming rollover check
Equity Trust requires the rollover check payee to include the full account number: 'Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO [Full Legal Name] IRA — Account #[Number].' Checks without the account number are placed in a processing queue for manual matching, adding 2–5 business days. Always obtain the exact FBO format from your myEquity account dashboard before providing it to the sending plan.
Confusing Equity Trust's annual fee tiers and underestimating the total cost for large accounts
Equity Trust's annual fee scales with account value — a common oversight when comparing quotes. An investor with a $500,000 SDIRA pays approximately $600–$750/year in Equity Trust annual fees, versus $295/year at Directed IRA (flat fee) or $0/year at standard IRA custodians holding only ETFs. For large accounts, the fee differential over 10 years is $3,000–$4,500. Evaluate the fee structure explicitly before opening rather than discovering it post-rollover.
6Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a direct rollover to Equity Trust take?
The account opening takes same day to 1 business day to receive your account number. Once you provide Equity Trust's FBO information to the sending plan and the check or wire arrives at Equity Trust, funds are posted within 1–3 business days. Total time from account opening to investable funds: typically 7–14 business days depending on the sending plan's processing time.
Does Equity Trust charge a fee for incoming rollovers?
No — Equity Trust does not charge a fee to receive an incoming rollover. The annual account fee and transaction fees apply once the account is funded and investments are directed, but the rollover itself is received at no charge.
Can Equity Trust hold both real estate and gold in the same SDIRA?
Yes — a single Equity Trust SDIRA can hold real estate, gold, silver, private notes, private equity, and standard securities simultaneously. Equity Trust maintains separate tracking and reporting for each asset class within the same account. This multi-asset capability is one of Equity Trust's primary advantages over single-asset-class custodians.