Alto: Platform Profile

Overview

Alto is now best understood as a technology-first self-directed IRA platform focused on private-market investing rather than as a general-purpose crypto IRA provider.

That distinction became important in 2026.

Alto sold its CryptoIRA business to Public in late 2025, and the customer migration to Public occurred in April 2026. The current Alto platform continues to support self-directed retirement investing in private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate and other eligible private investments, while the migrated CryptoIRA experience is serviced through Public.

The legal structure has several layers:

• Alto Solutions, Inc. operates and administers the Alto platform;
• Alto Trust Co. is the passive, non-discretionary IRA custodian;
• Alto Securities, LLC operates Alto Marketplace securities activity;
• product issuers and outside integrated partners remain separate from Alto itself.

Current standard Alto IRA pricing uses a quarterly account fee based on Total Invested Capital, not current market value.

• Quarterly account fee:
• Zero invested capital: $0
• 0 01 to 29 999 99: $37.50
• 30 000 plus: $100

That means the ordinary annualized platform-account cost can be $150 or $400 at those tiers if invested capital remains in the same band for four quarters, before transaction or issuer-specific fees.

May fit better for

• investors who want to hold private-market investments inside an IRA;
• investors who source private deals independently;
• accredited investors who want access to Alto Marketplace;
• investors seeking Traditional, Roth or SEP self-directed IRAs;
• users who value online transaction administration instead of paper-heavy SDIRA workflows;
• investors comfortable evaluating private securities without relying on the custodian for investment advice.

May fit less well for

• investors looking primarily for the former Alto CryptoIRA trading experience;
• investors who want a conventional low-cost stock-and-ETF brokerage IRA;
• investors who assume Alto evaluates every outside private deal for investment quality;
• users who need daily liquidity from private investments;
• investors who want one universal minimum or one universal all-in fee across every private offering;
• investors unwilling to manage prohibited-transaction and private-asset due-diligence risk.

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Alto Trust and Alto Solutions have different roles

The current custodial agreement identifies:

• Custodian: Alto Trust Co.
• Administrator: Alto Solutions, Inc. d/b/a AltoIRA
• Custodian discretion: passive / non-discretionary

Alto Trust is a New Mexico state-chartered non-depository trust company regulated by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department's Financial Institutions Division.

Alto Solutions provides the platform and performs delegated administrative functions.

The brand is unified for the user, but the legal roles are not.

The custodian executes directed activity and performs custody, recordkeeping and tax-reporting functions. The account holder remains responsible for the investment decision.

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Alto supports Traditional, Roth and SEP self-directed IRAs

Current Alto materials state:

• Traditional IRA: Yes
• Roth IRA: Yes
• SEP IRA: Yes
• SIMPLE IRA: No
• Solo 401K: No

The platform's current retirement-account positioning is narrower and clearer: Traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs for private-market and alternative investing.

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The account fee is based on invested capital, not current NAV

This is one of Alto's most important fee distinctions.

Current pricing defines Total Invested Capital using investment cost rather than unrealized market value.

The fee tiers are:

• Quarterly fee:
• No invested capital: $0
• Invested capital below 30k: $37.50
• Invested capital 30k or more: $100

For transferred private securities, Alto's current pricing methodology values each transferred security at $1 for this fee calculation.

For a Checkbook/LLC, the calculation uses the amount of cash transferred to the Checkbook/LLC.

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Transaction fees depend on how the investment reaches Alto

Current service pricing separates three investment paths:

• Investment processing:
• Alto Marketplace: $0
• Integrated Partner: $10
• Private bring your own deal: $75

Other current service references include:

• Outgoing wire: $25
• Outgoing check: $50
• Roth conversion: $50
• Account closure: $50
• Outgoing private security transfer: $100
• Expedited service: $75
• Special handling: $150

These fees are not the same thing as issuer-level management fees, carried interest, placement economics or fund expenses.

A private fund held through Alto can therefore have:

1. Alto account fees;
2. Alto transaction/service fees where applicable;
3. issuer or fund-level fees;
4. underlying investment expenses.

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Alto Marketplace and a standard Alto IRA are not the same product

A standard Alto IRA is the retirement-account and custody infrastructure.

Alto Marketplace is the investment-discovery channel provided by Alto Securities, LLC.

Current Alto FAQ materials state:

• Alto Marketplace provider: Alto Securities, LLC
• Marketplace currently accredited only: Yes
• Standard Alto IRA non accredited accounts possible: Yes

That means an investor does not need to be accredited merely to open an Alto IRA.

Eligibility applies at the offering level.

Current Marketplace offerings can have five-figure or six-figure minimums. A current Alto private-credit offering, for example, lists a $10,000 minimum. Other offerings list substantially more.

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Alto Securities is a broker-dealer; Alto itself should not be flattened into one regulated entity

Current Alto materials identify Alto Securities as a registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member.

The Alto platform terms separately state that Alto Solutions itself is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser or investment manager.

SIPC membership associated with the broker-dealer does not insure private investments against market loss, issuer failure or illiquidity.

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The old Alto CryptoIRA workflow is no longer current

Alto announced the sale of the CryptoIRA business to Public in November 2025.

Public's current 2026 migration documentation states that former Alto CryptoIRA accounts migrated to Public during April 24-27, 2026 and that servicing moved to Public after migration.

Alto Trust remains involved as custodian in Public's current Crypto IRA structure.

That is not the same as saying the old Alto/Coinbase interface remains the current Alto product.

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Private-market custody does not equal investment due diligence

Alto's current offering stack includes Marketplace deals reviewed by Alto Securities, Integrated Partners and bring-your-own private investments.

The diligence relationship differs among those paths.

A custodian's acceptance of an asset means it can be held and administered under the custodian's process. It does not establish that the investment is economically sound.

Private assets can carry:

• valuation uncertainty;
• concentration risk;
• capital-call risk;
• default risk;
• sponsor risk;
• transfer restrictions;
• long holding periods;
• tax complexity;
• prohibited-transaction risk.

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Cash protection is different from private-asset protection

Alto currently states that cash held in Alto IRA accounts is held through Needham Bank and receives FDIC insurance up to applicable limits.

Store conservatively:

• FDIC cash: Yes
• FDIC private investments: No
• SIPC private market loss protection: No

FDIC insurance applies to qualifying cash deposits at the bank, not to private-equity, private-credit, venture or real-estate securities held in the IRA.

Assessment

Alto's strongest current use case is operational rather than advisory: it makes it easier to hold private investments inside an IRA.

Its fee structure is also more nuanced than a simple annual account charge. The quarterly fee is based on invested cost, while transaction fees differ depending on whether the investor uses Alto Marketplace, an integrated partner or an independently sourced deal.

The biggest stale-review risk is crypto. A review that still describes Alto as the current home of the old Alto CryptoIRA/Coinbase product is materially outdated after the April 2026 migration to Public.

The second major distinction is regulatory. Alto Trust, Alto Solutions and Alto Securities perform different functions. Those roles should remain separate throughout the published review.