The Entrust Group: Platform Profile

Overview

The Entrust Group is a self-directed retirement-account administrator/custodial-services platform focused on alternative assets.

Its client accounts can invest in areas such as:

• real estate;
• private equity;
• private lending;
• precious metals;
• cryptocurrency;
• crowdfunding;
• private funds.

Entrust's fee model differs sharply from flat-fee providers.

Annual recordkeeping cost depends on:

• number of alternative assets;
• asset value above $50,000.

The schedule includes a current annual cap.

That structure can be relatively inexpensive for a small one-asset account and much more expensive as values rise.

May fit better for

• investors holding one or a few alternative assets;
• real-estate SDIRA investors;
• investors who value long SDIRA operating experience;
• investors who want asset-specific transaction processing;
• investors whose account value remains below key fee thresholds.

May fit less well for

• investors who strongly prefer flat annual pricing;
• large accounts sensitive to percentage-based recordkeeping fees;
• high-frequency alternative-asset transactors;
• investors expecting investment recommendations;
• investors who want checkbook control rather than custodian processing.

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Custodian and administrator distinction

Current account documents identify:

• Administrator: Entrust Administration, Inc.
• Custodian: The Entrust Trust Company

Current account materials appoint The Entrust Trust Company as custodian and Entrust Administration as administrator under the applicable structure.

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Entrust does not recommend investments

Current disclosures state that Entrust does not endorse, recommend, or advise on investments.

• Investment adviser: No
• Investment recommendations: No
• Due diligence provider: No

Entrust's work includes:

• administration;
• recordkeeping;
• transaction processing;
• IRS reporting;
• account support.

The investor chooses the asset.

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Account types

Current account fee schedule applies to structures including:

• Traditional IRA: Yes
• Roth IRA: Yes
• Sep IRA: Yes
• Simple IRA: Yes
• HSA: Yes
• Coverdell esa: Yes

Entrust also services applicable individual 401(k) arrangements under separate documents.

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Current account-establishment fee

Current 2026 schedule:

• Account establishment fee: 50

This is charged per new self-directed account.

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Annual recordkeeping fees

Current 2026 fee schedule uses two dimensions:

1. number of assets;
2. value of non-cash assets.

Under $50,000 non-cash asset value

One asset

• Annual recordkeeping fee one asset under 50k: 219

Two or more assets

• Annual recordkeeping fee two plus assets under 50k: 329

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Accounts at $50,000 or more

Current schedule adds:

• Percentage fee above 50k: 0.17%

to the applicable $219 or $329 base.

The percentage is assessed only on asset value above $50,000, excluding cash.

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Fee example — one asset at $150,000

Base:

$219

Amount above $50,000:

$100,000

Percentage charge:

$100,000 × 0.17% = $170

Annual recordkeeping fee:

$219 + $170 = $389

before transaction/special-service fees.

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Fee example — two assets at $150,000

Base:

$329

Percentage component:

$170

Total:

$499/year

This matches Entrust's current published example.

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Fee cap

Current annual recordkeeping cap:

• Annual recordkeeping fee cap: 2299

The cap prevents the percentage formula from increasing indefinitely as account value grows.

It does not cap:

• purchase/sale fees;
• wire/check fees;
• expedited processing;
• termination;
• depository charges.

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Effective percentage at different account sizes

$20,000

$219 ÷ $20,000 = 1.095%

$50,000

$219 ÷ $50,000 = 0.438%

$150,000

$389 ÷ $150,000 ≈ 0.259%

$20,000

$329 ÷ $20,000 = 1.645%

$50,000

$329 ÷ $50,000 = 0.658%

$150,000

$499 ÷ $150,000 ≈ 0.333%

These percentages compare recordkeeping cost with asset value.

They are not investment expense ratios.

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Real-estate transaction fees

Current schedule:

• Real estate purchase sale exchange fee: 175
• Real estate note purchase sale exchange fee: 175
• Real estate with nonrecourse loan fee: 250

These are one-time asset-processing charges.

They are separate from annual recordkeeping cost.

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Other alternative-asset processing

Current schedule:

• Precious metals purchase sale fee: 0
• Selected crowdfunding purchase sale fee: 0
• Other alternative asset purchase sale or funding fee: 105

The current $0 crowdfunding processing provision is limited to specified platform relationships.

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Transaction fees

Current schedule includes:

• ACH incoming outgoing: 0
• Check fee: 10
• Wire incoming outgoing: 30
• Cashiers check: 30
• Overnight delivery: 40
• Asset reregistration fee: 100
• Rush processing fee: 150
• Account termination fee: 250

Additional special handling can be billed separately.

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Real estate process

Entrust supports direct IRA ownership of real estate.

Current process requires the account—not the individual—to be the purchaser.

Entrust signs documents on behalf of the retirement account.

Important operational rules include:

• earnest money must come from IRA funds;
• the IRA owner should not sign as purchaser personally;
• income flows into the IRA;
• property expenses flow from the IRA;
• disqualified-person rules apply.

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Real estate title

Current instructions use account-specific custodial titling.

The investor does not personally hold title when the IRA owns the property.

This is a crucial distinction because personal ownership or personal use can create prohibited-transaction issues.

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Private equity and private funds

Entrust can administer:

• LLC interests;
• LP interests;
• private-company stock;
• venture funds;
• private real-estate funds;
• private credit;
• other alternative securities.

Entrust does not establish the valuation or investment merit for the investor.

Private issuers remain responsible for their own offering documents.

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Precious metals

Entrust supports qualifying IRA precious metals.

The metal must be held under compliant custodial/depository arrangements rather than personally stored by the IRA owner.

Depository:

• storage fees;
• shipping;
• handling

can apply separately.

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Cryptocurrency

Entrust can administer cryptocurrency-related retirement structures.

The exact custody/trading provider and fees can differ by current partner/product.

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Cash protection

Current Entrust FAQ states that uninvested account cash is placed in government-insured institutions and can be insured up to the published program limit under applicable conditions.

• Uninvested cash insurance program: Yes
• Alternative asset FDIC: No

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Prohibited transactions

Entrust's administration does not remove the owner's responsibility under IRC rules.

Common problem areas include:

• buying property from a disqualified person;
• selling IRA property to a disqualified person;
• personally benefiting from IRA property;
• performing prohibited services;
• commingling funds;
• personal guarantees;
• personal payment of IRA expenses.

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Liquidity

A self-directed IRA can hold private assets that are hard to value and sell.

Examples include:

• real estate;
• private company stock;
• LP interests;
• promissory notes.

The custodian cannot manufacture liquidity.

The investor must plan for:

• required minimum distributions where applicable;
• taxes;
• annual fees;
• property expenses;
• future cash needs.

Assessment

Entrust's fee schedule makes it easy to see where the platform fits.

A one-asset account under $50,000 currently pays $219 annually for recordkeeping, while two or more assets cost $329.

Once non-cash value exceeds $50,000, the 0.17% marginal charge increases cost until the $2,299 annual cap.

That differs fundamentally from flat-fee custodians.

The model can work well for investors with smaller or simpler accounts.

Larger accounts should calculate the dollar fee rather than assume "0.17%" is trivial.

Entrust's strongest case is experience and hands-on alternative-asset administration.

Its biggest tradeoff is a fee schedule that rises with account complexity/value and separate transaction charges.