Name

Equity Institutional Investors

Legal name

Equity Trust Company

Website

https://equityinstitutional.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Self-Directed IRA Custody Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Finance and Insurance (52)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Investment Advice (6282), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Qualified Custody (Banks/Trust Companies) (FSADACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternatives & Multi-Asset Digital Wealth Platforms (PE/VC/Real Assets access) (FSAGAEAL), Real Assets — Real Asset Fund Platforms / Multi-Asset Real Assets (Diversified Real Assets Funds) (FSAHAIAM)

Keywords

• Self-directed IRA custody
• Alternative asset custody
• Retirement account services
• Directed trustee services
• Institutional custodial solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlake

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custodial Services Fees: Fees charged for custodial services overseeing self-directed IRA accounts and alternative asset custody. As one of the oldest and largest custodians specializing in IRA investing with difficult-to-value alternative assets, the company generates revenue through account maintenance and administration fees.
2. Transaction and Processing Fees: Fees associated with processing transactions, account changes, and specialized services such as 1031 exchanges and 990-T tax preparation.
3. ETC Brokerage Services: Brokerage services provided through affiliated broker-dealer ETC Brokerage Services, Member SIPC and FINRA, offering access to brokerage and investment products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Equity Institutional Investors, operating as the institutional division of Equity Trust Company, provides custodial services for self-directed retirement accounts that hold alternative assets. The platform supports IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, HSAs, and CESAs holding real estate, private equity, private debt, precious metals, cryptocurrency, and traditional securities, with accompanying account management technology, APIs, and a marketplace for investment discovery.

Product overview

Equity Institutional Investors, a service of Equity Trust Company, operates as a specialized self-directed IRA custodian offering a comprehensive platform for alternative asset investing. The core offering consists of self-directed retirement accounts (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Solo 401(k), CESA, HSA) that enable investors to diversify beyond traditional securities into alternative assets. The product portfolio centers on the Self-Directed IRA as the foundational account structure, with specialized modules including the Equity Universal IRA for enhanced flexibility, the Real Estate Checkbook IRA LLC for real estate investors requiring checkbook control, and the 1031 Exchange service for tax-deferred property transactions. Additional services include the Wealthbridge Investment Portal, Investment District Marketplace, and Real Estate Investing Hub as complementary platforms, alongside professional services for precious metals dealers, cryptocurrency providers, crowdfunding platforms, and RIAs/broker-dealers. The company also provides 990-T tax preparation for UBIT situations and Self-Clearing Retirement Services for back-end administrative support. Founded in 1974 and approved as an IRA custodian since 1983, the company emphasizes custody of difficult-to-value alternative assets with leading-edge account management technology and API capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Equity Universal IRA™: Self-directed IRA product offering optimized wealth building potential
• Wealthbridge Investment Portal
• Investment District Marketplace
• Real Estate Investing Hub
• Master Academy
• Real Estate Checkbook IRA LLC
• Equity Solo 401(k)
• ETC Brokerage Services

