Self Directed Investor Talk: Alternative Asset Investing through Self-Directed IRA's & Solo 401k's

He’s gone and done it now. Joe Biden is officially targeting your IRA and 401(k). If you value your retirement savings, you need to listen right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #327 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors just like you.Joe Biden, Democrat candidate for President of the United States, has tried to slip in a doozy of a tax policy change that, frankly, will hit me and you right in the pocketbook… and he’s trying to make sure that nobody knows about it by not bringing any attention to it.But this has not escaped the watchful eye of the team here at Self-Directed Investor Talk.On today’s page, which being that this is episode #327, that page is, of course, SDITalk.com/327… On that page, I’ll link to the sources from which this data comes so you can judge it for yourself.But here’s the bottom line: If you elect Joe Biden as president, your IRA and 401(k) tax benefits are going to be slashed. Period.The specifics of the policy are not yet well described by the Biden campaign, because I suspect they’re trying to avoid the absolute CRAPSTORM that will result whenever the public gets wind of this. But it’s such a clear and obvious negative that, well… I’ll just read a quote to you from RollCall.com that has some good coverage of this issue. The quote is:The former vice president’s "drastic" proposal, in the words of one industry lobbyist, would upend existing tax preferences for retirement saving in 401(k)-style plans. The Investment Company Institute, which represents mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles in the U.S. and abroad, has already promised opposition.So, my friends, it looks something like this:Under the current system - which has worked beautifully for decades - when you contribute money to a traditional IRA or 401(k), you get to deduct that contribution against your taxable income.And old creepy Joe… it will work the same way under his system. But with one “little” caveat.Joe will still let you take a deduction for your contribution. But he’s going to limit the amount of that deduction to some as yet underdetermined top rate… probably 26% according to current expectations.So that means that, for those of you higher income earners - of which there are many in the SDI Talk audience - and whose marginal tax rate is not a mere 26% but is 32% or 37% or even higher…Well… you’re just out of luck. Sure, you can still make the contributions… only your tax benefits will be puny under Joe Biden versus how every other President - Democrat and Republican - has handled things in the past.But that’s not the worst of it, my friends. What happens whenever Washington begins to limit a tax benefit? The answer is always the same: They limit it EVEN MORE in the future.So mark my word: If you elect Joe Biden and let him begin to slash your tax benefits on your IRA or 401(k) now… it’s just a matter of time… a matter of VERY LITTLE TIME… before somebody decides that even Joe didn’t slash your tax benefits enough…...and soon enough, the tax advantage to your IRA and 401(k) is gone.But you have a choice. You can make sure that doesn’t happen. If you’re made the connection that voting for anybody but Joe Biden could be a wise decision, you’ve reached a wise deduction indeed.Oh… and a quick note… the latest edition of Self-Directed Investor Magazine is now out, and it’s a SPECTACULAR edition, if I do say so myself. If you’d like a complimentary copy, just send a text message to my office to request it and we’ll take care of you. The phone number is 678-888-4000…. Again 678-888-4000.My friends… Invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It seems pretty clear that ONE of the two Presidential candidates absolutely opposes everything you and I stand for as self-directed investors. I'm Bryan Ellis. Right now in Episode #326 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, I give you the proof...---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to the show of record for savvy self-directed investors like you, where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities.It is the season for Presidential Politics... and you know, of course, that means I'll poke my head out of the shadows and begin to share with you the harsh realities of politics as it relates to my plight and yours as self-directed investors.You and I, we think alike. We're looking for opportunity. We're looking for a way to apply that most valuable asset of them all… our minds… to fortify our financial positions for the benefit of ourselves, our families, future generations and to help the causes that matter most to us.Yesterday, Motley Fool published a list of 12 tax law changes that one of the Presidential candidates is pushing in his bid to serve in the highest office in the land for the next four years. I’ll link to it on today’s page, at SDITalk.com/326 so you can check it out yourself.Now I won’t even sully the conversation by saying WHICH candidate – obviously there’s only Trump and Biden – but I won’t shift this to being about those men. Let’s just look at the policies and how they’ll impact you and me as builders of wealth.Policy Shift #1: An increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. That’s an obvious negative… rising corporate tax rates are ALWAYS – I repeat ALWAYS – passed on to consumers. I could say more, but I suspect it’s unnecessary, so let’s look at...Policy Shift #2: A minimum tax on corporate income. Basically the idea here is this: If a company complies with the tax law in such a way that even the U.S. Treasury is unable to fault their tax planning, and as a result that company does not have to pay income taxes, this policy would mean that that company must pay taxes ANYWAY. Basically, this is a tax on good planning.They’re targeting this one at Amazon and some others that have been astoundingly good at using the tax law to their benefit. But hey, remember: This means that all of those Amazon packages WILL be more expensive in the future… no doubt about it. More expenses for the providers means more cost to the consumers.But surely… SURELY… the remainder of these new policies won’t so directly target – and thus discourage – productive members of society… right?Wrong-o. Whether it’s policy #5 that increases marginal income tax rates for higher earners, or policy #6 that raising the payroll tax on high earners or raising capital gains taxes on… you guessed it… high earners…Well, it almost sounds like the particular Presidential candidate who is pushing for all of these changes really doesn’t like high earners or successful companies very much, does he?And don’t forget… if building a FINANCIAL LEGACY is important to you, then the STEPPED UP basis changes – that’s policy #8 – will matter to you. This is a way of making sure that a horrible tax burden is transferred to your beneficiaries when they receive your assets in the future. Right now, that does not happen… but it would under this proposed tax policy.All that isn’t even to mention the slashing of tax deductions for both personal incomes – that’s policy # 9 – or phasing out small business deductions if you happen to be a successful small business owner, which is policy #10.If you hear a common theme here, it’s because there is one. The candidate who wants these policies to be law – none other than the basement baron himself, Joe Biden – wants, quite fervently, to punish your success.In other words, if it’s your objective to minimize your taxes, creepy Joe wants to MAXIMIZE them.If it’s your objective to build a small business, creepy Joe wants to make sure your tax bill stands in the WAY of your doing so.If you want to build a basis of financial assets for the benefit of future generations, creepy Joe wants to make sure that when those future generations receive your assets, that they’re forced to sell off those assets to pay their tax bill.My friends, a vote for Joe Biden is a vote against yourself. It’s that simple. Don’t vote against yourself.My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

CoronaVirus has created more abject terror than anything I’ve ever seen. If we’re to believe Warren Buffett, then wise investors are to be “greedy when others are fearful”. So how, exactly, can you be wisely greedy right now? I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you RIGHT NOW in Episode #325 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---The world changed radically a few weeks ago. Free countries went on total lockdown. The hottest commodites in the world became hand sanitizer, toilet paper and medical masks. And the stock market went on a volatility spree never seen before or since.And yet, the whole time, savvy investors kept hearing the famous words of Warren Buffet echoing in their minds: "Be fearful when everyone else is greedy, and greedy when everyone else is fearful."The question, my friends, is how to be very wisely greedy during a time when the prevailing emotion all around us is, without any doubt, not mere fear... but abject terror.The one clear answer - well supported by history and the leadership of current experts - is to invest in well-vetted, well-operated RV Parks.Now, in case you're not a user or owner of RV's yourself, I understand. I'm not either. Just in case you don’t know, RV stands for “Recreational Vehicle”… the big rolling hotel rooms like Winebagos.But whether that’s “your thing” doesn't matter. Kind of like you don’t need to live in an apartment in order to justify investing in a great apartment complex.So I’m going to make a very quick, but rather overwhelming, case to you right now that RIGHT NOW, in the height of this epidemic of terror and infection, that RIGHT NOW is the right time to jump into RV parks.And as always, I don't expect you to take my word for it. In fact, I insist that you don't take my word for it... that's because history makes this case for me in such a compelling, unquestionable way.Before CoronaVirus, the pinnacle example of economic downturn during most of our lifetimes was the Great Recession of 2007 & 2008... if any economic event was going to doom an industry where "recreation" is the literally first word in the name, the Great Recession would have been that phenomemon. But what actually happened?Well... not much. As the economy of the United States slowed and weakened with each passing week, the data shows us that average length of stays at RV parks got LONGER. Not shorter… LONGER.And I take this from a deeply authoritative source. It’s a report called “Effects of COVID-19 on the Campground Industry”. It’s written by American Property Analysts – the absolute leading valuation experts in America for the RV Park and campground industry. This report was written last week, at the request of and for the benefit of the banking industry. As the economic carnage began to mount from the CoronaVirus scare, banks who finance RV parks wanted to know where their exposure stood in connection with COVID-19, and of course, they hired the most knowledgeable experts in that field at American Property Analysts, Inc.And according to that report, when looking at the Great Recession, it’s all summed up in this quote: "What campers did not do was discontinue using their RV's." That report goes on to say that "In most locales, demand exceeded available supply" and that "attendance held fairly steady".Now remember... the setting here is the aftermath of the Great Recession, when our country suffered the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression. It was a time when, according to the respected California-based newspaper called the Orange County Register, nearly 9 MILLION jobs were lost... 4 million homes were foreclosed EACH YEAR... and 2.5 million businesses were shuttered.It was the worst of times for the American economy.But what happened in the RV park industry? Well, I remind you: "attendance held fairly steady" and "in most locales, demand exceeded available supply."But it's better than that still: To further quote the American Property Analysts report, "Waiting lists for seasonal sites popped up nearly everywhere, and many of those lists remain in place today at the more desirable properties. Some folks even paid non-refundable fees just to be on certain lists, and some of those campers are just now nearing the front of their lines."If you understood me to say that the backlog of demand created during the LAST recession still exists to this day, you understand me correctly. I can't imagine how much demand and backlog the economic fallout of the CoronaVirus pandemic will create for the RV park industry... but history suggests it will be HUGE.Am I suggesting to you that every RV park in America did a booming business during the Great Recession? No. Not at all. There will always be the superstars and the laggards, and doubtlessly that's true here as well.But what I am telling you... scratch that... what the historical data cited by the American Property Analysts report is telling you is that, overall, RV parks as an industry hardly - if at all - noticed that a recession happened at all.And my friends, history is repeating itself right now. And if you think about it, it makes complete sense for at least 3 strong reasons:Reason #1: One of the immediate results of the national shutdown from CoronaVirus was the closing of National Parks. Now that's an awful thing because I, for one, realy love and frequently visit the parks in my area. But as owners of RV Parks, we aren't sad to see it. Why? National parks are one of our biggest sources of competition. Right now, that competition is completely GONE... Kaput... poof. It'll return someday, but for now, it's GONE.Reason #2: The totally justified concern over the risk of infections connected with hotels, cruise ships and other recreational destinations likely will drive growth in the RV industry, as one's RV is a completely private space, not subject to the risk of exposure from third parties.and Reason #3: I'm happy to report to you that our EXPERIENCE is matching the THEORY I've shared with you, because presently, we've seen exactly ZERO cancellations at any of the RV parks that we already own... and there has DEFINITELY been an uptick in interest since CoronaVirus was declared a pandemic and the nation was put on lockdown.My friends, I return again to Buffett's famous advice: Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Now here’s what you might not know about RV parks: Even average ones can be incredibly profitable. Imagine if you had all of the benefits of owning a great apartment complex, but your cash flow was more like a mobile home park. Well, it’s like that, only better. Well-vetted, well-operated RV parks don't merely compare favorably to other real estate asset classes, RV Parks dramatically outshine them and the data makes that overwhelmingly clear.So where does that leave you? If you're savvy enough to take seriously the advice of Warren Buffet, the man widely considered to be the greatest investor of our lifetimes, then the only reasonable conclusion you can draw is this: These are times of great fear... and that's your signal to be wisely greedy. And there's no better asset class - as proven by history - for that wise greed he recommends than RV Parks.The time is now.Thank you for listening in today. Every now and again, we encounter exceptional RV park investment opportunities. Best for well-qualified investors, these opportunities always fill rather quickly as only a small number of openings for outside investor partners are made available. If you'd like to be considered for participation in the next such project, please send an email now to feedback@sditalk.com, that’s feedback@sditalk.com., `to set an appointment to speak with me or a member of the team. Happy investing! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s an asset class that affluent investors REALLY love… extraordinary cash flow is the norm and the tax benefits are the best around. But there’s a HUGE LANDMINE just waiting for affluent investors who try this in their self-directed retirement account. I’m Bryan Ellis. Today, you affluent investors learn how to sidestep certain disaster in Episode #324 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.-------Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to the show of record for savvy self-directed investors like you, where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities.For you folks with a bit higher net worth, you need to pay close attention today.So for those of you who may not yet quite be in the high net worth world, something you should know about your wealthier brethren is that one of the most popular asset classes among them is one I’ve mentioned here before, but only very briefly… and that is oil well drilling.It makes perfect sense because the cash flow beats the heck out of basically everything else, and the tax benefits makes real estate and other supposedly tax efficient investments look like child’s play. Yes, the risk is theoretically higher, and that’s why this is the domain primarily of accredited investors.But to set up this dilemma, and the brilliant solution for it, let’s consider a scenario, with real numbers. So here’s the deal.This investor… we’ll call her Tara… has decided to invest in an oil drilling deal. It looks like a pretty good one, I’m actually quite familiar with it… she’s got to invest $150,000 to buy into the deal, and based on the preliminary geological research, the expectation is that she’s going to bring in something on the order of $12 to $13,000 per month or so, based on current oil prices.Now if you’re doing the math, you know that $12,000 per month equals $144,000 per year, which is shockingly close to being a 100% cash-on-cash return. Well, that’s one of the reason high net worth investors love this stuff… the cash-on-cash numbers are just breathtaking, enough so that the additional risk is quite regularly totally worth taking.So that’s great, right? Tara makes this investment, and assuming it works like expected, then she yields a MASSIVE cash-on-cash return for 5-7 years until the oil well runs out… and then she’ll likely do it again, if she’s like most high net worth investors I’ve worked with.And to make it better, she’s doing this in her Roth IRA… so all of that juicy ROI is totally tax free! Right? Right? Isn’t it tax-free?Well… no.Here, my friends, we consider an important distinction between the two types of income: Earned and Unearned. Earned income is just what it sounds like… money you earn from a W2 job or a 1099 contracting position or something like that. You work, you get paid. That’s earned income.Unearned income, on the other hand, is profit from investments… it’s a more passive type of thing So if you buy stocks and they rise in value or pay dividends, that’s unearned income. If you buy real estate and it appreciates and/or generates cash flow for you, that’s unearned income. If you make a loan and are repaid for that loan, that’s unearned income.So here’s the thing: it’s widely believed that IRA’s and 401(k)’s – particularly the Roth variety – are just not taxable. Unfortunately, that’s not true. It’s almost ENTIRELY true that any UNEARNED income – the kind from stocks and real estate and loans, for example – pretty much all of that will be tax-favored inside of a