Alto IRA Review

Alto IRA is a self-directed retirement account that allows users to invest in a range of unique assets. But is it legit? Keep reading to find out.

Think IRAs are only for stocks, bonds, and ETFs?

With Alto IRA, your IRA can include assets like cryptocurrency, fine art, and real estate. All with the same tax advantages.

But is Alto IRA legitimate?

Find out in this review of Alto IRA, including which services they offer, pricing and fees, investable assets, and more. By the end, you'll know whether or not Alto IRA is right for you.

What is Alto IRA?

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Alto IRA is an IRA custodian that lets you invest in a range of assets not typically supported by traditional IRAs.

With their self-directed IRAs, you can invest in unregistered securities, which many brokers don't support. Alto IRA's assets include things like fine art, land, venture capital, startups, and more.

They even let you sponsor your own deal if they don't offer the specific asset you're interested in. For more on Alto's alternative IRAs, check out the product details below.

Alto IRA Products

Alto IRA offers its users two main products: the Alto IRA and Alto CryptoIRA. Note that these are two separate accounts with their own fees and requirements.

Let's take a look at how they work.

Alto IRA

The Alto IRA lets users invest in a range of traditional and novel assets that aren't available at most custodians. This includes things like real estate, land, fine art, venture capital, startups, private companies, and more.

With an Alto IRA account, you'll get access to their list of 75+ partners, each specializing in their own unique branch of the investing world.

Some examples of Alto partners include:

• FarmTogether, which lets you invest in farmland and agriculture
  
• Republic, which specializes in startups
  
• Masterworks, which lets you invest in fine art
  
• Grayscale, a crypto fund that will offer exposure to the cryptocurrency market without direct investment in cryptocurrencies themselves

Investment minimums vary by partner and can be as low as $100 or as much as $250,000+. If they don't currently offer the investment you're looking for, you may be able to sponsor your own deal if you sign up for their Pro account.

You can choose between traditional, SEP, and Roth IRA accounts. Traditional and SEP IRAs incur taxes only when you take distributions from your account upon retirement. Roth IRAs invest with post-tax income, and incur no taxes on gains made through investing.^[1]

Alto IRA accounts utilize a tiered pricing model, with charges applied quarterly. The tiered account fee is determined by the total amount of your invested capital.

Alto CryptoIRA

Looking to invest in crypto but want the tax benefits of an IRA? Alto's CryptoIRA may be just what you're looking for.

Alto IRA connects directly to the Coinbase platform, allowing users to invest in crypto with their retirement savings with ease.

There's a low $10 investment minimum and a growing list of over 200 cryptocurrencies to invest in, including popular choices like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Trading is available 24/7, and Alto offers a concierge service to help you figure it out if you're new to trading crypto.

Each transaction (buy or sell) through your Alto CryptoIRA only incurs a 1% trading fee, including the Coinbase fees. That's far less than you'll pay to trade on Coinbase itself.

There's only a single plan for the Alto CryptoIRA, and no account fees associated with it.

Fees to Look Out for

Plenty of brokers and custodians have complicated fee structures that take a great deal of effort to understand, but Alto IRA's pricing is pretty straightforward.^[2]

Alto IRA accounts are charged a quarterly Account Fee* based on Total Invested Capital.

For the Alto CryptoIRA you'll pay:

Service Fees
Service fees apply to both Alto IRAs and Alto CryptoIRA

How Do They Compare?

Now that you know a bit more about Alto IRA, you may be wondering how they stack up against the competition.

Alto IRA vs iTrustCapital
iTrustCapital is a popular self-directed IRA provider that specializes in cryptocurrency and precious metals such as gold and silver.

Their service has a lot in common with the Alto CryptoIRA account, including a 1% trading fee.

The two biggest differences between them are that Alto IRA offers significantly more variety of cryptocurrencies to trade, and that iTrustCapital has a $1,000 minimum,^[3] which may be too steep for some investors.

However, if you're only interested in trading among the most popular cryptocurrencies and don't mind the minimum requirements, there really isn't anything to recommend one over the other.

	AltoBitcoin IRABitIRA
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Alto	iTrustCapital
	SPECIAL OFFER Alto CryptoIRA® - Learn More	SPECIAL OFFER Open a Crypto IRA and Get $100 Bitcoin Reward - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Minimum Deposit	$10	$1,000
Monthly Fee	$0	$0
Cryptocurrencies Supported	200+	Basic Attention, Enjin, Cosmos, Tezos, Curve DAO, Aave, yearn.finance, Sushi, Compound, Uniswap, Stellar, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Polkadot, Chainlink, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Avalanche, Maker, Shiba Inu, Axie Infinity
Countries Supported	U.S. (with exception of Hawaii)	U.S.
Fiat Currencies Supported	USD	USD
Digital Wallet	Yes	Yes
Transaction Fee	1%	Cryptocurrency: 1% per trade Gold: $50 over spot (market price) Silver: $2.50 over spot
Setup Fee	$0	$0
Wire Transfer Fee	$25 outgoing	No
Cold Storage	Yes	Yes
Two-Factor Authentication	Yes	Yes
Withdrawal Limit	None. 10% penalty under 59 1/2 years old	None. 10% penalty under 59 1/2 years old
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Alto CryptoIRA® Alto IRA	Open a Crypto IRA and Get $100 Bitcoin Reward View Asset Selection iTrustCapital Knowledge Center
Alto: Pricing information from published website as of 02/08/2022. iTrustCapital: Pricing information from published website as of 02/08/2022.

Alto IRA vs Rocket Dollar
Rocket Dollar is another self-directed IRA provider with a lot of similarities to Alto IRA. There are some differences that set them apart, however. Rocket Dollar offers an individual 401(k) for self-employed people that Alto IRA doesn't.

Rocket Dollar and Alto IRA appear to offer a similar range of investment opportunities through their numerous partners. It's worth noting that these partners aren't vetted independently by either platform, however.

The more affordable platform will ultimately come down to your preferences. If you want only the basic services, you'll probably save with Alto IRA, while those interested in private investments might find Rocket Dollar cheaper.

FAQ

Is Alto IRA insured?
Your crypto assets are secured by Coinbase, which provides insurance coverage up to $320 million.^[4]

Is Alto IRA free?
Alto CryptoIRA has no monthly account fees. You only pay a 1% transaction fee. The Alto IRA account for alternative assets charges a quarterly account fee based on your total invested capital. This helps cover the admin costs for maintaining your account.

How to withdraw money from Alto IRA?
To request a distribution, you have to fill out a transfer form. You can choose to transfer to your bank account or have a check mailed to you. Your request will processed within 1-2 business days once you sign the form.

Note that like all IRA accounts, you will incur a penalty if you withdraw before age 59-1/2.

Bottom Line

Alto IRA is a self-directed IRA provider with a wider range of investment opportunities in one place than you'll find with any of their competitors.

Keep in mind, they don't vet their partners, so it's up to the user to decide whether they're worth putting their money in.

Their pricing and fees are fairly competitive, if not the cheapest available in every situation, and for those interested in tax-advantaged cryptocurrency investing, they are certainly an option worth considering.

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