Products and services

• Equity Universal IRA A universal IRA product that allows investment in a broad range of alternative assets within a single account structure, designed for investors seeking optimized wealth building potential through self-directed strategies.
• Self-Directed IRA A self-directed retirement account enabling investors to diversify portfolios with alternative assets including real estate, private equity, and precious metals, custodied by Equity Trust Company.
• Real Estate Checkbook IRA LLC A specialized IRA structure giving investors checkbook control over IRA funds for real estate investments, enabling faster transaction execution.
• 1031 Exchange A tax-deferred exchange service allowing investors to sell investment property and reinvest proceeds in replacement property while deferring capital gains taxes.
• Equity Solo 401(k) A retirement plan designed for self-employed individuals and small business owners with no employees, offering higher contribution limits than IRAs and supporting alternative asset investing.
• 990-T Tax Preparation Tax preparation service for IRAs holding certain types of investments that generate unrelated business taxable income (UBIT).
• Directed Trustee Services (Self-Clearing Retirement Services) Back-end administrative services providing a one-stop-shop solution for financial professionals managing alternative asset investments, including directed trustee services.
• Wealthbridge Investment Portal An online investment portal providing tools and resources for managing and tracking alternative asset investments within self-directed accounts.
• Investment District Marketplace A marketplace connecting investors with investment opportunities across alternative asset classes such as real estate and private equity.
• Real Estate Investing Hub A centralized platform offering services, tools, and education for real estate investing through self-directed IRA accounts.
• Precious Metals IRA Services Custodial services enabling investors to hold physical precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in their IRA accounts.
• Cryptocurrency IRA Services Custodial services allowing investors to hold Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within self-directed IRA accounts.
• Private Equity Investment Services Custodial solutions for investing retirement funds in private equity opportunities, enabling diversification beyond public markets.
• Private Lending Services Services supporting promissory notes, hard money lending, and other private debt instruments within self-directed accounts.
• Equity Institutional Services Specialized custody solutions and account management technology for investment professionals, RIAs, and broker-dealers, including APIs and white-ready infrastructure.
• Crowdfunding & Private Equity Platform Services Solutions enabling crowdfunding and private equity platforms to offer retirement account investment options to their users.
• Cryptocurrency Provider Solutions Turnkey solutions for cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms to introduce their services to IRA investors.
• Precious Metals Dealer Platform Industry-leading platform enabling precious metals dealers to facilitate IRA purchases of precious metals.
• Investment Platform Integration Technology and custodial solutions helping investment platforms offer alternative assets to their client base.
• myEQUITY Portal Online client portal for account access, management, and transactions for Equity Trust customers, including self-service account opening.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the oldest and largest custodians in the self-directed IRA alternative asset space

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Midland TrustminorOthersFormer Midland Trust clients are redirected to the Midland Portal for account access. This appears to be a legacy client migration or affiliated service arrangement rather than an active partnership.
• RITA ( Retirement Industry Trust Association)minorOthersRITA (ritaus.org) is a trade association for the retirement industry. Equity Trust Company displays the RITA logo, suggesting membership in this industry association for retirement trust companies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Alto (formerly AltoIRA): Crypto-focused self-directed IRA platform with curated investment options. Competes directly with Equity Trust's Cryptocurrency IRA Services vertical and broader SDIRA positioning.
• Rocket Dollar: Fintech SDIRA and Solo 401(k) platform with Checkbook IRA LLC structures and alternative-asset access. Competes with Equity Trust on digital onboarding and price, particularly for individual investors and smaller advisors.
• iTrustCapital: IRA platform enabling cryptocurrency and precious metals trading inside retirement accounts. Directly comparable to Equity Trust's crypto and precious metals IRA offerings, with a digital-first delivery model.

Direct peers

• Kingdom Trust: Qualified custodian supporting self-directed IRAs, HSAs, and CESAs with alternative-asset holdings. Comparable to Equity Trust on SDIRA custody scope and institutional partner integrations.
• Strata Trust Company: Directed custodian for self-directed IRAs and HSAs holding alternative investments. Comparable to Equity Trust's directed-trustee / SDIRA custody offering for advisors and individual investors.
• IRA Financial Trust: Self-directed IRA custodian and Checkbook IRA LLC provider focused on alternative assets. Overlaps with Equity Trust on real estate, private equity, and crypto IRA custody and on the Checkbook IRA structure.
• New Direction IRA: Self-directed IRA custodian for alternative assets including real estate, private equity, precious metals, and cryptocurrency. Competes head-to-head with Equity Trust in the same SDIRA custody niche.
• Millennium Trust Company: A leading self-directed IRA custodian offering alternative-asset custody (real estate, private equity, notes, crypto) for advisors and individuals. Directly comparable to Equity Trust as a long-standing SDIRA custodian serving financial professionals with similar asset-class breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Investments (Fidelity Wealth & Retirement): Large incumbent retirement custodian with self-directed IRA offerings and expanding alternative-asset access. Comparable to Equity Trust on IRA custody and as a broad competitor for advisor and retail retirement dollars.
• Charles Schwab (Schwab Retirement Services): Major incumbent brokerage and retirement custodian offering self-directed IRAs with access to alternative assets via partner platforms. Overlaps with Equity Trust as a custody competitor at the margin and as a partner platform for SDIRA access.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equity-institutional

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Equity Institutional Investors