retirement account and that’s great!But this is where we return to Tara’s oil & gas deal. Yes, she’s going to make a lot of income from that deal. But there’s a catch. Federal tax law makes it abundantly clear that under most circumstances, the income generated from drilling an oil well and selling that oil is NOT UNEARNED income, but is EARNED income.That means two things: First, that the money is taxable. And second, that the tax rate that’s relevant in that case is NOT personal income tax rates, but is the income tax rates for TRUSTS, since both IRA’s and 401k’s are, under the law, types of trusts.And that, my friends, is BAD news. You see, income tax rates for trusts are, for all intents and purposes, 37%. That’s astronomical. If Tara brings in $12,000 per month on average as expected, that equates to $144,000 per year. 37% of that is over $53,000… so her IRA would have to stroke a check for over $53,000 to pay income taxes. That would leave her with a net of nearly $91,000 per year which is still just off-the-chain exceptional… but still… that’s a BIG tax bite.What to do, what to do? Most of the time, investors do oil & gas deals OUTSIDE of a retirement account because the VERY BEST tax benefits in oil & gas don’t really apply to IRA’s and 401k’s. But in Tara’s case, that’s where she happens to have the available capital, and quite justifiably, she doesn’t want to miss this opportunity.So here’s what I recommended to her: Since we can’t eliminate those taxes, why don’t we just slash them dramatically? You may remember that one of the thing that President Trump’s signature tax bill did was to slash corporate tax rates to 21% as the maximum. So I suggested that Tara form a c-corporation inside her IRA, and capitalize it with $150,000 from the IRA. She could then buy the oil & gas interest with that money, inside the corporation. That money – we’ll just say $144,000 per year – will still be taxed, but not at 37%. It’ll only be taxed at 21%. Bottom line… she’ll pay about $23,000 PER YEAR less in tax this way!Over the course of 5 years, that’s a very real saving of over $100,000… just by using the subtle brilliance you learned right here on Self-Directed Investor Talk!Now before I sign off for the day, I’ll go ahead and answer the question I know is coming: Maybe. The answer is maybe. The question, of course, is something like: “Bryan, I just heard you talk about the crazy results people are getting from oil and gas deals… can you hook me up with some of those opportunities?” Well, the answer is MAYBE.There are some qualification requirements. So the best path to take is this: If you’re interested in learning more, just text me now at 678-888-4000 and I’ll be happy to have a team member talk this through with you. Again, just send a text to me at 678-888-4000 and we’ll chat about it right away.My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coronavirus, real estate investors and the stock market… or, how real estate investors are making absolute jackasses of themselves during a very bad time. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #323 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.-----------Hello, self-directed investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to the show of record for savvy self-directed investors like you where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities.Today, my friends, I share with you my expectations about the REALITY of the coronavirus and how I see it affecting our economy and more importantly my and your investments. But first, a quick word about a clear way to identify some people who, at their very core, are clearly complete jackasses.Now, note that this isn’t a test for ALL jackasses, just some of them. But here we go:You probably know that, due to Coronoavirus fears, the stock market has taken a MASSIVE dive in the last two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen by over 15%... it’s been just absolutely brutal. I’ll tell you when that ends in just a minute, but that’s a different story.So back to identifying jackasses: If you see a real estate investor post something on Faceobok or elsewhere that basically says: “Hey, all you stock market investors, you’re really taking it on the chin now, aren’t you? I’ll bet you wish you had gotten into real estate instead of stocks now!”When you see something like that, what you’re seeing is a jackass. Someone who is childish, pathetic and heartless. Such a person, regardless of whether they’re successful in real estate, deserves to be ostracized and ridiculed for their short-sighted and juvenile attitude.So to all the jackass people out there, remember: You’ll get yours. I don’t wish it on anybody, but nobody bats 1.000. Where financial market losses are concerned, your attitude should always be: There but for the grace of God go I.”Now, as for the Coronavirus, the stock market and the economy?Totally overblown. I see stocks beginning to recover today, frankly. Is it a serious thing? Yes… but almost entirely for psychological reasons… because the media has scared people so badly that there’s a lot of irrationality out there.Remember this: We all keep hearing that 2% of the people who get this disease die from it, compared to the flu, which kills only 0.1% of the people who get it.That would be disturbing, for sure. BUT there are 3 facts you should know.Fact #1: The actual mortality rate in China, according to a report from China published in the New England Journal of medicine 3 days ago, is much lower, at only 1.4%. That’s a significant difference.Fact #2: The mortality rate is almost certainly much lower than that because most of the cases of it are so mild that they are never caught or reported. That’s not my opinion… but the opinion of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases… the one guy who everybody agrees is THE authority on these matters here in the U.S.And finally, Fact #3: Whatever the mortality rate, that’s the mortality rate in CHINA… not in America. CHINA! That’s a country that literally is happy to execute their citizens as a matter of convenience… an evil regime that exists to protect the Xi Xinping and the Communist Party as it’s highest priority… a place where the health of the citizenry is the last thing they care about.So how you SHOULD think about this is as follow: Even in China, the death rate of coronavirus is, at worst, 1.4%. We don’t really know how many people are killed by the flu in China. I’ll bet it’s quite comparable.Does that mean Coronavirus isn’t serious? Nope. Be careful, of course. But what it does mean is that while it is highly contagious, it’s more likely to be a pain in the rear rather than an issue of fatality.As for the effect of Coronavirus on stocks?I think we saw the bottom on Friday. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it… but I’d be willing to bet a barn door or two.By the way… if you’re looking for an astoundingly powerful tax break that happens to be coupled with an investment offering a potentially exceptionally high yield… well, drop a note to me at bryan@sditalk.com and I’ll fill you in. This is crazy good stuff, folks.Well my friends, that’s all for now… invest wisely today, and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If for every dollar you put into improving one of your real estate assets, you could get that dollar back within 12 months… and then enjoy decades of free and clear cash flow… wouldn’t you do that? Right now, I’ll show you not 1, but 2 ways to do that in my current favorite asset class. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #322 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to Episode #322 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you. Guess what’s going to happen today? Today, I’m going to help you find, understand and PROFIT from exceptional alternative investment opportunities!In yesterday’s exciting episode, I introduced you to the asset class that I think is stealing the crown from multi-family housing as the GO-TO real estate asset class. If you missed that episode… you missed a great one! Drop me a text message to 833-212-2112 and ask for the RV Parks episode I’ll send you a copy so you can get caught up…...and you’ll certainly want to do that because today, I’m going to tell you two ways that, using that asset class - which is, of course, the high-cash-flowing world of RV parks - I’ll tell you not one but TWO ways that my partners and I - and maybe you, too, possibly - are planning to spend a bit of money on some of our RV park properties and generate a MASSIVE and rather immediate return of our capital… to be followed immediately by many years - possibly even DECADES - of free and clear cash flow.But understand this: I’m not just bragging on our deals - though I’ve got to admit, maybe there’s a LITTLE BIT of that hehehe - but more importantly, I’m trying to show you what’s POSSIBLE… because deals like this are in much greater supply than financially similar deals in other asset classes like self-storage facilities and mobile home parks.And I’m also telling you because, who knows, maybe you can actually participate in these deals with us. More on that in a bit.So what are these two crazy-powerful value adds we’re going to perform?So you may recall from yesterday, we’re acquiring 2 separate RV parks. Specifically on the one in Wisconsin… we’re going to be able to add, at a cost of about $50,000 per cabin, about one dozen nice little cabins which will be available for rental in our parks.Now here’s the really CRAZY thing… based on the rates our clients are ALREADY PAYING for space in that park, it’s actually quite plausible to think that we’ll collect more than $50,000 of income per unit after just two, or maybe 3, seasons. RV parks, you see, are seasonal, generally with 2 4-month high seasons per year. And after only 2 or 3 of those season, those cabins will basically be totally free and clear cash flow, with only minimal incremental expense for maintenance!That, my friends, is ASTOUNDINGLY WONDERFUL… super-high-ROI stuff. I’m so excited about this deal!And that’s not allFor the property in Michigan, we’re going to add a particular water feature there which is an absolute super-powered electromagnet for attracting families with children. This is just an amenity we’re adding to the water amenities already onsite. It won’t be cheap to do this… with the cost coming in around $150,000 or so, but get this:The evidence is absolutely overwhelming that this type of amenity brings more families with children to an RV park… and these are families who wouldn’t have otherwise come. In other words… new customers!And what’s astounding is that there’s data - anecdotal, admittedly, but still relevant - that suggests that the presence of this type of water feature can, all by itself, increase the net income of certain well-run parks by 20-30% after 3 years. With rates like that, it takes no time at all to recoup the $150,000 and investment and then be SOLIDLY in the money.And what’s EVEN BETTER is that I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible with RV parks. If you find multi-family real estate attractive because of the potential to add value and create new income streams, then you’ll find RV parks to be like an absolute candyland of potential, much of which can be realized near term and at shockingly low costs.I couldn’t possibly be more excited about the future with these assets. We’ve already begun the hunt for even more of them.If you’d like to learn more about investing in RV parks… and maybe even participate in some of the deals that my partners and I are doing, drop a text to me at 833-212-2112 and let me know. We haven’t yet decided if we’re going to take on outside investors, and if we do, we’ll open up an application process, the first step of which is to be on my investor alerts list… and the way you make that happen is to text me at 833-212-2112 and let me know you’d like to be included.Oh… and failed to mention… you can actually use your IRA or 401(k) to do this type of investing! Want to know how? Well how about I give you those details in the very next episode of Self-Directed Investor Talk?!My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the last few years, the asset class that’s been all the rage is multi-family housing. But I’m here to tell you, my friends, there’s a new king of the hill. You’ll find out what it is RIGHT NOW in I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #321 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to Episode #321 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you. Guess what’s going to happen today? Well, I’m going to help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investing strategies and opportunities… so buckle up!So, the telephone rings, and I recognize this guy’s name. He’s a friend, a fellow investor, and someone whose judgment I trust quite strongly. He’s the kind of guy that when he says “I’ve got a deal”, if you’re smart, what you say in response is “where do I send the money”.So I picked up the phone, earnestly hoping that one of his life-changing opportunities awaited But that’s not what he said, this time. Instead, what he says, is this: I’ve got TWO deals… and instantly, I know this is going to be my lucky day.I’m going to tell you about those two deals and why you should keep your ears open for similar opportunities for yourself. In fact, it may even sound to you, as I describe these deals to you, that I’m trying to sell YOU on investing in these deals with us.Nope. We’re closing on both of them with our own money, because both of these are just too sweet to turn down. But I can tell you, with some confidence, that you’re going to wish you were in on this when you hear about it. Who knows, we may raise capital for these deals so we can get some of our money back out to find even more of them… but we may just keep them… they’re that good. If you’re already on my investor waiting list, I’ll let you know if we decide to make this available. And if you’re not already on my waiting list, and if you are liquid for atleast $100,000 - then you probably want to get on that list right away. Just text me at 833-212-2112 and ask to get on the waiting list and I’ll take care of you.So what is this spectacular asset class?Oh now… surely you can venture a guess? Think with me… the biggest demographic phenomemon of the last 60 years… the BABY BOOM generation… they’re retiring at the rate of about 10,000 people per day. A whole lot of them have MONEY, and lots of it. And all of their kids and grandchildren have spread out all over the country. What are these people doing? They’re buying RV’s - in MASSIVE volumes - and taking their home with them all over the country.So what opportunity does this create for me and you… and what is the ACTUAL opportunity that my friend reached out to me about?RV parks, baby! Imagine the benefits of owning a hotel… where you get a very, very high rental price for a very, very small portion of real estate… but you do NOT have to think about things like laundry or furniture or linens or any of the things that makes a hotel so very expensive to establish, operate and own.Instead, what you’re renting out is, essentially, a piece of concrete. A small piece of concrete, where your customers bring THEIR OWN bed and THEIR OWN furniture and THEIR OWN linens. All you do is provide them with a hookup for electricity and water and, if you’re smart, some great amenities, and what do you have? You have a situation where you’re collecting hotel-like nightly rental rates in exchange for a service that is FAR LESS EXPENSIVE and SO MUCH EASIER to provide than with a hotel.But there’s another HUGE benefit to RV parks… lots of them, actually. And this one explains why, we are expecting, conservatively, an internal rate of return of 15-20%+. That benefit is REPEAT BUSINESS! You see, we know, as a sociological fact, that people who use RV parks are, by and large, very habitual in their behavior. Once they find an RV park that they like, chances are they’ll come back every year or two over and over and over again…...and that means not only are the profits in this business VERY HIGH, but they can also be incredibly CONSISTENT.Both of the deals that we’re buying and closing on in the next two weeks are actually ALREADY very profitable… and the REALLY beautiful thing is this: A little money spent wisely goes a REALLY LONG WAY with RV parks. There are two examples I want to share with you, both of which will ABSOLUTELY blow your mind… you’ll see why we are SO UTTERLY THRILLED with this asset class.But before I share those two examples with you, think about this name: Sam Zell. Sam Zell is a LEGENDARY real estate investor, Bloomberg pegs his net worth at $4.4 BILLION. Zell started and currently owns a very large percentage of several publicly-traded REITs - kind of like a mutual fund for real estate investments - and each of those REITs are focused on different real estate segments like commercial real estate, multi-family and… surprise, surprise… RV parks and mobile home parks. And guess which one is outperforming the others? According to a recent story in BisNow.com, the answer is no surprise at all: Zell’s RV parks are CRUSHING the results from commercial real estate, multifamily and every other real estate sector.As for those two examples of how an investor can easily spend a TINY amount of money in an RV park and get that money back entirely very, very, very quickly… you’re just going to be bowled over, my friends.Unfortunately, we’re short of time today, so I’ll tell you those two things tomorrow, so be sure that you have SUBSCRIBED to Self-Directed Investor Talk in Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast system you use.If you’d like for me to send you a notice when I release that episode so you are sure you don’t miss it, just drop a quick text to me at 833-212-2112 and let me know.I’ll look forward to pulling back the curtain for you a little more tomorrow, my friends… and I’ll even give you my advice on how YOU can get involved in this incredibly, incredibly attractive asset class yourself… maybe even using the money in your IRA or 401(k), so don’t miss it!My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever! 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Secrets of Highly Tax-Advantaged Investing -- Episode #320 -- https://SDITalk.com/320For more information: text the word FLOWTEX to 833-212-2112 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Want to flip real estate in your IRA or 401(k)? Think you won’t owe taxes on your profits? You’ve made a very common error… but so did I in a solution I devised to that problem. Maybe my error will keep you from making any of your own, and I’ll tell you about it right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #319 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to Episode #319 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you, where each day, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investing strategies and opportunities!I have a great show headed your way right now. If you’d like to get the transcript or links to the resources I share with you today, just send text the word ep319 with no spaces to 833-212-2112. Again, to get a link to the transcript and resource links for this episode, #319, just text the word ep319 with no spaces to 833-212-2112 and we’ll get it right out to you.Well, I’ll admit it, folks… the brilliant idea I had yesterday isn’t going to pan out. Still, there’s a very helpful lesson in it that you’ll want to know, particularly if you like the idea of flipping real estate in your IRA or 401(k), and I’ll tell you all about it right after this…So here’s the idea: In the last couple of episodes I’ve shared with you 5 reasons that I’ve reconsidered my formerly 100% negative stance against oil and gas investing. It’s not that I never believed it could work, just that I had a misunderstanding of how risk can be mitigated, so the risk was all I saw. I’m definitely infinitely more open to that asset class now, and one of the big advantages created by many oil & gas investments – which is HUGE tax deductibility – sparked an idea in my mind:The idea was this: There are a lot of people who like to flip real estate in their IRA or 401(k). Unfortunately, most of those people seem to not be aware of the fact that most such transactions are technically “earned” income rather than “unearned” income, and as such, the IRA or 401(k) will have to pay income taxes on any profits realized from flips.So here was my thought: If a person does a flip deal that generates a lot of profit, why not just – assuming you have the available capital to do so – just mitigate those taxes by doing a separate oil & gas investment? That would generate a tax deduction which would otherwise be totally irrelevant for a retirement account since oil & gas probably IS unearned income, and therefore shielded from taxes by the IRA or 401(k), so you could take the tax deduction generated by the oil & gas deal and apply it to the income generated on your flip deal and VOILA, problem solved.Right?Well… Yes… until recently, that is. During the end of yesterday’s show when I described this idea, I kept hearing a voice in my mind saying… check it out, check it out! It was as if this idea absolutely SHOULD work, but for some reason, it won’t… I just couldn’t remember why.Well, I did what I always do when I have a question of this nature… I reached out to the Great One, attorney Tim Berry, for clarification. And he filled in the blanks for me. Apparently, before the recent Trump tax cut, it WAS possible for deductions generated by one investment to offset the profits generated by another investment in an IRA or 401(k). But apparently, that went away with the new tax law. That’s unfortunate. That tax bill has been so very good on such a broad basis and so clearly very good for our economy… but the fact is that there are still some somewhat crappy parts to it, and this is one of them.So… this idea won’t pan out. Not all of them do. That’s ok. Let’s keep thinking creatively together, shall we?My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

