Entrust New Direction Blog

It is with great joy that I am able to report that over $2 Million in commissions have been paid to real estate professionals through IRA investments administered by our office.  Real estate professionals who know about self-directed retirement plans have been brokering deals involving IRAs purchasing or selling real estate for their clients for years.

Entrust New Direction has overseen over 900 real estate transactions for clients. With each deal paying an average of 4% to the buying agent and 3% to the selling agent, that adds up fast.

As a self-directed plan administrator, we are not allowed to give investment advice, make recommendations, or sell any products. Being a marketing person, our limitations put me in an awkward spot at times. Potential clients call, are excited, and want to know how to find that first piece of real estate for their IRA. I can’t help them with that. That’s why we spend so much time building relationships with professionals who can.

The key for professionals is just letting clients know that they can make these investments and then following up with listings of available investment properties. Knowing how to analyze the investments for the client’s retirement plan is key. This education can be a cornerstone to building sales and catering to investor clients.

Many professionals are just starting to realize what this growing market of investors could mean for their business. We continue to try to reach these professionals through continuing education and other events in the metro area and teach them how to use the tool to build sales. Entrust offers education both online and in their on-site classroom and has several events planned for this fall. For a full list of upcoming events, visit our self-directed IRA events page.

Agents and brokers can take the MRE approved course online through Van Education at www.vaned.com. Entrust New Direction will also be the featured course author in Van Education’s booth at the Colorado Association of Realtors convention in Colorado Springs from 11am - 3pm at the Broadmoor on October 19^th in the 'Africa' zone in booth #551.

Two follow-up classes are planned after this event and qualify for 2 hours of Continuing Education credits. The Introduction to the Real Estate IRA offers an overview of how it all works and how professionals can incorporate self-directed investment tools into their business to help sell properties. It will be offered on October 28^th from 8:30am – 10:30am and again on November 12^th again from 8:30am – 10:30am. Both classes will be held in Entrust New Direction’s classroom, registration is available online through vaned.com.

Uncle Sam wants YOU to save more funds for retirement. Why?

First, the facts.  President Obama announced three ways for you and I to save more retirement funds.

The president wants to make it easier for small businesses to automatically enroll their employees.    Next, there is an option for tax refunds to be converted automatically to US savings bonds.  Third, if employees have sick or vacation time remaining when leaving a job, they can convert that time to retirement funds. 

These stipulations will be enacted without Congress intervention, through the Department of Labor.

At first glance, these may seem to be altrustic moves by the government.  Behavioral economics studies indicate that if one is automatically opted in to a retirement fund, they're unlikely to opt out (and vice versa).  Certainly it's better for people to have more retirement funds, right?  While savings bonds won't exactly turn your retirement dreams to gold, it's good to have more options that aren't the stock market.  And regarding the vacation/sick time, again, more retirement funds and more options are positive. Seems like maybe the government is helping us out?

Or maybe our federal government is just watching out for itself, acting more like Big Brother than a big brother.

Maybe the federalis realize that if we individual citizens don't have enough of our own money saved for our own retirements, we will rely on a social security system that, if status quo continues, will be dead soon. When the number of Social Security collectors goes up a record 19% in the 2009 fiscal year, as reported in USA Today, that indicates to me that:

A) Seniors are not finding supplemental income

and/or

B) Seniors want to take advantage of social security while it's still there

What will the government do with millions of hard-working Americans who rely on social security when there is no social security?

It's a classic conservative versus liberal argument.  Shall we help the people in rough fiscal circumstances or should they be required to take care of themselves?  Should those with sufficient funds be required to support those without sufficient funds?

President Obama also provided a quick sketch of some more possible changes which would require Congressional approval.  My personal favorite is automatically opening an IRA for employees at small companies without 401(k)s. Again, Big Brother stuff, and again helpful to the government.  But my perspective as a tax-payer and a person who is concentrating on retirement funds, this law would also help me as an individual.  Why?  Because if more citizens have their own retirement account, chances are less likely that I will have to pay for any one else's retirement with my taxes.

While the retirement funds are still your money, and while it's not difficult to opt-out, these are nanny state proposals.  One side of the political spectrum would say stay out of my paycheck, and the other would say we're helping you help yourself before it becomes an emergency.   But no matter which side you're on, it's clear that this administration wants you to save, not spend our way to success and happiness.  And it's clear that these will benefit the federal government itself, as much or more than individual Americans.

Painting by James Montgommery Flagg