IRA Financial Group

What IRA Financial Group does

IRA Financial Group is a Miami Beach-based custodian and facilitator of self-directed retirement accounts, serving individual investors and small business owners who want to hold alternative assets — real estate, private equity, cryptocurrency, precious metals, and tax liens — inside tax-advantaged structures. Founded by Adam Bergman, the company offers nine account types (Self-Directed IRA, Checkbook IRA, Self-Directed HSA, Coverdell ESA, IRAFi Crypto, Solo 401(k), ROBS, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA) and supports them with an in-house IRA Compliance Shield and an IRS Audit Guarantee designed to keep accounts within IRS rules and penalty-free. As of the latest available data the firm services 27,000+ active accounts holding $7B+ in assets, with a stated 97% client retention rate.

The platform is delivered through a web application (app.irafinancial.com) that handles account administration, fund transfers, real-time trading in public equities and ETFs, and direct cryptocurrency trading inside retirement accounts. A proprietary Checkbook Control structure uses a customer-owned LLC to enable investment execution without per-transaction custodian approval. Revenue is generated through a flat annual fee per account, explicitly decoupled from account balance growth — a structural contrast to the percentage-of-assets pricing used by large incumbent custodians. Distribution is direct-to-consumer with self-serve digital onboarding plus free expert consultations for higher-complexity products such as ROBS and Checkbook IRAs, supported by content marketing, customer testimonials, and a 4.8 Trustpilot rating across roughly 2,000 reviews.

The company has been recognized across 2025 by Investopedia, Bankrate, Forbes Advisor, and NerdWallet as a leading self-directed IRA provider, and ranked No. 45 on Inc. magazine's 2026 list of fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest. Prior strategic actions include the 2019 acquisitions of Pension Investors of Hollywood and Pension Investors Corporation and a $2.3M funding round in December 2019. The company remains privately held with 51–100 employees and a US-based support team.

Name

IRA Financial Group

Legal name

IRA Financial

Website

https://irafinancialgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

IRA Financial Group is a Miami Beach-based custodian enabling 27,000+ individual investors and small business owners to hold alternative assets — real estate, cryptocurrency, private equity, precious metals — within self-directed IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, and ROBS structures, monetizing via flat annual account fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Self-Directed Retirement Account Services

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Retirement & Pension Wealth (401(k)/IRA/SIPP/Superannuation Retail) (FSAAAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retirement & Pension Planning (401(k)/IRA) (FSAEAAAD), Retirement Plan Participant Advice & Managed Accounts (FSAEABAF)

Keywords

• Self-directed retirement accounts
• Alternative asset investing
• Retirement plan custody
• Self-directed IRA services
• Crypto retirement accounts

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Account Fees: IRA Financial charges a flat annual fee for account administration, custody services, and compliance support. The fee does not increase as account balance grows, distinguishing the company from percentage-of-assets fee models used by traditional custodians.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IRA Financial Group operates as a self-directed retirement account custodian and facilitator, enabling individuals and self-employed business owners to invest retirement funds in alternative assets such as real estate, cryptocurrency, private placements, and precious metals, alongside traditional stocks and ETFs, through a suite of tax-advantaged account structures including Self-Directed IRA, Checkbook IRA, Solo 401(k), ROBS, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Self-Directed HSA, Coverdell ESA, and Crypto IRA. The company delivers these accounts via its proprietary web and mobile platform with real-time trading, Checkbook Control via LLC, an IRS Audit Guarantee, and in-house compliance support, all under a flat annual fee model.

Product overview

IRA Financial offers a unified self-directed retirement account platform with multiple account types and investment options. The core portfolio consists of Self-Directed IRA, Checkbook IRA, Self-Directed HSA, Self-Directed Coverdell ESA, IRAFi Crypto, Solo 401(k), ROBS, SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA products. These accounts enable investment in alternative assets (Real Estate, Private Placements, Cryptocurrencies, Precious Metals, Investment Funds, Tax Liens & Deeds) alongside traditional stocks and ETFs. The platform differentiates through flat annual fees, in-house compliance services including IRS Audit Guarantee, and full investment freedom within IRS guidelines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IRAfi Crypto: Cryptocurrency IRA product allowing users to buy and hold cryptocurrency in a tax-advantaged IRA.
• Checkbook IRA