News flash: I was wrong. There’s one asset class that I’ve never embraced and certainly never invested in because it is, I convinced myself, incredibly risky. Well, I was wrong. I’ll tell you HOW I was wrong… and the upside potential of this asset class RIGHT NOW in Episode #317 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to Episode #317 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you, and today we have an excellent show for you.Our telephone number here for you folks that have questions is easy to remember: 833-212-2112. And that’s also our TEXT number, too… because if you’d like a link to the recording of this show or to the transcript – maybe to review for yourself or forward to a friend of yours, it’s very easy to get that and costs nothing other than normal message and data rates. Just text today’s episode number – 317 – to 833-212-2112 and we’ll send those links out to you right away.The asset class we consider today isn’t a new one, but it’s still a sexy one. Two of the most famous TV shows of the 1980’s – Dallas and Dynasty – were based on the immense wealth created by this asset class, and the frankly, the money involved in this arena has done nothing but get bigger and bigger and bigger.That asset class is, of course, the oil & gas industry.Now look… I’ve never invested a single penny in this asset class. I have no experience with it. None. My interest in it is solely because a friend of mine for whom I have great respect, and whose acumen as an investor is absolutely first-rate, and has been so consistently for many years now… well, he reached out to me as he does from time to time for help with raising some capital for a project of his. Given his success, I always take such calls quite seriously, but this time, his latest project stopped me cold: He wants to do a big oil & gas investment, and he wants me to help him raise money for that investment.Normally, I’d turn down the request just because I think oil & gas is so risky. But I had to give him a fair hearing because of his track record. And I’ve got to say… I think I may have been operating under some faulty assumptions for a long time.I’m still doing my research, but here’s what I’ve found out so far:First, risk doesn’t exist in a vacuum in the oil business. I mean that, by and large, it’s relatively simple to know in advance, through the use of modern science, whether a particular high-risk, high-reward new oil well might be a total dud. In other words, if you’re careful, it’s not extremely likely you’ll ever be taken by surprise if you invest in a new well that ends up being unproductive. You’ll know going in about your odds of success, and you can likely mitigate that risk in several different ways, which leads toThe Second point, which is this: Risk mitigation is the key in oil & gas. It appears that the “smart money” in that business mitigates their up-front risk by a combination of careful and aggressive investment in the geological research necessary to make well-informed predictions, and by always spreading risk around by way of investing in not just one and only one oil well, but in MANY oil wells, so that the failure of any one can be overtaken, probably in substantial volume, by the other more successful wells.Now those first two bits of learning are helpful and useful but not overwhelmingly surprising. But these last two points, I never would have guessed. And I’ll tell you what they are in about 45 seconds from now, when we return from this quick word from our sponsor.Hey folks, Bryan Ellis here. An industry that’s really caught my attention lately is oil & gas. It’s not for everybody… but if you’re looking for the ability to take an income tax deduction for practically EVERY PENNY you invest into your deals…PLUS a method of investing so reliable that banks lend against this kind of income, you should reach out to my friend Aldo over at FlowTex Energy. I don’t know if they’re funding any investments right now or not… but what I do know is Aldo can help you see whether oil and gas is a good fit for you… and why it’s probably a much better fit than you think. Learn more now. Just text the word ALDO – that’s ALDO – to 833-212-2112 right now. Again, text the world ALDO to 833-212-2112 right now.So, continuing on with the 5 things I’ve learned about investing in oil & gas that may be changing my mind about that asset class…The Third thing I’ve learned is this: There’s more than one way to play the oil & gas game. You see, the thing we probably all think of – acquiring land, drilling for oil, hoping for big gushers and selling oil by the thousands of barrels each day – well, that’s certainly one way to play it and it’s a very HIGH DOLLAR kind of way. But it’s not the only way. For example: It’s actually quite common for niche-type companies to do very, very well in the oil and gas business simply by buying wells that are ALREADY PRODUCING and simply to monetize those wells. It turns out that the state of the art in science where oil and gas detection are concerned is sufficiently advanced that many banks will actually lend against the production capabilities of oil wells, so predictable and reliable is the ability of scientists to forecast the productivity level of any particular oil well.But why would an oil company sell an oil well that they already own, that is producing reliably, and that has a predictable value in the future? Well, it has to do with the fourth issue I learned about, and that one – along with issue #5, which is the most important one of them all, the one that actually makes it HARD TO LOSE as an oil & gas investor, we’ll have to reserve for tomorrow, since we’re out of time for today.I really hope this has gotten you thinking about the potential of oil & gas investing. I’ll be straight with you: I’m not yet 100% sold. But every day, the pendulum swing is getting closer and closer to a big, fat YES.So join me tomorrow to hear about the final two HUGE things I’ve learned… more substantial even than the first 3. If you’d like to hear this episode again or read the transcript – or even forward it to a friend of yours you know is interested in oil & gas investing – then just text today’s episode # - which is 317, 317 – to me at 833-212-2112 and we’ll get those links to you right away.In the mean time, my friends: Invest wisely today and live well forever! 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Is the big-time AirBnb boom opportunity winding to a close? There are three totally anecdotal, but eerily accurate, indicators I’m seeing, each of which gives an unambiguous answer to that question. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you what those 3 indicators are RIGHT NOW in Episode #316 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to Episode #316 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you, and today we have an excellent show for you.To ask question, just call 833-212-2112. Or if you’d like to receive a link to this show you can listen again at your leisure or possibly share it with a friend, just text today’s episode number – 316 – to 833-212-2112 and I’ll get that link to you right away. Again, that’s text today’s episode number – 316 – to 833-212-2112 right now.Today we jump into a topic that I bring up with some concern. I want the answer to this question to be different than I fear it might be. The question we’re considering is this: Is the big-time boom opportunity in AirBnb drawing to a close? I’ll give you my answer, along with the 3 pieces of evidence I’ll cite to support that opinion. But first, a quick word from a sponsor I know you’ll enjoy hearing from:Hey folks, Bryan Ellis here. An industry that’s really caught my attention lately is oil & gas. It’s not for everybody… but if you’re looking for the ability to take an income tax deduction for practically EVERY PENNY you invest into your deals…PLUS a method of investing so reliable that banks lend against this kind of income, you should reach out to my friend Aldo over at FlowTex Energy. I don’t know if they’re funding any investments right now or not… but what I do know is Aldo can help you see whether oil and gas is a good fit for you… and why it’s probably a much better fit than you think. Learn more now. Just text the word ALDO – that’s ALDO – to 833-212-2112 right now. Again, text the world ALDO to 833-212-2112 right now.Ok, AirBnb… Very cool concept, I’ve really respected the creative thinking of this company since the beginning. The idea is simple: You have a property. You let AirBnb list your property for short-term – as little as a single night – rentals, and the two of you share revenue from that rental. And it turns out that that concept has been so popular that many people who otherwise would have tried to monetize their real estate by doing conventional year-long or month-to-month rentals have instead been making money, and frequently MUCH more money, by doing short-term rentals through AirBnb than by using the more conventional approach to generating rental income.But all gravy trains slow down, and this one will too at some point.Are we there yet?I don’t think so. But I think we’re getting pretty close… close enough that making money on AirBnb is no longer easy as “shooting fish in a barrel”, so to speak. I’ll share 3 pieces of evidence that leads me to this thinking, but I’ll go ahead and readily admit:Each of these 3 reasons are anecdotal, not statistical. You probably know that my formal education is in engineering and computer science, so I don’t typically have a lot of use for anecdote. But I have noticed that anecdotal evidence is frequently a leading indicator for the more empirical form of evidence I prefer, so I can’t ignore it and neither should you.So without further adieu, here are my 3 anecdotal indicators that suggest the AirBnb gravy train is slowing down:Reason #1: Anytime there’s a cable TV show about an investing strategy, you’ve got to wonder if that strategy might be spent… or at least that there’s more competition than makes sense. And guess what? There’s now a TV show on the cable TV station CNBC called CashPad… and that show is about NOTHING BUT people turning their houses into AirBnb properties for profit.Does this mean disaster is imminent? No, but it does mean it’s becoming so well know that it’s looking like a “good idea” to John Q. Public… and that’s historically not a good sign for anything.Reason #2 the AirBnb gravy train might be slowing: The government. Look, the government is really only good at a few things, and the thing they do best is to destroy great business opportunities. That’s what is happening now in a number of jurisdictions where local governments are trying to flex their muscles and put rather onerous restrictions on AirBnb property owners. Some of these restrictions are reasonable, because AirBnb hosts and their guests aren’t always particularly respectful of the neighborhoods where they stay. But it’s bigger than that. Local governments see an opportunity here to generate more revenue, and frankly, I suspect this will, in many places, increase the effective cost of renting AirBnb properties enough to make serious, frequent travelers – the backbone of the hospitality industry – return exclusively to the big hotel chains.And finally, reason #3: This is most anecdotal of all and I’ll admit it’s a little condescending, though I don’t mean that to be the case. Here’s the deal: Have you noticed that some of the people doing well with AirBnb’s don’t seem to be the sharpest knives in the drawer, if you know what I mean? Don’t get me wrong: I know that there’s not an actual connection between high intelligence and the ability to be successful as an investor. But it appears to me that the money has been so easy in that game that up until now, it’s been pretty easy for everybody – whether they’re more of the “wheat” or the “chaff” variety – to make a lot of money from it. And when something is too good to be true, there’s inevitably a market adjustment.Now as I said, all of these reasons are “soft” reasons without data to back any of them up. They’re all observations, and they’re such soft observations that I’m certainly not suggesting anyone change their plans on the basis of what I’ve shared with you. But maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea for you to keep an eye on this stuff.After all, job #1 of the self-directed investor is to RESPECT YOUR OWN CAPITAL.My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have rental properties and want to set up a company and an associated self-directed 401(k)? Good idea… but the IRS might stand in your way. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you all about it RIGHT NOW in Episode #315 of Self-Directed Investor Talk---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane. Welcome to another action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride into the fantastic world of tax-free alternative asset investing. This is Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you, and today we have an excellent show for youThis is Episode #315, so to get the transcript and other resources for today’s show, visit SDITalk.com/315, that’s SDITalk.com/315 for all of those resources, provided to you with our compliments.So…I regularly hear from rental property investors who want to use a self-directed 401(k). The idea is that they want to form a company connected to their rental properties since one must have a business in order to establish a self-directed 401(k). On the face of it, this isn’t a bad idea.My regular listeners will, of course, know that I am a huge proponent of self-directed 401(k)’s as being the absolute crème-de-la-crème of self-directed retirement accounts versus any type of IRA in Every Single Way……Except one.