Rocket Dollar: Platform Profile

Rocket Dollar is a self-directed retirement-account platform built around alternative-asset access and, at higher tiers, checkbook control.

Its structures include:

• direct-custody self-directed IRA
• checkbook IRA trust
• checkbook IRA LLC
• Solo 401(k)

Rocket Dollar is not an investment manager.

Its principal value is account infrastructure.

Investors choose their own alternative investments.

That flexibility becomes most significant when using checkbook control, where transactions can be executed without seeking custodian approval each time.

The same feature also increases compliance responsibility.

Current custodian

Rocket Dollar partners with Digital Trust.

Digital Trust handles custodial administration for applicable IRA structures.

Rocket Dollar remains the customer-facing account servicer/platform.

Rocket Dollar itself is not a bank, broker-dealer, investment adviser or investment manager.

Current pricing

Silver

• Setup fee: $360
• Monthly fee: $30
• Annual recurring subscription: $360

Includes:

• self-directed IRA
• direct-custody structure
• transactions through custodian
• no checkbook control

Gold

• Setup fee: $600
• Monthly fee: $40
• Annual recurring subscription: $480

Includes:

• self-directed IRA
• checkbook IRA with trust
• direct transaction control through retirement-owned banking structure

Platinum

• Setup fee: $900
• Monthly fee: $50
• Annual recurring subscription: $600

Includes:

• self-directed IRA
• checkbook IRA trust
• checkbook IRA LLC
• Solo 401(k)

First-year cost

Silver

$360 + ($30 × 12) = $720

Gold

$600 + ($40 × 12) = $1,080

Platinum

$900 + ($50 × 12) = $1,500

These exclude:

• Digital Trust fees
• investment fees
• state/entity fees
• legal/accounting expenses
• applicable wires
• tax costs

Recurring effective-cost analysis

At $25,000:

At $100,000:

Rocket Dollar does not charge an AUM fee.

That does not mean the fixed subscription is economically negligible.

The effect depends heavily on account size.

Additional custodial costs

Digital Trust can charge separate:

• transaction fees
• asset fees
• other custodial charges

The subscription is therefore not an all-in flat fee, and $30/month is not the complete cost of using the account.

Direct-custody IRA

Silver provides a conventional self-directed custodial structure.

Transactions generally flow through the custodian.

Potential benefit:

• simpler administration

Potential limitation:

• less direct transactional control

It can make sense for an investor making occasional private investments.

Checkbook IRA trust

Gold adds a retirement-owned trust with direct banking/checkbook capability.

Potential applications include:

• rental real estate
• private notes
• private placements
• tax liens
• precious metals
• certain crypto holdings
• foreign investments

The investor does not need custodian approval for every transaction.

That makes execution faster.

It also makes prohibited-transaction discipline more important.

IRA LLC

Platinum adds checkbook control through an IRA-owned LLC.

Potential benefits:

• operational flexibility
• direct transaction execution

Potential burdens:

• entity formation
• state filings
• bookkeeping
• banking
• valuation
• tax compliance
• prohibited-transaction risk

An LLC does not transform an impermissible IRA transaction into a permissible one.

Solo 401(k)

Platinum also supports Solo 401(k) structures.

Current plan features can include:

• self-directed alternatives
• checkbook control
• Traditional and Roth components
• applicable plan-loan capability
• higher statutory contribution limits than IRAs in appropriate circumstances

Eligibility depends on self-employment/business and employee rules.

Alternative assets

Rocket Dollar structures can support categories including:

• real estate
• private equity
• startups
• private stock
• limited partnerships
• private placements
• private notes
• crowdfunding
• farmland
• precious metals
• tax liens
• cryptocurrency
• certain foreign investments

That does not mean every investment is permitted by IRS rules.

Real estate

Self-directed retirement-account real estate creates compliance issues absent from ordinary taxable property ownership.

Potential problems include:

• personal use
• use by disqualified persons
• paying expenses personally
• receiving income personally
• prohibited personal labor
• personal guarantees
• impermissible financing

Debt-financed IRA investments can create UDFI.

Operating-business income can create UBIT.

SDIRA real estate is not automatically tax-free.

Crypto

Gold/Platinum checkbook structures can support cryptocurrency.

Rocket Dollar is not the crypto exchange or underlying crypto custodian.

Relevant risks include:

• private-key custody
• exchange/counterparty risk
• valuation
• prohibited transactions
• operational security

Crypto itself is not FDIC insured.

Cash protection

Rocket Dollar is not a bank.

Eligible cash at applicable partner banks may receive FDIC protection subject to normal rules.

That protection does not extend to:

• real estate
• private stock
• private notes
• crypto
• funds
• precious metals
• investment performance

Prohibited transactions

This is one of the most important parts of the review.

Checkbook control gives the investor significant operational authority.

Potential prohibited dealings can involve:

• IRA owner
• spouse
• parents
• children
• other disqualified persons
• self-dealing
• personal use
• improper benefit
• prohibited loans
• personal guarantees

A prohibited transaction can threaten the tax-advantaged status of the account.

Greater control requires greater compliance discipline.

Assessment

Rocket Dollar makes the most sense when an investor actually needs a specialized retirement-account structure.

Its strongest use cases include:

• private investments
• real estate
• checkbook control
• IRA LLC
• Solo 401(k)

Its economics are harder to justify for a small retirement account that could hold its desired investments at a conventional low-cost custodian.

At $25,000, recurring subscription costs alone range from 1.44% to 2.40% depending on plan.

At $100,000, the same dollar fees represent 0.36% to 0.60%.

The question is not simply whether Rocket Dollar is "cheap."

It is whether the additional account control is worth the fixed cost and added compliance responsibility.