Products and services

• Self-Directed IRA A self-directed individual retirement account that gives investors full control over their retirement investments, allowing investment in alternative and traditional assets with custodian support. Targeted at individual investors seeking alternatives to standard Wall Street retirement accounts.
• Checkbook IRA A self-directed IRA structured through an LLC, providing checkbook control over investment decisions without requiring custodian approval for each transaction. Targeted at individual investors who want immediate execution authority over alternative investments such as real estate or private placements.
• Self-Directed HSA A self-directed health savings account that allows investment of HSA funds for tax-free growth on qualified medical expenses. Targeted at individuals seeking tax-advantaged medical-expense investing with the same self-directed flexibility as an IRA.
• Self-Directed Coverdell ESA A self-directed Coverdell Education Savings Account allowing tax-advantaged savings for educational expenses. Targeted at families and individuals saving for future education costs.
• IRAfi Crypto A cryptocurrency IRA product (sub-brand "IRAfi Crypto") enabling purchase and holding of cryptocurrency within a tax-advantaged retirement account, with real-time crypto trading. Targeted at individual investors seeking to hold digital assets in a retirement wrapper.
• Solo 401(k) A tax-advantaged retirement plan for self-employed individuals and business owners with no employees, allowing contributions from self-employment income and investment in alternative assets. Targeted at self-employed entrepreneurs and owner-only businesses.
• ROBS (Rollover-as-Business-Startups) A Rollover-as-Business-Startups plan enabling use of retirement funds to start or buy a business without triggering taxes or penalties. Targeted at entrepreneurs and small business buyers who need a tax-efficient path to fund a business acquisition.
• SEP IRA A Simplified Employee Pension IRA offering tax-deductible contributions for business owners and self-employed individuals. Targeted at small businesses and self-employed individuals needing a simple employer-sponsored retirement plan.
• SIMPLE IRA A Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees IRA providing employer-matched retirement savings for small businesses with employees. Targeted at small businesses with employees that need an easy-to-administer retirement plan with employer matching.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% client retention rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• NewRetirement: Retirement planning platform that helps individuals model and manage self-directed retirement strategies, including alternative-asset allocations; overlaps with IRA Financial on customer education and SMB retirement planning workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Investments: Mega-incumbent retirement account provider with growing alternative-asset menu (including crypto exposure in 401(k)s); represents competitive pressure on IRA Financial's traditional IRA and 401(k) accounts.
• Charles Schwab: Large incumbent brokerage and IRA custodian that has been expanding alternative-asset access within retirement accounts; competes for the broader IRA market and increasingly for the self-directed segment IRA Financial targets.

Direct peers

• Alto (formerly AltoIRA): Self-directed IRA platform enabling investment in alternative assets (crypto, venture, private equity, real estate); competes head-to-head with IRA Financial on account types, fee structure, and target customer.
• Equity Trust Company: Long-established self-directed IRA custodian offering alternative-asset retirement accounts (real estate, private placements, precious metals, crypto); one of the largest incumbents in the same niche as IRA Financial.
• Millennium Trust Company: Specialized custodian for self-directed IRAs, HSAs, and other retirement vehicles holding alternative assets; competes with IRA Financial on alternative-asset custody for individual investors and small businesses.
• Strata Trust Company: Self-directed IRA custodian offering alternative-asset retirement accounts including real estate, private equity, and cryptocurrency; directly comparable product set and customer profile to IRA Financial.
• Rocket Dollar: Direct competitor offering self-directed IRA and Solo 401(k) accounts with checkbook control for alternative investments including real estate, crypto, and private equity; targets the same SMB and individual investor segment as IRA Financial.
• uDirect IRA: Self-directed IRA provider focused on alternative investments through retirement accounts, with similar fee and account-type structure to IRA Financial.
• Kingdom Trust (iTrust): Qualified custodian for self-directed IRAs and cryptocurrency retirement accounts; directly competes in the crypto IRA segment where IRA Financial's IRAFi Crypto product operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheIRAFinancial
• Facebookfacebook.com/irafinancialgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ira-financial-group-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IRA Financial Group