“Well Bryan, what is that one exception?” I can practically hear you asking right now? It is this:Far fewer people actually QUALIFY to set up a self-directed 401(k) in the first place. The qualifications aren’t complicated – really, all you have to have is a business that you own which has no full time employees other than you and maybe also your spouse, and your business has to have earned income. That’s really about the size of it.But therein, there’s a pretty big GOTCHYA for rental property owners who want a self-directed 401(k). What is it? Well, it’s that caveat of having EARNED INCOME.Earned income, as you may know, is the type of income that results whenever an employer gives you a paycheck or, if we’re talking about a business rather than a person, it’s the type of income that results whenever a business is paid for the purchase of a product or a service. It’s income that’s earned on the basis of active effort.You’ll note that that definition doesn’t directly apply to rental income. Rental income is, under the tax code, what’s known as UNEARNED income. Not unearned in the sense that you’re unworthy of receiving the income, but unearned in the sense that rent is payment for the use of an asset rather than for the purchase of a product or service. From a tax perspective, there’s no active effort involved in receiving rental income.So that’s a problem. If the only income you are receiving comes from rental income, then all you’re receiving is UNEARNED income rather than EARNED income. And it really doesn’t matter whether those rents are being paid to you personally or to a company you form to own the properties. Either way, the nature of the income itself is still UNEARNED.And if that’s the only kind of income you’re receiving, that’s not sufficient basis to establish a self-directed 401(k), I am sorry to say.But NEVER FEAR, my friends. As always, I have a solution, which Self-Directed Investor Society clients have been using quite productively for years now, and it is this:While RENTAL INCOME won’t qualify you to set up a self-directed 401(k), what COULD qualify you to do so is to establish a PROPERTY MANAGEMENT company which serves your rental properties. In other words, let’s imagine you have one or ten or a thousand rental properties… you could very realistically and legitimately establish a company that provides property management services to your rental properties, for which it receives payment, usually in the form of a percentage of rents collected.And in your quest to set up a self-directed 401(k), that will go along way. Because while RENTAL income is UNEARNED and doesn’t qualify you to establish a self-directed 401(k), PROPERTY MANAGEMENT income is distinctly of the EARNED variety… and thus is a legitimate qualifier for the “earned income” requirement to set up a self-directed 401(k).Capiche? The idea is simply to segment a small portion of your income and do something to convert it, in a legal and legitimate sense, to the form of income that will allow you to qualify to establish a self-directed 401(k).But even this solution has a rather serious drawback. Two of them, actually. Did your investing guru – who isn’t an expert in self-directed retirement accounts – mention these drawbacks to you? I didn’t think so. But I, your exceptionally well-informed, highly opinionated, always lovable and deadly accurate host won’t hold back the goods from you.But you’re going to have to listen in tomorrow to get THE GOODS because I’m out of time for today.And that reminds me… if you haven’t SUBSCRIBED to Self-Directed Investor Talk, please do that now so you get a notice when we publish new episodes! As I suspect you can tell, this isn’t information you can afford to miss, and it’s not information you’ll get anywhere else.And second… if you like this show… and hey… YOU KNOW YOU DO! Hehehehe. Seriously, if you like this show, please consider giving us a nice 5-star rating and review in Apple Podcasts… that really, really helps to get the word out and brings in more listeners, which motivates me to make this show better and better with each passing day.That’s all I’ve got for you today my friends, except for this one parting thought:Invest wisely today, and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Which is better for you: A self-directed IRA or a self-directed 401(k)? Today, you learn the first big distinction to help you answer that question in the best possible way for you. I am Bryan Ellis. This is episode #314 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, self-directed investors, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Episode #314 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like YOU where each day, I help you to find, understand and PROFIT from exceptional alternative investment opportunities and strategies.I, of course, am your sometimes opinionated, always accurate and consistently lovable host, Bryan Ellis. This episode – for which you can find all of the links and resources at SDITalk.com/314 – is the second installment of our “Choosing the Right Tool” series, where we’re looking at whether an IRA or a 401(k) is the right answer for you as a self-directed investor.Now in the last episode I did share with you some circumstances under which you need not have EITHER type of self-directed account. I won’t rehash those other than to say that you MUST have one or both of earned income from a job/employer and/or you’ve got to have money in an existing IRA or 401(k) to transfer into the account. In other words, you’ve got to have an allowable way to get money into the account. The details are in installment #1 of this series, to which I’ve linked on today’s show page at SDITalk.com/314.If you’ve been a long time listener of SDI Talk, first of all – THANK YOU for being a long time listener! – but if that describes you, you probably already know that I have a very, very, very strong preference for using a 401(k) over an IRA whenever possible.To be clear, both tools have their place. But to my way of thinking, and for some reasons I’ll share with you now, if you’re investing in non-Wall Street assets, you should have a bias towards using a 401(k) rather than an IRA if that’s an option for you.Now way back in the beginning of this show, Episode #3 – literally five years ago – I did a whole show that showcases rather clearly 7 big reasons that a properly structured 401(k) is vastly superior to a self-directed IRA. You’d do well to check that out, and I’ve linked to it from today’s show page at SDITalk.com/314.But a quick recap of just SOME of the reasons – there are far more than just 7 – that you should use a 401(k) if you can are as follows:1. You can contribute FAR MORE MONEY to a 401(k) than to an IRA2. You and your spouse can contribute money to the same plan, thus POOLING your capital and making it easier to do bigger deals.3. 401ks’ offer SUBSTANTIALLY better protection against creditors and lawsuits than IRA’s4. Checkbook-like control of your investment capital is built into properly structured 401(k)’s. For IRA’s, on the other hand, that level of control is expensive, tedious and risky to establish.5. If you’re using an IRA and you break the IRS rules about handling your account, you’re out of luck. It’s going to be very painful and there’s nothing you can do to fix it. Not so with 401k’s, that provide a clear path to correcting errors.6. You can’t BORROW money from your own IRA, but you can from your own 401k!7. A 401k includes BOTH Traditional and Roth subaccounts… you get both types in one 401k plan, which creates astounding flexibility not available in an IRA.Again, there are MANY more reasons that I firmly endorse the use of a 401(k) over an IRA for any self-directed investor who qualifies for both. Issue #5 – the one about committing prohibited transactions – if that was the only difference, that would be more than enough. But the reasons are far more extensive than that.But that caveat I mentioned: That you should use a 401(k) over an IRA if you qualify for both… it’s the question of qualification that’s our first determining factor, and that leads to the one, and I believe only, way in which IRA’s are superior to 401k’s.That way is that nearly anybody who has a job or an existing retirement account can qualify to set up a self-directed IRA. There’s just not a lot required beyond having a source of earned income.Not so with 401(k)’s. The requirements aren’t huge, but they’re notable. Here they are:First, you have to be owner or partial owner of a business.Second, that business have to make real income. It doesn’t have to be a lot of income, and it doesn’t even have to be profitable, but it does have to earn income.Third, if your business has any full-time employees other than you, your partners and your spouses, then you’ll need to use a normal self-directed 401(k). But if the only full-time employees of your business are the owners and their spouses, then you can use the solo 401(k), which is the same thing but intended for smaller businesses.So that’s it. You’ve got to own a business that makes money, even if it isn’t profitable. That’s basically what it takes to qualify to set up a self-directed 401(k) plan.Again, my strongest advice to you is this: If you qualify to use a self-directed 401(k) plan, you almost certainly should do that rather than using a self-directed IRA plan. Again, check out Episode #3 of this show – which is linked on today’s show page at SDITalk.com/314 – for more information that compares 401k’s to IRA’s.Here’s the good news and the bad news about 401k’s: They can be relatively simple and inexpensive to set up, but they are NOT all the same… and sometimes, the differences are REALLY severe. I’ll do an episode sometime in the future to help you see how stark those differences can be. But in the mean time, if you’d like to set up a self-directed 401k and want a referral to someone who can do that for you and do it exactly right the first time, just drop an email to me at feedback@sditalk.com and I’ll be happy to get you connected.Now, having clarified the general superiority of 401k’s over IRA’s, that still leaves us with a big question: If you only qualify for an IRA and not a 401k, which TYPE of IRA should you use? Because it turns out there are a LOT of variation with HUGE differences! We’ll dig into that question in the NEXT episode of our Making The Right Choice series here on SDI Talk, so stay tuned!My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mark Cuban said WHAT? Political correctness rears its ugly, stupid head again. Today, we take a brief break from our “Choosing the Right Tool” series to address some utterly foolish comments made by a normally reasonable and thoughtful person. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #313 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Episode #313 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you, where each day, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional investments and strategies.Today’s show notes, transcript and resources are available to you, at no cost and with my complements, over at SDITalk.com/313.Yesterday we began to focus on the question of determining which type of self-directed account is better for you: the self-directed IRA or solo 401(k). We’re going to return to that tomorrow and likely for a couple of additional episodes as well, but something came up today in my news feed that I thought I’d address with you.Mark Cuban – the businessman who famously became a billionaire when he sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo in 1999 – is someone to whom I pay attention and whose words are generally surprisingly grounded given that he is, after all, a billionaire. I respect that.Furthermore, I know a lot of you respect him and his work, too. And you and I as self-directed investors are obligated to pay attention to smart people since we make our own investment decisions. Unfortunately, it looks like Mark Cuban’s thinking may now be muddled and more politically-oriented than business-oriented.Case in point: A new article on Yahoo Finance called “Mark Cuban describes the best way to reduce wealth inequality”. I’ve linked to it today from SDITalk.com/313, be sure to check it out.Now right away, whenever you see the words “wealth inequality”, you know someone is speaking to a political audience and not an investor- or business-oriented audience, because wealth inequality is a totally contrived problem.On the surface, the words “wealth inequality” seem to mean that some people have more wealth than some other people. Yep, that’s true. And thank God for it. Those who do better than I do provide great inspiration, motivation and examples for me to up my game. Hopefully I provide a good example for those not at my level. That’s what “wealth inequality” really is: The scorecard of capitalism and the financial representation of dogged determination.That’s capitalism at the core, and capitalism is a good thing. My model of wealth building and your model of wealth building – self-directed investing – depend on capitalism. Always remember that.Now “wealth inequality” might represent an actual real problem, rather than a totally contrived one, but only if our economy was a zero-sum game. If, in other words, it was the case that every dollar I make means that you can’t make that dollar… well, in that case, the scarce supply of wealth might change the game. But that’s not reality. When another oil well is found, new wealth is discovered. When a new software program is developed that has commercial appeal, new wealth is created. Wealth in a capitalist economy like ours is not a zero-sum issue, but is simply a representation of the value of resources and ideas. There are zero circumstances under which it can be said that the fabulous wealth of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or Jeff Bezos or Mark Cuban has hurt my ability or your ability to become wealthy in any way. In fact, it’s likely that every one of them have IMPROVED your odds in some way.That’s why Cuban’s promotion of this issue is disappointing to me, and also quite illogical. In the Yahoo Finance interview, he’s suggesting, for example, that to really change the wealth inequality situation, that people on the lower end need to begin accumulating assets. I totally agree with this, by the way. But then he goes on to suggest that one of the provisions of the new Federal Tax law – the provision whereby a cap is placed on the amount of federal income tax deductions one can take for the STATE and LOCAL taxes they’ve already paid – Cuban suggests that this provision makes it harder for lower-income people to actually buy houses or other assets in order to get themselves above the lower-end of the financial spectrum.That sounds good to people of a certain political persuasion, but here’s the problem: It’s wrong. Low-income people are, almost by definition, unaffected by the tax code provision he cites. As in, an effect of zero, zilch, nada. It just doesn’t make any sense what Cuban is saying here.Of course, some of the other things in the interview he says DO make rational sense, so I’m not saying that this guy is a fool or is absolutely misleading. What I am saying to you is this:Mark Cuban is now definitely endorsing some ideas that only make sense in a political world, not in the real world. Not all of them, but definitely some of his ideas can be described that way. So if you’re like me, you’re a self-directed investor and you’ve taken Mark Cuban’s advice to be the kind of advice which is inherently always worth considering seriously, well… maybe it’s time we rethink the degree to which we take his opinions seriously.Because at the end of the day, folks, this is true: When it comes time to pay for your retirement, you’re not a Republican and you’re not a Democrat. You’ve got expenses to cover and bills to pay… and nothing said by a politician or aspiring politician will help you with that.My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What’s better for you: A self-directed IRA or a solo 401(k)? This is a critical and distinctly untrivial decision… particularly if you’re investing in real estate, syndications or any type of complex transactions. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you how to make the right choice for you right now in episode #312.----Hello, self-directed investors, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like YOU where each day, I help you to find, understand and PROFIT from exceptional alternative investment opportunities and strategies.I, of course, am your kind, lovable host, Bryan Ellis. Today we venture into the start of a new series that I call the “Choosing The Right Tool” Series wherein you’ll see rather clearly how to choose which type of account is right for you, because the answer is truly not the same for everyone.This, my friends, is episode #312. To hear the episode again or to read the transcript or enjoy the resources I mention on today’s show, feel free to visit SDITalk.com/312 and you’ll find it all there, available for you to freely enjoy with my complements.Before we jump in today, I have a quick announcement that’s very exciting! Next month, July of 2019, will see the publication of Issue #1 of a brand new magazine that’s being published by yours truly. It’s called Self-Directed Investor Magazine and if you enjoy this show – and come on… come on… you know you do! – hehehe if you enjoy the Self-Directed Investor Talk podcast, you’re going to LOVE Self-Directed Investor Magazine.Furthermore, it will be under the editorial control of my wife, Carole Ellis, so it will be GREAT. She didn’t get that job because we’re married. She’s got that job because she is the best there is for this task. She has VAST editorial experience, having been editor-in-chief for the well-respected journal called Research (published by the University of Georgia). She was also the editor in chief of Think Realty Magazine, a niche publication for individual real estate investors. And she also had full control of my own real estate newsletter, the Bryan Ellis Investing Letter, and it’s subscribership of over 600,000 investors worldwide. Point is: Carole is a highly-regarded professional in the sphere of magazine editorial work and there’s literally no one I’d hire instead of her. I’m genuinely honored she’s decided to do this, and I know you’re going to enjoy the fruit of her effort too.And oh… by the way… would you like a free subscription to Self-Directed Investor Magazine? I mean… totally free? Well, I’ll tell you how to do that momentarily. But first:So which is right for you: A self-directed IRA or solo 401(k)? That’s a great and very important question, as you’ll begin to truly understand forthwith.First, let’s define exactly what I mean. When I say “self-directed IRA” or “solo 401(k)” or even the more generic “self-directed retirement account”, I’m referring generically – unless I say otherwise – to a retirement account that has nearly no limits on the types of investments you can make. This is in contrast to the term I coined for the other type of IRA which is the “captive” retirement account. Captive accounts are the ones provided by your bank or your company’s 401(k) plan or your stock brokerage company. It’s not necessarily easy to know, just based on the name of the account, whether you’re using a “captive” account or a “self-directed” account because a lot of the companies that provide captive accounts still called them “self-directed” or something similar to that. So if you need to know which type you’re currently using, here’s a simple and very decisive test: Call up your retirement account provider and ask them this question: Can I use the money in my retirement account to purchase a herd of dairy cattle? If the answer is “yes”, you’ve got a self-directed account. If the answer is “no”, then you have a captive account. Easy-peasy.With that foundational question out of the way, we’ll return to the question of whether a “self-directed IRA” or a “solo 401(k)” is the better tool for you. Now, you might notice the bias from which I’m working, that being that you should definitely be using one or the other of those types of self-directed accounts.I’d like to disabuse you of such thinking right now. In fact, not everyone needs a self-directed account. They really don’t. And if they don’t actually need these accounts, they shouldn’t use them.Who might NOT need a self-directed IRA or solo 401(k)?Well, if you are deeply and exclusively committed to investing only in the assets that are available to you from your current IRA or 401(k) provider, then there’s no real need for you to have a self-directed IRA or solo 401(k) at all. You’re not going to get better investment results by investing in publicly-traded stocks or mutual funds simply by performing those investments inside of a self-directed retirement account.Also, you really need not have a self-directed account unless you have a way to get some money into that account. In general, there are two ways to get money into a retirement account. The first one is that you set aside some money from the income you earn from your job or business. So in tax parlance, this means you must have what is called “earned income” in order to qualify to make contributions to any kind of retirement account.The other way to get money into a retirement account is by way of TRANSFER. So let’s just imagine you have a 401(k) from a previous job or maybe an IRA that you began building years ago. If you wanted to have a self-directed retirement account, it’s quite likely you could simply transfer the money in your existing accounts – which are probably with “captive” account institutions like your bank or stock brokerage – over to a “self-directed” account so you have the ability to invest that money any way you want.So what we have so far is: If you don’t plan to invest outside the realm of publicly-traded securities, then you don’t need a self-directed account at all. And if you want to have a self-directed account, you must have one or both of some sort of earned income and/or an existing account in order to fund your new self-directed account.Now, unfortunately we’re out of time for today, so when we resume tomorrow, having this well-established foundation, we’ll dig deep into the question of which type of self-directed account – IRA or 401(k) – is the superior choice for YOU and YOUR needs.Hey my friends if you have any questions you’d like for me to address, be sure to send them to feedback@SDITalk.com and also – about getting a free subscription to the magazine – join me for tomorrow’s episode #313 and I’ll tell you how to do that then.In the mean time: Invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This may be the most astoundingly brilliant and simple way to bring in a 6-digit bump to your retirement account balance practically overnight and without risk. I’m Bryan Ellis. Get ready to be blown away right now in Episode #311 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---Hello, Self-Directed Investors all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you.I, of course, am your host, Bryan Ellis. Today is Episode #311… so when you get the itch to hear this show again or to review any of the resources I refer to in today’s episode, remember that that’s available to you at no cost by visiting SDITalk.com/311.So let’s do this.Ok, I’ve got to clearly disclose something to you… I’m still doing my research into what I’m about to share with you. I’ll have some excellent additional clarity on this within 2 weeks, and if you’d like to find out what I determine as a final matter, I’ll tell you how to get that info in just a minute.So the premise today is this: I’m going to tell you how to bring in a 6-digit bump to your retirement account balance in no time flat with no risk. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Maybe it is… I’ll know within 2 weeks… but I have great reason to think this is going to work out.So let’s set the stage here.One of the most interesting investment strategies I’ve ever heard of is called “viatical settlements”. The basic idea is this: An investor identifies a person who has a life insurance policy and who, for whatever reason, would rather have money right now rather than waiting for their beneficiaries to receive the money later.So maybe this person has a life insurance policy that will pay out $1,000,000. If you’re investing in viatical settlements, then the amount you’ll offer for that policy is based entirely on how soon you’ll receive the payout. So if the person is already in a hospice care facility and will likely pass on within a few weeks, then maybe you’ll have to pay $950,000 for the policy, because you won’t have to wait long for the payout.But if the person is 60 years old and in great health, then you might only pay $100,000 because it could still be 30 years before you receive a payout on that policy.So that’s what a viatical settlement is, and it’s always interested me as an asset class.But then recently I was having lunch with a dear friend of mine, whose name is also Bryon. Bryon has been a very good friend to me… he’s eclectic, he’s brilliant, and he’s definitely among the most generous people I’ve ever encountered. He’s also been rather successful financially, and also comes from a family who experienced great financial success, and he has the wonderful frame of reference that goes with such an upbringing.Bryon once told me something about his father that totally blew my mind and struck me as utterly brilliant: His father was seriously involved in viatical settlements… but as a seller, not a buyer!In other words, what he’d do is to establish a life insurance policy, and then promptly sell that policy to a viatical settlements investor. So maybe he would set up a $1,000,000 policy and then sell that policy to an investor for $100,000 to $200,000.Just think of where that put him… With no more effort than establishing a life insurance policy, he suddenly has $100,000 to $200,000 cash in his pocket that he can use for whatever he wants! This is astounding!!!And what if you need to establish or quickly grow the size of your retirement savings?Well, my friends… here’s where my research is still ongoing, so don’t take what I’m about to tell you as absolute gospel. Rather, I’m telling you about the research I’m doing. But here’s how the theory goes:If you happen to be wise enough to be using a self-directed 401(k) for your retirement investing, this could work for you. It won’t work for self-directed IRA’s because they can’t own life insurance.But if you use a self-directed 401(k), it is actually allowable under certain circumstances for your 401(k) to buy a life insurance policy on YOUR life… and then instead of YOU selling off your life insurance policy to a viatical settlement investor, your 401(k) would do it instead. And voila! Your 401(k) suddenly has a big chunk of income and has done so in a risk-free manner.Just think of that, folks… that could be HUGE… really huge.Now my friends, let me remind you: I’m still doing the research to confirm whether the fact is as good as the theory on this, including whatever tax ramifications may exist. I’ll know soon and will be happy to update you soon as I know. If you’d like for me to be sure to let you know when I get conclusive information on this, then do this:Drop an email to me at feedback@sditalk.com and just let me know you’d like for me to update you when I get the info and I’ll be happy to do it. Again, just drop an email to me at feedback@sditalk.com and I’ll update you within a couple weeks when I have final information.My friends, I hope you’ve enjoyed this excursion into some rather creative investment thinking and remember this: Invest wisely today, and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What are the big assumptions you’re making in your investment decisions? Can you list them? Is there any chance they’re WRONG? I’m Bryan Ellis. We’ll look at this serious but nearly never-discussed issue right now in Episode #310 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you.This is episode #310 of Self-Directed Investor Talk, and should you be so inclined, you’re welcomed to visit today’s show page to get a transcript and links and resources that are relevant to today’s discussion. The address for the episode #310 show page is https://SDITalk.com/310So the big question today: What are the big assumptions you’re using as a basis for your investment decisions? More importantly, is there a chance any of them are wrong?That’s a big, important question. Here’s some context for why I ask it:I’m something of a science geek. I routinely and very happily spend a relatively large amount of time learning what’s going on in the world of scientific research. One of the geekiest things that I do – and that I really love to do – is to watch formal debates that feature scientists and philosophers duking it out intellectually to see where everyone’s ideas fit in the grand scheme of things.And do you know what kind of evidence I’m seeing a LOT in the last 3 years… I mean, a LOT of it? And as I answer that question, remember that the topic of today’s show is a look at the big assumptions you’re making in your portfolio, and whether they could possibly be WRONG.So here’s what I’m seeing a lot of: I’m seeing a LOT of scientists who are absolutely the very top people in their respective fields offering very, very serious scientific resistance to the famous theory of evolution posited by Charles Darwin in the mid 1800’s. I mean, legitimate, top-tier people like the famed synthetic organic chemist Dr. James Tour at Rice University. There’s also Dr. Marcos Eberlin, the internationally renowned mass spectrometry expert at the University of Campinas in Brazil. And Michael Behe, the respected biochemist at Lehigh University. Now some people try to disregard the opinions of those guys because all of them have religious beliefs which would predispose them to resist the theory of evolution. But then you’d have to explain away highly-regarded atheistic and/or agnostic scientists and professors who also openly criticize and question Darwinian evolution like famed philosopher and mathematician Dr. David Berlinski, biologist Dr. Denis Noble at the University of Oxford, and professor Thomas Nagle at NYU. And frankly, this is only scratching the surface of dissent among serious academics and scientists of today. If you knew the extent of it all, you’d be utterly blown away.Now look, this isn’t a discussion about Darwinian evolution. Unless I have the pleasure of meeting you in person and you’d like to discuss this, then right now I don’t care what you think about that question and you need not care what I think, either.But the question is this: Can you think of any assumption that has been pounded into all of as being any more fundamental than the theory of evolution? I can’t either… and yet, whatever your position on the matter, any objective look at that theory suggests there’s a real chance that, after all of this time, the entire theory is just a crumbling house of cards. We don’t know that yet, of course, but it surely looks that way.So let’s shift that line of thinking over to our investments. Ask yourself: What are the core, operating assumptions you’re making each and every time you make an investment decision? The assumptions that are so deep that you don’t even think about them consciously?I’m thinking about this for myself, and some of them are:· Paying less tax is better than paying more tax· Making more profit is better than making less profit· Only take calculated risks· Physical assets are more secure than paper assets· Etc…Now having thought about this for a bit of time, I’m coming up with a lot of fundamental assumptions that I’m making, far more than the few I’ve mentioned here. And here’s how this becomes interesting:If considering each and every one of my fundamental assumptions, I then ask myself these questions:· Is this absolutely true?· Is this absolutely false?· Is this relatively true or relatively false, depending on the circumstances?· Is there a better assumption that I could adopt?This has been enlightening for me, my friends, for this reason: I’ve again shown myself that having extremely dogmatic rules about anything can be a very dangerous thing UNLESS you take the time to clarify not just the rule or the assumption, but also clarify what I call the two C’s: context and caveats.For example: Physical assets are, I think, more secure as an investment than paper assets. But a relevant context might be that that’s true only in an environment where it’s legal and practical to sell that asset when I need to do so, since physical items are usually not highly liquid. And a caveat to that rule might be that if owning the physical asset entails more direct, physical involvement in the asset than I am willing or able to provide, then in that case, it might make sense for me to do something like own shares in a real estate investment trust rather than owning real estate directly myself.These are simple examples, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and my assumptions I preparing for this episode… and where those assumptions may not be serving me well. Let’s you and I do our best to see to it that the only things that are crumbling are faltering scientific theories rather than our life’s savings.My friends, invest wisely today, and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the longest time, the big boys of Silicon Valley – Facebook, Amazon and Google – were all the reason you needed to be invested in stocks. Now, they’re the best reason to get out. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you why right now in Episode #309 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.---Hello, Self-Directed Investors, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to today’s special edition of the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you.This is episode #309. That means you can find today’s transcript and show notes over at SDITalk.com/309.The stock market, as you likely know very well, has been booming with astounding consistency since the day that President Trump won the Presidency in 2016. Yes, there’s certainly been plenty of volatility, but even this year, 2019, when the markets have been a bit rougher than in some other years, still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is STILL up by about 10% since the start of the year, and we’re not even halfway through. So the bull market rages on in a HUGE way.But there is a headwind resisting the markets which will only get stronger… and frankly, this one may just be the thing to motivate SOME OF YOU – and you know who you are – to begin diversifying some of your assets AWAY from Wall Street and into alternatives like real estate or private companies or… nearly anything but Wall Street assets.Now if you guessed that the headwinds have something to do with the ongoing trade wars with China, which now seems to be engulfing Mexico as well, you’d not be unreasonable to make that guess, but you’d be mistaken, my friends.Rather, the big issue is the intense regulatory scrutiny of the big tech companies that is coming from both the department of justice and from Congress. Just when the word “bipartisan” seems an impossibility, it appears there’s support from both sides of the aisle to limit the power of Big Tech, albeit for entirely different reasons.The companies most at risk in here are Facebook, Amazon and Google. I suspect there might be some saber rattling towards Twitter as well, but the truth is that Twitter is not relevant in the grand scheme of things. But Facebook, Amazon and Google? They’re going to feel some real heat, and with good reason.And while I certainly have an opinion on whether regulator scrutiny is called for, that’s not relevant to the bigger point today, which is this:Anti-trust actions – which appears to be the path that Google will face, and maybe Amazon and Facebook too – can be utterly devastating and require decades for recovery. You have to look no further than Microsoft. Under the command of Bill Gates back in the 90’s, Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world and was the envy of the world. Gates was practically a cult figure, and Microsoft was so profitable it could do almost literally anything it wanted……until the FTC took an interest in a serious way. When Microsoft’s anti-trust trial was done, restrictions so severe were placed on the software giant that its stock would flounder for year after year… and it would take until 2016 for Microsoft’s share prices to again reach the previous high point it had achieved way back in 1999, nearly 17 years earlier.17 years is a LONG TIME for a stock to be flat, but that’s exactly what happened. Now at that time, Microsoft was the clear market leader. No doubt about it. And guess what happened to the market as a whole when it’s leader went flat for years on end?You guessed it: The broader market did the same thing. At basically the same time as all of the air went out of the tires of Microsoft’s stock in 1999 and 2000, the broader market just treaded water for several years.As the market leader went, so went the market.And now, it’s like déjà vu all over again… only the names have changed. This time, the crosshairs are focused on Facebook, Amazon and Google. If your last name is Zuckerberg, Bezos or Pinchai, you should be sweating right now.And if your portfolio depends on those companies, you should be sweating too. But not just on those companies. The Microsoft lesson from the 90’s and early 2000’s is clear: When the Department of Justice gets involved, that can change the market as a whole. And not only is that happening right now, but Congress is apparently launching its own investigation of Facebook, Amazon, Google and… APPLE. That’s right, folks… Apple is under the microscope, too.Why do I share this with you?Well, I don’t want you to lose your money, folks. And history tells us this could be a risky time for the market.What should you do? That’s up to you, but strategically I think it would make some sense to put yourself in a position to be able to very easily diversify OUT of stocks and into some other asset class whenever you decide to do that.You could, after all, simply transfer your IRA or 401(k) into a self-directed IRA or 401(k) without even cashing in your stocks… just leave your money invested as is… but go ahead and get your money into a self-directed account so that when the time is right for YOU to cut bait and move on to greener pastures, you’ll be ready to do that at a moment’s notice.And, of course, if you need any help with that, reach out and I’ll be glad to help. You can reach me at feedback@sditalk.com. I’ll be happy to give you some good, unbiased advice since I’m not an IRA or 401(k) company… I just want you to be set up for success.My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When does the stock market give you great clues to investing in REAL ESTATE? When a stock chart looks as beautiful as this newly-public real estate company’s chart looks. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll identify the company and extract some valuable investment intel for YOU, right now in episode #308.----Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation all across the fruited plane! Welcome to today’s special edition of the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like you.This is episode #308. If you want to circle back for the transcript or to listen to the show again, go to SDITalk.com/308, SDITalk.com/308.Let’s jump right in, shall we?Back in January of 2018, an Atlanta-based company began went public on the New York Stock Exchange. There wasn’t a huge pop on the IPO day. In fact, the share price started at $16 never got higher than about $18 bucks and change for nearly 3 full months. Then that company’s stock went on a tear that continues to this day. Now trading in the low $30’s range – nearly twice it’s IPO level of just 18 months ago – this stock is turning some heads.Now if you’re asking, “why, oh why, Bryan, do you fill my ears with tales from Wall Street when you know I am focused on real estate or other alternative assets?”