If you’re like me, you were getting fed up with logging in to your IRA or 401(k) online portal to find that you’ve actually had a -1% loss over the last month. Or worse, not even having the heart to log in and check balances after reading headlines such as these in the morning:
- The Dow is tumbling again as earnings fears spark selling (CNN Business)
- Dow drops sharply as two industrial giants warn of trouble (Washington Post)
- Dow Jones Plunges, And Why Today’s Stock Rout Is Scarier (Investor’s Business Day)
And no, these headlines aren’t from 2008, they’re from this morning, October 23, 2018.
So after doing a bit of research, I decided to pull some (about of half) of my money out of my IRA (which I rolled over from a previous employer 401(k)) and put it into a Self-Directed IRA with Checkbook Control. Now that I’m Self-Directing my retirement, it makes me chuckle when I see articles from Fidelity or Schwab about “diversifying.” Diversifying is in quotes, because if you’re only diversifying between a few funds and bonds on a traditional retirement platform, you aren’t truly diversifying.
Many of Broad’s clients have had the same mindset as me, with most investing their retirement funds in real estate in an attempt to make them “recession proof.” Now obviously, every investment is a risk. But I feel more secure knowing my funds don’t rise and fall with the financial tide.
Speaking of 2008, Broad Financial was actually created out of the 2008 housing crisis. Its owners lost about 40% of the value of their retirement portfolios. They asked themselves why they were so invested in Wall Street. They knew real estate. Was there a way to use their retirement money in real estate? That’s when they discovered Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401(k)s for themselves. Then they told family and friends about them. Then strangers. Before they knew it, they had a new business.
And that business has helped beef up quite a few retirement balances over the years, like Jason’s, a client since 2012:
“Just wanted to send a note to tell you how much we have profited by our Self-Directed Solo 401(k). We began with only $187K, and easily doubled our money in less than three years. It’s been a lot of hard work, but because we bought rental property we now have a steady monthly income into our 401(k) of over $3,000, much of which is tax-free since we rolled most of our funds into a Roth before we bought property. This isn’t for everybody, but it was definitely for us. We love what we’re doing, and we thank you for helping us get there.”
We can help you get there too.