What Mainstar Trust does

Mainstar Trust is a privately held, Kansas-based retirement custodian founded in 1977 that specializes in self-directed IRAs holding alternative investments. The company is headquartered in Onaga, Kansas, and operates as a national custodian serving individual investors, small businesses, and financial professionals across the United States. Its core technology consists of an IRA administration platform with online account access, secure document upload, and back-office systems for alternative-asset custody — supporting account types including Traditional, Roth, Inherited, Rollover, SEP, and Individually Directed Accounts.

Mainstar's product surface covers a wide range of alternative asset classes that conventional custodians typically do not hold, including private placements, REITs, private lending, LLCs, limited partnerships, real estate, BDCs, common and preferred stocks, mutual funds, corporate bonds, CDs, and annuity policies. The platform is built around self-serve account opening via an online application, with funding paths including direct contributions, rollovers from employer plans, and transfers from other IRAs. The company explicitly does not provide investment, tax, or legal advice, positioning itself strictly as a custodian.

The business model is activity-based fee revenue with no market-value charges — fees do not scale with account size, which differentiates Mainstar from asset-based custody pricing. Distribution is primarily direct and self-service through the mainstartrust.com website, supported by phone (1-800-521-9897), secure document upload, mail, and fax. Marketing relies on organic digital content, an investor education library, and segment-specific resources for financial advisors, investment sponsors, and real estate professionals. No revenue, funding, M&A, or headcount figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

Mainstar Trust

Legal name

Mainstar Trust

Website

https://mainstartrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Mainstar Trust is a privately held, Kansas-based retirement custodian founded in 1977 that provides self-directed IRA custody for alternative investments. It serves individual investors, small businesses, and financial professionals nationwide via an online, activity-based fee platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Custody Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Pension Funds (525110)

akta.pro primary industry

Employee Benefit & Retirement Plan Trust Services (FSAAANAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Banking Custody, Depository & Safekeeping Services (FSABADAI)

Keywords

• Self-directed IRAs
• Retirement custody services
• Alternative asset custody
• IRA custodian administration
• Retirement account services

Headquarters

HQ city

Onaga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Self-Directed IRA Custodial Services: Mainstar Trust generates revenue through activity-based fees charged to IRA accounts. The fee structure is competitive and activity-based, with no market value fees charged. Account fees do not increase as the account grows in value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Mainstar Trust is a national self-directed IRA custodian that holds and administers retirement accounts holding alternative investments such as private placements, REITs, private lending, LLCs, limited partnerships, and real estate. The company offers account types including Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Inherited IRA, Rollover IRA, Automatic Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, and Individually Directed Accounts, generating revenue from activity-based custodial fees on these accounts.

Product overview

Mainstar Trust operates as a national retirement custodian specializing in self-directed IRAs, offering a unified platform for alternative investment custody. The core offerings include Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Inherited IRAs, Rollover IRAs, and SEP IRAs for small businesses, all designed to hold alternative assets. The company supports a wide range of asset types including Private Placements, REITs, Private Lending, LLCs, Limited Partnerships, Real Estate, Annuity Policies, Corporate Bonds, CDs, Mutual Funds, Common & Preferred Stocks, and Business Development Companies (BDCs). Additional account types include Automatic Rollover IRAs for terminated plan participants and Individually Directed Accounts for employer benefit plans. The platform enables investors to diversify retirement portfolios beyond traditional stocks and bonds while maintaining tax advantages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self-Directed Traditional IRA A tax-advantaged retirement savings account funded through tax-deductible contributions and rollovers of pre-tax assets, offering tax-deferred investment growth and flexible control over contributions and distributions, designed for individual investors who want to hold alternative assets.
• Self-Directed Roth IRA A tax-advantaged savings account funded through after-tax contributions that offers tax-deferred, potentially tax-free investment growth, with no required minimum distributions during the owner's lifetime, and allows holders to direct investments into alternative assets.
• Inherited IRA A tax-advantaged account funded with retirement savings inherited from a deceased individual, requiring distribution within certain timeframes while allowing assets to grow tax-deferred.
• Rollover IRA An IRA funded with savings accumulated in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plans, enjoying all standard IRA tax benefits including tax-deferred growth.
• Automatic Rollover IRA A service for plan sponsors to transfer terminated participant accounts with small balances (under $5,000) into IRAs, allowing non-taxable distributions and reducing administrative burdens on the plan sponsor.
• Employee Benefit Plan Individually Directed Account (IDA) An account established within an employer-sponsored retirement benefit plan that allows employees to direct their own investment allocations, including access to alternative investment options not offered in typical plans.
• SEP IRA A Simplified Employee Pension Plan IRA that allows small business owners to establish retirement plans for their employees with tax-deductible contributions.
• Alternative Asset Custody Services Custodial services for alternative investments including Private Placements, REITs, Private Lending, LLCs, Limited Partnerships, Real Estate, BDCs, and other non-traditional assets held within self-directed IRAs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual contribution limit of $7,000 for 2024 (plus $1,000 catch-up for age 50+)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Alto (formerly AltoIRA): Alto is a digital platform enabling self-directed IRAs to hold alternative assets including crypto, private equity, and real estate. It targets the same customer segment as Mainstar with a more modern tech stack and app-based experience.
• Rocket Dollar: Rocket Dollar is a fintech-era self-directed IRA platform offering checkbook-control IRA structures for alternative investments. It overlaps Mainstar's offering but delivers a more tech-forward, digital-first customer experience.

Direct peers

• Equity Trust Company: Equity Trust Company is a direct competitor in the self-directed IRA custodian space, offering custody for alternative investments including real estate, private equity, and private lending within retirement accounts — directly overlapping Mainstar's core product offering.
• IRA Financial Group: IRA Financial Group provides self-directed IRA LLC/checkbook IRA solutions and works with multiple custodians — competing in the same self-directed IRA space as Mainstar, particularly for investors seeking checkbook control structures.
• STRATA Trust Company: STRATA Trust specializes in self-directed IRAs holding alternative investments including real estate, private placements, notes, and tax liens — overlapping Mainstar's product set and target market of self-directed investors.
• Millennium Trust Company: Millennium Trust provides self-directed IRA custody and alternative-asset custody services, including private equity, real estate, and pre-IPO investments — directly comparable to Mainstar's alternative-asset IRA offerings.
• Kingdom Trust (Ria): Kingdom Trust (now branded as Ria) is a qualified custodian offering self-directed IRAs holding alternative assets including cryptocurrencies, private equity, real estate, and precious metals — directly comparable in alternative-asset IRA custody.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Investments: Fidelity is a leading IRA custodian with broad investment menus. Although its core focus is stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, its scale and brand recognition position it as a competitive threat as it expands into alternative-eligible IRAs.
• Charles Schwab Corporation: Schwab is a major retail brokerage and IRA custodian with traditional investment products. While not focused on alternative assets, its scale and brand make it the default IRA custodian, creating competitive pressure on Mainstar's traditional/Roth IRA offerings.
• Vanguard: Vanguard is a dominant low-cost IRA custodian focused on traditional investment products. Its scale and cost leadership on standard IRAs create competitive baseline pressure for all specialty IRA custodians including Mainstar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Mainstar Trust