… Well, dear listeners, I shall endeavor to answer you plainly now.So what is the company to which I refer? This isn’t just any company, it is a real estate investment trust, also known as an REIT or REIT for short.For those of you not familiar, a REIT is a special type of entity that can trade on public markets and which is designed for businesses whose income is almost entirely generated from the ownership and monetization of REAL ESTATE. Ah yes, so now the relevance to you and me begins to peek through, does it not?But there are many publicly-traded REITs. Why is this one different or unusual?Well, my friends, it’s because of the KIND of real estate upon which they focus. This company is called AmeriCold Realty Trust, and as you might guess from the name, their specialty is COLD STORAGE warehousing… the kind of commercial space required primary by food delivery companies.I learned about this on an unusual source. Every now and again – and with decreasing frequency, frankly – the people over at CNBC push past their political agenda and cover actual financial news. This is one of those days, as there’s an interesting article on their website about the very topic of our discussion. It’s linked on today’s show page at SDITalk.com/308.So the rationale being given for a glowing analysis of this sector is simple: There’s not a lot of cold storage warehousing available, and the demand for it is skyrocketing because of food delivery companies like Peapod, Blue Apron and of course Amazon Fresh.Well, to me that sounds like enough of a reason to look into cold storage as a way to invest one’s portfolio. And should you deem the business of frigid commercial space to be worthy of your investment capital – and in particular your retirement savings – what are you to do?One alternative – likely the simplest – is to direct your stock broker to buy shares of AmeriCold. I’m not recommending for or against that. What we know is that so far the stock has done very well, and that’s positive.But investing via publicly-traded assets, while very simple, represents a different risk: The risk of the lack of choice and control.So a second alternative is to find a syndication or partnership that focuses on cold storage into which you can invest. This will allow you to use the resources and expertise of the investment partner to run the investment so you can passively provide the capital.Your final alternative sacrifices the simplicity of investing in either publicly-traded stocks or privately-held syndications, but what you get in return is absolute control and absolute choice. That is, of course, to invest directly into the acquisition or construction of a cold storage facility of your own. This is a big commitment, of course… but is a very legitimate option which should not be ignored.What’s best for you? That’s a decision only you can make, with appropriate input from your advisors, of course. But here’s the bigger point relevant to you no matter whether you care anything about Cold Storage or not:If you happen to be investing your RETIREMENT funds, chances are very good that only ONE of those three options is available to you. Unless you have already transferred some of your retirement savings into a self-directed IRA or 401(k), your retirement portfolio will be handcuffed to Wall Street, wholly denying you the opportunity to work with an expert partner through a syndication and denying you the alternative to acquire or construct a cold storage warehouse of your own. You must ALWAYS be ready to make investments – whether in cold storage facilities or anything else – by having your capital in an accessible situation, because all too often, opportunity requires quick movement. So to the extent that your portfolio is held within retirement accounts such as IRA’s or 401(k)’s, don’t delay in moving your money into a self-directed retirement account. Do it today. The days or weeks required to make that transition may just mean you’re too late.And by the way, yes, it is a big and important choice to use the right kind of account and to use the right self-directed IRA or 401(k) provider. If you need some unbiased help getting to those answers, drop me a note to bryan@sditalk.com. I’ll be happy to help you.My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the mysterious QRP? And how is it different from the self-directed 401(k)? I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll give you the answer right now in Episode #307 of America’s largest, fastest growing podcast for self-directed investors----Hello, self-directed investor nation, all across the fruited plane! Welcome to the show of record for savvy self-directed investors like you, where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities and strategies.Earlier this week I was having a conversation with a colleague who heads a really cool group of dentists and doctors who mastermind together to build great investment portfolios. He told me that several of his members reached out to him because they’d heard about something called a QRP that was clearly superior to a self-directed IRA, and maybe even better than a self-directed 401(k) as well.Whatever it was, it generated a lot of excitement. The propaganda that my colleague’s clients heard suggested rather heavily, but maybe only indirectly, that this mysterious new financial tool was a different sort of animal… distinct from self-directed IRA’s, distinct from self-directed 401(k)’s… a different animal entirely.My colleague asked me about it, and wanted to know what I thought about it. It immediately struck a strange tone with me, because the acronym QRP is not well known in the world at large, but is extremely well known in the retirement industry. It stands for Qualified Retirement Plan.In a generic sense, a qualified retirement plan isn’t actually an account type… it’s a broad category of account types that includes other categories like “defined benefit” plans and “defined contribution” plans. So QRP is a known quantity to people in the retirement industry.But the way it was described to my colleague… and indeed, the marketing propaganda that support this particular offer, try very hard to maintain an air of mystery about the QRP and to suggest that it is something totally unique and distinct. It claims some wonderful features, such as:· Very high contribution limits· Very favorable tax treatment of debt-financed investments, which is a big problem area for IRA’s· Near instant access to a $50,000 loan from the account at any time· Checkbook control of the funds in the account· No income limits· And a few other thingsReally attractive features, to be sure. But those features make it sound strikingly like something you and I know very well… the solo 401(k). But was it actually something different? Why was this promoter calling it a QRP? Had he stumbled onto a wonderful tool about which I was not aware?Well, no. It was exactly as I thought.The “dirty little secret” of the promoter who pushes QRP’s is simply using the term QRP to refer to self-directed 401(k) plans. That’s kind of misleading because 401(k)’s are only one of a large number of types of qualified retirement plans, but hey… whatever, you know?So to you, my dear friends in SDI nation… allow me to tell you with the utmost clarity: As has already begun to happen, you’re going to see more and more people marketing solo 401(k)’s, because it turns out that you don’t really have to have any particular licensing to do so. And some of them are going to be creative in their marketing and will call their product by a different name like QRP.I guess I don’t blame them. It’s different than the typical name “solo” or “self-directed” 401k… and being an unusual acronym, QRP sounds mysterious.But don’t let yourself be distracted. I can tell you now with astoundingly high confidence that anytime you hear about a self-directed account that offers that collection of features, it’s nearly certain that what you’re dealing with is a solo 401(k), no matter what else it’s being called.My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBINAR HEREWhen is the profit in your self-directed IRA or 401(k) NOT shielded from taxes? It may happen far more frequently than you think. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #306 of America’s largest, fastest-growing podcast for self-directed investors.----Hello, Self-Directed Investors all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Self-Directed Investor Talk, the show of record for savvy, self-directed investors like you, where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities and strategies.Lately there’s been a lot of news about Apple computer, as it’s stock has gone high enough to make the company worth more than a Trillion dollars, the first company to have achieved that lofty level. And there’s constantly news about AMAZON, as that stock has continued to zoom upwards in a meteoric fashion. But did you know that REAL ESTATE beats STOCKS… pretty easily… as a retirement investment… and I can prove that to you conclusively? In fact, I invite you to allow me to present the hard evidence to you that the core retirement investment strategy that Wall Street has taught all of us is fundamentally unwise and unsafe. And I’ll show you how to use real estate to get MUCH BETTER RESULTS. I’ll do that by way of a special FREE webinar for which there are still a few openings available. It’s called Real Estate Beats Stocks… EASILY, and you can register for it at no charge by visiting today’s show page… SDITalk.com/306… SDITalk.com/306 and click the link that says “Register For The Free Webinar Here”. But don’t delay… it’s coming up very soon and seats are filling up fast, so to get FREE access, go to SDITalk.com/306 now.Hey… did you know that not all of the income you make in your self-directed IRA or 401(k) is inherently protected from taxes? That’s right. The distinction lies in the fact that, from the IRS’ point of view, there are two TYPES of income: EARNED income and UNEARNED income. We’ll call them ACTIVE and PASSIVE income, as I think those are more descriptive.Oh yes… one more thing before we look at the distinctions…I’d like to offer a sincere THANK YOU to an iTunes listeners who uses the handle Jaywk007. He gave this show a 5-star rating and a really nice review that says “I just started listening to Bryan’s podcast and so far I think it’s awesome… I wish I had found it a long time ago!” Thank you, Jay… I really appreciate that!And for your entertainment, folks… in tomorrow’s exciting episode, I’ll read to you a recent 0-star review I received. This show has 471 ratings on iTunes right now, which is HUGE… and of those, 450 of them are 5-star. But hey… some people can’t take the heat, and I’ll share one of them with you tomorrow to give you a nice chuckle.Ok… active income and passive income. That’s a massive, crucial distinction, and here’s the reason why:When your retirement account generates what’s called PASSIVE income… things like profits from the sale of stock or income from rental properties or interest from a CD… that kind of income is exactly what your retirement accounts was designed for, and consequently, that kind of income – passive income – is where the tax benefits come into play which you BELIEVE to be fundamentally associated with your IRA or 401(k).But as it turns out, there’s nothing fundamental about those tax benefits. Because if another type of income – called ACTIVE income – is generated in your IRA or 401(k), then look out, because you’ve got a rude awakening headed your way, that rude awakening being, of course, that IRA’s and 401(k)’s do nothing to help your tax situation when the money in question is EARNED or ACTIVE income.What is active income? According to a definition offered by our pals over at the IRS, It can be one of two different things, and both are pretty simple. First is active income happens whenever you work for someone and they pay you. Easy-peasy. Second is when you own a business or a farm which pays you.So how does this relate to your IRA or 401(k)?One very common example of unexpected EARNED income in an IRA or 401(k) is through flipping real estate. Whether you think of real estate flipping as a business or not… it is. And as such, the IRS tends to see the income generated from real estate flipping as ACTIVE or EARNED income if you do more than 2 or 3 of them per year in a retirement account.That’s not specific to real estate. If you’re actively buying and reselling just about any type of asset… apparently with the exclusion of publicly traded stocks… that will be considered a business that you’re operating through your retirement account, and will, as such, be taxable.There’s at least one other way to generate income in an IRA that has to do with taking on debt in an IRA, but we’ll look at that another day.Now a quick note of distinction: You hear me regularly address the issue of “prohibited transactions”… a class of compliance errors that, when committed within your self-directed IRA, renders the thing totally destroyed and, quite probably, slashed in value by 40-60% or more. Those are things like allowing your IRA to buy assets from you personally, etc.But I want to make it clear to you that performing activities in your IRA that generate ACTIVE income is NOT the same as a prohibited transaction. ACTIVE, or EARNED, income is TAXABLE in your IRA or 401(k)… but it’s not a compliance problem… it’s NOT prohibited.In fact, it can sometimes be a useful thing to take the hit on those taxes just so you can blow up the size of your retirement account more quickly. But we’ll look at that another day, too.Folks, thanks for listening. If you’re learning something, please stop by iTunes and give us a nice rating and review. And if you have a suggestion for a topic you’d like me to address, drop a note to me at feedback@sditalk.com.My friends, invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You’ve found a great multi-family deal, but it’s going to take some cash. You have some cash in your 401(k). How do you put them together for a glorious result? I’ll tell you right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #305 of America’s Largest, Fastest-growing podcast for self-directed investors…-----Hello, Self-Directed Investors coast to coast and all across the fruited plane! Welcome to Self-Directed Investor Talk, the show of record for savvy self-directed investors like YOU, where each weekday, I help you to FIND, UNDERSTAND and PROFIT from exceptional alternative investment opportunities and strategies.Happy Q&A day, my friends! I always enjoy Q&A day here on SDI Talk – which happens every 5th episode. If you’d like to submit a question for Q&A day, the best way to do that is to email me directly at feedback@SDITalk.com with your question… I look forward to hearing from you!Today’s question comes from Riley Lange from Colorado Spring, Colorado. He asks: “What’s the process for rolling your corporate 401(k) over into a multifamily property as a passive investor?” Riley, that’s a great question, and in answering it, I’ve got to encourage you to visit today’s show page at SDITalk.com/305 to refer to the additional resources I’ll reference.So Riley, if you’re using an existing 401(k) to fund this investment, the process you’re going to want to take will look something like this:First, select the right type of self-directed account. Even if you already have a self-directed IRA or other account, take the time to reconfirm this, because in many cases – and the type of investment you’re proposing is DEFINITELY one of them – the distinction among the different types of accounts can have HUGE… I mean truly HUGE ramifications on the complexity and profitability of the investment. Yes… the ACCOUNT TYPE you select – like Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA vs SEP IRA vs Solo 401(k), etc. – can mean you actually make substantially MORE or LESS money, so take this seriously. Fortunately for you, SDI Society offers a very powerful and very concise training on this topic, which, while it is not a free training, I have taken the liberty of providing a way for you SDI Talk listeners to access it for free for a VERY limited time if you go over to SDITalk.com/bestaccount. So after you pick the right account type, the second step is to pick a great custodian or account provider. This too is a big topic. Speak with friends and colleagues about who they use. Get some first-hand referrals if possible. That’s always the best way. If you need a great starting point, over on today’s show page at SDITalk.com/305, I’ve provided the official SDI Society list of self-directed IRA custodians and other account providers… that’s a GREAT place to start.Third, transfer your money directly from your existing 401(k) to your new account. The IRA company or account provider can guide you on how to do this.Fourth, assuming you have done proper due diligence on this investment – which is a huge, massive topic unto itself – then you’re ready to direct your custodian to make the investment. Now most of the time, larger multifamily projects will actually not technically be a real estate purchase. Instead, larger properties are usually held within a partnership or other business entity, and you – or your self-directed account, in this case – will instead be purchasing a portion of the partnership which owns the real estate. The broader point here is to make sure that you fully understand how the transaction is structured before you jump in, because there’s a wide array of options here and some are more advantageous to you than others.So however the transaction is structured, you’ll see to it that the necessary money is transferred from your account to either the investment operator or – more ideally – to a third-party escrow service, and that you receive the proper documents to serve as your account’s indicia of ownership.At that point, your self-directed retirement account actually owns the investment. Any income that’s generated will be paid to and necessarily owned by your retirement account. And when the time comes for you to sell that investment, all of the proceeds of sale will go back into your retirement account… and that’s REALLY when you get to experience the utter beauty of tax-free investing.But I do have a word of warning for you: Remember that with pass-through entities, like partnerships and most LLC’s – which is the likely way that your investment will be structured by the investment provider – with entities like that where the tax liability passes directly through to the owners rather than being paid at the entity level, that means that to the extent that the entity generates EARNED income or uses debt financing, your self-directed IRA or solo 401(k) may be liable for payment of current-year income taxes! Yes, I know that those are tax-free entities… but that doesn’t mean that every type of transaction is tax-free. For example, if the investment fund uses leverage – also known as debt – to finance a portion of the transaction, then there’s very likely to be a current-year tax liability for self-directed IRA’s. Similarly, if any of the income generated is “active” income rather than “passive” income – more technically, if any of it is considered to be “unrelated business taxable income” – then your account will owe a current-year tax liability on any income generated from that as well.Again, Riley, and all of SDI Nation, the one thing that could affect that issue the most is the TYPE of account you select on the front end. It’s really that critical. Be sure to check out SDITalk.com/bestaccount for more about that so you don’t find yourself with a tax bill you weren’t expecting.And that, my friends, is how one rolls over their corporate 401(k) to invest into a multi-family property.If you have any further questions or comments, be sure to drop me a line to feedback@SDITalk.com – I’ll be happy to help you out.In parting, my friends, I have a favor to ask of you: If you’re learning from SDITalk, I ask you to become a subscriber to the show now. Just stop by SDITalk.com to enter your name & email… and that’s all it takes!My friends… invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

High income earners, rejoice! The IRS announces that I was right... I'll tell you more right now in episode #303 of America's largest, fastest-growing show for self-directed investors...-----Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation! This is Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy, self-directed investors like you, where each day, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional investment opportunities and strategies.Today, we focus on the STRATEGY side of the equation, but first...I'd like to extend a huge thank-you again to you folks for continuing to totally BLOW UP our download numbers for this show in the last couple of days since we've gone back on the air... you people are amazing and I'm so grateful! In particular, I'd like to thank all of you who were so kind as to leave me some wonderful 5-star reviews over on iTunes even since we took our hiatus from broadcasting last year. One such kind 5-star review on iTunes came from NateKG who said "I am a full-time day trader getting into the markets after a long career of driving trucks. After searching for some advice on self-directed 401k's, I came across SDI. "WOW", I thought after the first two episodes. This guy's got some valuable information. Everything I was looking for! I highly recommend you listen to Bryan's show all the way from the start. You will be glad (and wealthier) you did!"Thank you, NateKG... I appreciate that so very much! And if you, my dear listener, feel so inclined, I'd be ever so grateful if you'd consider following in the wise ways of NateKG and stopping by iTunes to give us a rating and review... I'd really really appreciate it!Ok, onward...So, my friends... chances are good you're familiar with this thing known as the Roth IRA. It's the newer version of the IRA that allows you to make deposits on an after-tax basis, but all withdrawals of profit you make during retirement are totally TAX-FREE! It's really amazing, to be frank... it really does totally eliminate taxes on your profits.BUT... there's a downside to it, and that is that there are income limits for making a contribution. Once your income goes above a certain level... not terribly high, starting around $120,000, then your ability to contribute to a Roth is limited and is soon wholly eliminated based on your income.Well... that's a problem, because the tax advantages of the Roth IRA are just astounding. So somewhere along the way, somebody hatched an idea called the "Backdoor Roth IRA" which would give high-income earners an indirect, back-door kind of way to put money in a Roth IRA. The idea is actually pretty simple:Instead of contributing to a Roth IRA, what you could do instead was to contribute to a Traditional IRA – which does NOT prevent high income earners from making contributions, as long as they don't take a tax deduction for it... and then just convert that Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA!The net effect is that you end up with exactly the same thing: A Roth IRA with the amount of money that you would have otherwise contributed... all the same tax benefits and all the same everything applies thereafter, just as if you'd contributed the money directly to a Roth IRA in the first place.Pretty cool, right? Yeah, definitely... now this strategy isn't new. In fact, I told you about it on this very show in January of 2017. You can find that episode linked on today's show page, which is SDITalk.com/303. But the sticking point, which I mentioned in that episode, is that a lot of people have been concerned that the IRS would see this as some sort of a skirting of the rules, and take action against anybody using this strategy.But there's a problem. That problem is called the "Step Transaction Doctrine", which is a fancy way of saying that if you use a combination of rules as a series of steps to circumvent some other rule, then you're breaking the original rule. The point here being, of course, that a lot of folks out there in the tax and legal community were pulling out their hair over fears that the IRS would drop the hammer and say that using the Backdoor Roth IRA was a violation of the Step Transaction Doctrine and would cause tax problems for anyone who used it.I never believed that. Here's what I told you about that back in January of last year about that very thing:My gut sense here as a non-lawyer who is wholly unqualified to give legal advice is that it's wildly improbable that the IRS would pursue that path.So I'm on record telling you that that particular hubub was probably more of a hysteria than a legitimate issue, and well folks, time has proven me right, yet again, as the feds have issued a clarification in the form of a footnote in a congressional conference committee report says, “Although an individual with AGI exceeding certain limits is not permitted to contribute directly to a Roth IRA, the individual can make a contribution to a traditional IRA and convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.”Well, folks... it doesn't get a lot more clear than that. Very black and white. But then they went a step further, when Donald Kieffer Jr., a tax law specialist with the IRS’s Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division made this comment on July 10th Tax Talk Today webcast. He said: “I think the IRS’s only caution would be whenever we see words like ‘back door’ or ‘workaround’ or other step transactions that are putatively enabling a way to get around limits - especially statutory contribution limits - you generally find the IRS is not happy and prepared to challenge those,” Kieffer said. “But in this one that we’re talking about, it’s allowed under the law.”That's pretty blatant, I think you'll agree... and it's great news. So all you high income earners... rejoice! It looks like you can use the backdoor Roth IRA to your heart's content.Ok folks, that's all I've got for you today. Remember to check out our sponsor, the SDI Academy, if you'd like to learn the ACTUAL TRUTH of what your self-directed IRA and 401(k) are really all about... and how to use them without causing yourself real heartache. You can learn more over at SDITalk.com/academy.My friends... I'll be back with you tomorrow, same bat-time, same bat-channel... and in the mean time, invest wisely today and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The last decade’s hottest investment strategy among individual real estate investors is dying a very rapid death. Find out what it is… and why it’s dying right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. You’re listening to Episode #302 of the largest, fastest-growing self-directed investor podcast in America…-----Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation! Welcome to Self-Directed Investor Talk, the SHOW OF RECORD for savvy self-directed investors like YOU! Before we get into the thick of things today, I’ve got to ask you: do you THINK you really know the fundamentals of self-directed IRA’s? Do you really? Well if you DON’T know those fundamentals, you’re in luck. And if you think you DO know them… you may be having even BETTER luck. That’s because for a very brief time, you can receive FREE access to a very highly regarded $297 training program called the SDI Wealth Guide to Self-Directed IRA Fundamentals, available now at SDITalk.com/fundamentals. That video-based training is available to you right now… and in it, you’ll receive the unexpected… but TOTALLY accurate… answers to questions like: What is a self-directed IRA? What kind of self-directed IRA’s are available? What’s the best type for YOU? And are there any self-directed investing alternatives that are SUPERIOR to the IRA? So check it out now, because your status as a listener to SDI Talk gets you something very special: FREE access to this training – normally priced at $297 – just by visiting SDITalk.com/fundamentals.Ok, my friends, this is episode #302, so all of the links and resources I mention in today’s show can be found, very conveniently, by visiting SDITalk.com/302. But I’d like to take about 20 seconds to express to you something kind of personal but very important, and that is that…I have a sincere thank you for you people. As you know, I’ve been on hiatus from doing this show for some time. To be honest, I’ve been struggling with some pretty severe personal challenges, and my mind wasn’t where it needed to be to give you folks what you deserve in this show. But yesterday, the time had come to begin this show anew, and that’s why I want to thank you: Yesterday, this show got HUGE download numbers, even though it was the first episode I’ve published in 6 months, and even though I did nothing to promote it. Still, you people downloaded this show en masse… and I’m so very sincerely, sincerely grateful to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.Ok, let’s do this.In the last decade, there’s been a dramatic rise in something known as “turnkey rental property investments”. This is a type of rental property investing made for people who want the money, but not the time commitments, of rental ownership.The way it works is simple: If you buy a turnkey rental property, you’re buying more than just a rental property. You’re buying the property itself, sure… but that property has already been renovated to rent-readiness. But there’s also been a tenant identified, qualified and moved into the property. And to top it all off, there’s a property manager already in place who is handling the entire tenant relationship so that you, as the investor, can just collect the checks rather than be a landlord… and it also gives you the ability to invest your capital into markets where it really makes sense to do so, rather than being limited only to investing in your own back yard.So, a pretty cool concept… right? Sure is. With turnkey rental properties, you’re not buying a house, you’re buying an asset that’s presently producing cash flow.As a side note, this is one of those places where I think the very famous book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki really painted too rosy of a picture. The message of that book is great: Invest in assets that produce cash flow. The secondary message is that real estate property is the best way to generate such cash flow. But the story seems to suggest that merely by owning these rental properties, you’re going to experience the theoretically possible cash flow.It’s just not that way. I was having a conversation last night with one of my subscribers named David who has a vast array of experience as a landlord in multiple markets, and we were looking critically at how one might successfully manage a portfolio of properties from a distance. The conclusion is that it’s not easy to do, and merely owning properties – even good ones – is a long way from guaranteeing your success.And that’s where the whole turnkey thing comes into focus. When you buy a turnkey property, assuming you’re buying a good property with a good property manager, then what you’re doing is acquiring a real cash-flowing assets… the kind that Kiyosaki praised so heavily in Rich Dad, Poor Dad.And it’s that level of convenience and automated realization of profits that’s made the business of turnkey rental properties boom so heavily in recent years.But there’s a dirty little secret in that business that the turnkey providers are really hoping you don’t find out: There’s a serious inventory shortage. That’s right… the turnkey people are having a really hard time keeping up with the demand for these properties because… after all… a key consideration is the ability to generate CASH FLOW from these properties. But as the PRICE of real estate has grown at a much faster pace than the attractiveness of turnkey deals is turning downward.You need not trust me. Check out today’s page over at SDITalk.com/302 and you’ll see two very interesting links: One with the National Rent Index from Apartment list, showing national rents increasing at only 1.4% per year… And then you’ll see the National real estate composite index from Case Schiller, which shows a national appreciation rate for actual REAL ESTATE VALUES of more than 3 times that… about 4.7% from July of last year to now.So as real estate values increase at a dramatically faster rate than rental rates, what we have is a situation where it’s much harder for the turnkey rental property companies to mass-produce turnkey rental properties that offer an acceptable yield.Now before you conclude that I’m suggesting that this isn’t a good time to buy rental properties, I’ll recommend you hang with me for a minute, because that’s not what I’m saying at all.What I AM saying is that things are becoming much harder for the turnkey property companies, and so many of them are diversifying AWAY from turnkey properties – which is something that some of them know a lot about – and they’re jumping into offering other types of investments. Usually real estate-related, but certainly not similar to turnkey rental properties. Frequently it’s investments in international real estate in tropical locations… or maybe it’s opportunities to syndicate your money into the building of new entire neighborhoods or developments which will then be sold to other investors or home owners… or maybe it’s something wholly unrelated to real estate.This stuff gives me pause. It’s not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with any of that… it’s just that this almost inherently means that the turnkey company you’re working with is stepping out of their area of expertise and into a realm where they’re new to the game. And so that is something important and worthy of consideration where the safety of your money is concerned.But far be it from me to say that it’s no longer a wise thing to buy rental properties today. It’s pretty much always a smart thing to buy strong cash flow. But there are a couple of distinctions now:The first is that you’re going to find lower and lower inventories being offered by these turnkey providers. This is evidenced by your needing to be placed on a “waiting list” for properties… and by that wait being multiple months in duration. As such, you’ll find that when properties ARE available for investment, you’ll need to jump on them rather quickly.Incidentally, we do have a few really great turnkey deals available right now, which you can see by visiting SDITalk.com/turnkey, SDITalk.com/turnkey.And the other distinction is this: There’s a huge difference between YOU finding rental property investments that make sense, and a turnkey rental property company finding a situation that makes sense. For you, you’ve only got to find deals one by one, or even if you’re deploying a lot of capital, still you only need a relatively small number of deals. But these turnkey people… a lot of them move 50-100+ properties per month… they’ve got to find entire swaths of geographic areas where they can get a large volume of deals on a recurring basis. The advantage is inherently with you, because you’re small, you’re nimble, and when an INDIVIDUAL great opportunity arises, it will make sense for you to pursue it, but not them.So again, far be it from me to suggest that now is no longer a good time to acquire real estate cash flow. A good time for that is, approximately, ALWAYS.Ok folks, that’s it for today. Hey… do me a favor, will ya? When you have a question about self-directed IRA’s, 401k’s, custodians or investment strategies, shoot them over to me at questions@SDITalk.com... I’ll do my best to answer them here on the show for you.My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The housing market is showing signs of multiple personality disorder... the two things that could bring real estate to it’s knees near-term… and Facebook lays an egg and gets scrambled on Wall Street. I’m Bryan Ellis… this is Episode #301 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.----Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation… a lot to get to today, after a bit of a hiatus. Today’s show page is SDITalk.com/301, so let’s jump right in, after a quick word from our sponsor, the Self-Directed Investor Academy.Have you ever noticed that there’s just not much in the way of really great training material out there where self-directed IRA’s and solo 401(k)’s are concerned? Oh sure… all of the IRA companies provide “education”… but their end is clearly so you’ll give them your business. And there are a few books written by attorneys using the native language of attorneys which is a strange dialect of Latin known as “YesButProbablyNo”… but if you’re an intelligent person who just wants the hard truth about how to use self-directed retirement accounts while squeezing every penny of value out of them you can… even when that may not be in the best interest of your IRA company… well, SDI Academy is for you. SDI Academy is a private membership group that produces video-based Wealth Guides about the exact topics that self-directed IRA and 401(k) owners need to understand… totally free of the murky babble you see on the internet. I think you’ll particularly enjoy their trainings on how to pick the right self-directed retirement account for you and how to pick the best self-directed IRA company for you… because the results you’ll end up with are probably VERY DIFFERENT than what you’d expect… and so, you’ll really get TREMENDOUS VALUE. For a limited time, listeners to SDI Talk can get a FREE 3-day membership to the already-inexpensive but inordinately valuable SDI Academy by visiting SDITalk.com/academy. That’s SDITalk.com/academy.Ok people… we all know that the overwhelming top asset class choice among self-directed retirement account owners is real estate, so what I’ve got to share with you will be quite directly relevant for a very large swath of you… say, 100% of you! Hehehehe.This past week, some new economic numbers came out that suggest the housing market is slowing down… the evidence cited by sources like the very entertaining but not always accurate CNBC informs us the reason for this is a slowdown in boiling-hot markets like L.A. and Denver. For some reason I’m not entirely sure of, I’ve linked to the cutesy video CNBC made about this over at SDITalk.com/301.https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/07/26/housing-market-slows-down-real-estate-housing.htmlBut this very morning, July 30, 2018, the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales rose more than expected after a relatively soft selling season so far this year. Conflicting news, it would seem.Not really. There’s more to it below the surface. And I, your humble host, will pull back the curtains for you now.What we have right now, folks, is a situation where real in many of those hot markets, real estate prices are still increasing, but two other statistics have changed: The rate of increase is less than it has been in years – like in Dallas, Texas – and the number of home actually being sold is falling off too, like in Southern California, where CoreLogic tells us that there were SUBSTANTIALLY fewer home sales of all types have sold this year versus last… as in, a whopping 11.8% fewer home sales this year versus last.So it’s strange… you’ve got rising prices, but decreased activity.Now I could totally go into geek mode on you with this stuff, but I’ll tell you what I think is happening from a very practical perspective:What we have is a real estate market that has boomed and boomed and boomed such that it looks like the mortgage meltdown of 2008 never happened at all. That’s only 10 years ago now… and practically NOBODY is sitting on a real estate loss anymore, if they just held on.Do you know what you’re NOT hearing much about these days, that was a super popular topic back then? Foreclosure filing statistics. I’ll tell you why: There’s almost no bad news there. Foreclosures have tanked practically nationwide. That’s a very good thing.So what’s going on here with this strange mix of positive and negative data? Everyone has a theory, including me, but let’s look at what we actually KNOW to be true:The U.S. economy is BOOMING. By any and every reasonable standard, the U.S. economy is in better condition now than at any time in the last 10 years… and maybe longer. It’s eerily… well, quite positively, actually, reminiscent of the 1980’s from about 83 onward… the economy was just clicking on all cylinders… and the same is happening now. Unemployment is lower than it’s been since 2000… GDP is booming… wage growth was higher last month than it’s been all year so far… the fact is, it’s just hard to find any objectively negative indicators about the economy right now.So what’s going to happen next with housing prices? You people who’ve listened to me for a long time know that I don’t claim to be a prognosticator, and that has not changed. But just from a simple logical point of view, here’s what I expect:I expect that there will be continued slowing in the rate of appreciation in the super-hot markets, but I don’t believe we’re facing any sort of impending real estate collapse. The fundamentals of the economy are simply too strong for that right now, and there are a number of leading indicators suggesting that it will boom still more.That said, there are two big potential headwinds to keep an eye on for those of you who may be in the market to unload some of your property to finance retirement or other expenses.The first headwind is rising interest rates. Interest rates are already on the rise and will likely continue to do so, as is to be expected in a rapidly expanding economy. The thing to watch is whether the Fed goes nuts with this. In recent decades, the Fed has been as much a political entity as an economic one… and that’s NEVER good for the economy. Right now, that tendency appears to be still reasonably in check.The second potential headwind is the midterm Congressional elections of 2018. Set aside your political biases and beliefs for just a moment, and let’s make some rational predictions here.What we know, without a doubt, is that the stock market tends to be a leading indicator of the broader economy. We also know that when President Trump was elected in 2016, from the very next day onward for a very long time, the market boomed upwards with a ferocity and consistency that was absolutely breathtaking, which means that the market believed… even though nobody seemed to want to admit it… that they WANTED Trump policies for the good of the economy.So fast forward to the election to happen in November of this year. Should the Democrats retake the House of Representatives, you can be certain that Congress will instantly slam the door shut on Trump’s economic objectives. There will be a number of things he can continue to do independently, but to effect real change, he needs Congress. So if the Democrats retake Congress, the Trump boom in the economy will likely stagnate… and I bet the stock market will start to bleed consistently.What I expect, overall, is more of a plateau in real estate values rather than a hard decline. In a weaker economy, sure… you might predict a bit of a collapse. But a weak economy is not what we have right now. It’s strong, and arguably getting much stronger.What’s the prescription? Same as always: With your real estate investments, focus on cash flow. Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow. Strong cash flow makes it wholly unnecessary for you to focus much on flighty valuations in real estate or stocks or anything else. Enough cash flow from your investments, and simply nothing else matters. Cash flow is king.And I can’t wrap up today without mentioning the absolute slaughter of Facebook stock last week… a meltdown that slashed $100 BILLION of value from Facebook. That’s never happened before in the history of the stock market that a company has taking such a quick market cap slashing of that degree.I bring this up for two reasons:First, for any of you who remain focused on investing your money in Wall Street, you should take the time to learn about stock options as a way to hedge your risk. You buy insurance for your real estate… I think it’s a bit foolish not to do the same for your investments if it’s simple and economical to do that… and that’s what stock options can do for you.Second… the Facebook debacle reminds me of one of the reasons it’s so wonderful to invest in non-Wall Street assets… and that is that with a bit of effort, you can actually buy assets at a discount versus their current value… and thereby build in a strong cushion against loss. You can’t do that with Facebook. As I look right now, Facebook is trading at about $170 per share. That being true, there’s no way you’re going to be able to buy those shares at a huge discount versus their current price. But in real estate, for example, it happens ALL THE TIME that you can buy real estate far below it’s market value. That’s a huge difference… a huge reason to seriously look at pushing more and more of your assets AWAY from Wall Street and into assets you actually control and understand yourself.That is all for today, my friends… I’ll be back with you tomorrow and will tell you something I’m observing in that industry known as “turnkey rental properties”… this is a big deal… and NOBODY is talking about it… except for me, tomorrow, on this very showI am, of course, Bryan Ellis. This is Self-Directed Investor Talk, the biggest, fastest-growing self-directed investor podcast in America.------Self-Directed Investor Talk is a production of the Self-Directed Investor Society. This content is not intended to be advisory in nature and is not offered with the intention of providing legal, tax or other licensed professional guidance to any listener… be sure to see your own licensed advisors for that type of advice. This broadcast is copyright 2018 and is used under license from the Self-Directed Investor Society. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/300 -- Yes, it’s true: Rental property investing in your IRA or 401k can make you very, very wealthy. It’s also true that it’s stressful and time consuming to be a landlord, and financially risky to do so within the confines of the IRS’ strict rules for retirement accounts. Fortunately for you, I have the answer. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #300 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/299 -- One of the most common questions I receive over at SelfDirected.org when somebody wants to buy an asset in their IRA is this: “Bryan, can I buy [insert asset name here] in my name and then transfer it to my retirement account?” I get this question a WHOLE LOT about bitcoin and about real estate. There’s a very definite, unambiguous answer to this, and I’ll share it with you right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #299. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/298 -- What, exactly, is a self-directed investor? Well my friends, it’s as much philosophy as technique; as much about wisdom of means as it is success of the ends. It’s all about trusting YOURSELF more than you trust Wall Street, Big Banks or anyone else who has their eye on your investment capital. Find out right now if you REALLY are a self-directed investor… and what that means for you. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #298. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/297 -- There are a few big things and a million little things that could make one self-directed IRA custodian better or worse than another. But there’s one thing that makes an IRA company bad for anybody, and I will tell you what it is right now. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #297. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/296 -- What is the real purpose of your IRA custodian? It’s probably not what you think, but I’ll tell you the real answer. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode #296 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.-----https://SelfDirected.orghttps://SelfDirected.org/ira See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/295 -- I don’t normally dive into these waters, but here we go: What is Bitcoin actually worth? I have some data-backed thinking on this you may not like, but hey… the truth is the truth. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #295 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.Self-Directed IRA Guide: https://SelfDirected.org/ira See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/294 -- Hello, Self-Directed Investor Nation! Welcome to the broadcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you, where in each episode, I help you to find, understand and profit from exceptional alternative investment opportunities.My friends, this episode – episode #294 – is almost a part 2 follow-up to yesterday’s brilliant episode in which I shared with you exactly why it can actually REALLY MAKE SENSE to perform taxable transactions in your IRA, even though the tax rate your IRA will face – something on the order of 40% or so – is painfully high.Now If you didn’t get to enjoy that episode, you really should do so right now, because this episode builds nicely on that one. You can get the link for that show on today’s resource page, SDITalk.com/294.So even in the high-tax scenario I described in episode #293, that strategy still makes absolute sense. And today, I’ll make that strategy even better by slashing that tax rate in half by using a bit of tax-planning savvy.As I do that, you’re welcomed to join the conversation by toll-free telephone at (833) SDI-TALK, by email at feedback@SDITalk.com or by visiting the resource page for this episode, episode #294, which is, of course, SDITalk.com/294.Ok folks, I’ve got to warn you… or some of you, at least: If you’re one of those folks who hates Donald Trump just because he’s Donald Trump, and you give no regard to the positive economic benefits his policies bring to your financial situation, then you’re going to hate today’s show.But if you have the ability to be smart with the hand you’re dealt, you’re going to see how to use the recent corporate tax cut to HUGE benefit in your self-directed IRA or 401(k).So here’s the deal: When you make investments in your IRA that are considered by the IRS to be “active businesses” – like real estate flipping – then your IRA will be subject to income tax. Since your IRA is technically a trust, your IRA is taxed at trust rates… and those rates are high. For all intents and purposes, you can think 40%, and that’s before your state tacks on more.So a clever self-directed IRA or 401k user might think… “Ok, let’s do the deal inside of the IRA using a more tax-efficient business structure.” You know, something like… let’s set up a corporation inside the IRA and use the corporation’s tax rates instead of the really high trust tax rates.Sounds like a good idea, right?Only problem with that is that, until the Trump tax cuts, the corporate income tax rate maxed out around 39%... basically identical to the trust tax rates. So there’d be no real tax advantage for doing your flips through a corporation in your IRA.But this is where the new tax law can give a huge boost to your IRA. Now, corporate tax rates no longer top out at 39%, but at 21%... basically HALF of what it was before. That’s amazing… HALF!So you might recall yesterday’s example where your IRA made $60,000 in one year by doing real estate flips, but the IRA actually lost 40% of that – $24,000 – to taxes.Well, simply by forming a corporation in your IRA and performing the flips within the corporation instead of directly in the IRA, the max federal corporate tax rate drops to 21%, which means your IRA’s tax hit plummets to a bit over $12,000 rather than $24,000.Yep, you heard that right… the tax cut bill that the press claimed was only for “corporate fat cats” can actually have a very substantively positive effect on your retirement savings via your self-directed IRA or 401(k)!Think about that difference… a difference of about $12,000. Not a huge amount, but it equates to about 2 year’s worth of maxed-out annual IRA contributions for most people. And what’s more, it’s plausible to experience that kind of result each and every year, not just one time.The difference can be HUGE.That’s all I’ve got for you today, but…Can I take 30 seconds and ask a favor of you? Would you be so kind as to stop by over at iTunes and give us a 5-star rating if you haven’t already? It’s actually really important because some bozo named Bill0804 gave us a bad rating just because I’m not afraid to talk about politics and how it affects your money – just like I did today – and he happens to have a different political opinion. Now let’s be clear, of the 455 ratings we already have on iTunes, 95.6% of them – 435 – are perfect 5-stars, so we’re still doing exceptionally well. But if you enjoy this show, it would be really helpful for me if you’d stop by over at iTunes and give us a great rating. Thanks so much, and one more thing to remember:Invest wisely today, and live well forever! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SDITalk.com/293 -- With almost no exceptions, profits made on transactions in your self-directed IRA are not taxable, no matter how fabulously profitable they might be. But today, I show you why the taxable kinds of transactions in your self-directed IRA may actually be the most profitable of all. My name is Bryan Ellis. This is episode #293 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bitcoin is still all the rage, and recently, a new thing called Bitcoin “futures” became available through reputable exchanges here in the United States.  What are bitcoin futures and why might they be a FAR BETTER way to invest in Bitcoin through your IRA versus direct ownership?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll give you the answer right now in Episode #292 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

  IMPORTANT: Prohibited Transactions in CONVENTIONAL IRA's | SDITalk #291 http://SDITalk.com/291 You usually think of prohibited transactions as being a risk that’s almost entirely unique to self-directed IRA’s and 401(k)’s… you usually think conventional IRA’s are largely impervious to this horrible risk that can slash half or more of the value of your account in a single instant.  You’d be wrong.  Today you learn about a policy being implemented by financial behemoths Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and others that, I’m confident, will result in awful prohibited transaction penalties within CONVENTIONAL IRA’s… all because of what can only be described as aggressive GREED in the financial industry.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #291 of Self-Directed Investor Talk.   https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today I'm at the IMN Single Family Rental Investment Forum in Scottsdale, AZ.  It's an interesting group... it's something like Wall Street meets Real Estate... but a tier or two below the biggest capital players.  It's very interesting too... one thing I've noticed for sure is that panelists seem terrified of having an opinion about the Trump effect on the economy for investors. So, as your humble host, I'll answer for them.  Enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A Big Lesson from a Dinner with Gates & Buffetthttp://SDITalk.com/289Happy December, Self-Directed Investor Nation! Today we touch on the DANGER of creativity… the need for a clear investment plan… a famous dinner with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett… and even some blasting of, or maybe praise for Bitcoin… all culminating in the single most important factor for your success and I, Bryan Ellis, your humble host for today’s ascent into investment excellence, will share it all with you right now in Episode #289 of Self-Directed Investor Talk! https://SelfDirected.org/irahttp://www.Facebook.com/sditalkhttp://www.Twitter.com/sditalk See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

7 Big "No-No's" When Picking A Self-Directed IRA Custodian (Part 2) http://SDITalk.com/288 Let’s talk about choosing a self-directed IRA custodian, shall we?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #288 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

  7 Big "No-No's" When Picking A Self-Directed IRA Custodian (Part 1) http://SDITalk.com/287 Let’s talk about choosing a self-directed IRA custodian, shall we?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #287 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

  PREDICTION:  70% Chance Of Stock Market Tumble http://SDITalk.com/286 An incredibly well-respected financial company is predicting a 70% probability that the stock market will experience a bit of a meltdown.  How will you prepare the conventional side of your portfolio? I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #286 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sexual Harassment Accusations Hit The Real Estate Industry... http://SDITalk.com/285 It’s not just Hollywood, Politics and Journalism where accusations of sexual assault are flying.  The Real estate business is in the crosshairs now too… Landlords beware!  Get ready for the most NOT politically correct but TOTALLY RATIONAL thinking on that whole sticky topic you’ve ever.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #285 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bitcoin Prices Are STUPID.  BUT... http://SDITalk.com/284 You know what two things don’t mix?  RATIONALITY and BITCOIN PRICES.  Yep, I said it… Bitcoin prices are JUST STUPID.  But that doesn’t mean what you think it does.  Listen on for a point of view sure to surprise and amaze you.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #284 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Buying S-Corporations In Your IRA https://SelfDirected.org/283 Will your self-directed IRA be guilty of a dreaded PROHIBITED TRANSACTION if it buys shares of an S-corporation?  Conventional wisdom – including many self-directed IRA custodians – say YES.  But the law doesn’t say that AT ALL.  What it ACTUALLY says may surprise you.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #283 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Diversification:  Only for the Ignorant? https://SelfDirected.org/282 Should your self-directed retirement account be “well-diversified” as is the popular advice today?  My opinion is 180 degrees opposite conventional wisdom… and the greatest investor in history agrees with me.  My name is Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #282 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bitcoin In Your IRA:  Should You Invest? https://SelfDirected.org/281 Today, we conclude our brilliant 3-part series on Bitcoin and your IRA with the simple question:  SHOULD you invest in Bitcoin inside of your self-directed IRA or solo 401(k)?  That’s a big question, and I’ve got some important things for you to consider.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #281 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/bitcoin-ira https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

https://SelfDirected.org/280 Bitcoin IRA’s huh?  So you’ve decided to take the plunge and invest your hard-earned retirement savings into the new kid on the financial block, Bitcoin.  Well, it’s a little different than other kinds of investments, and today, I’ll show you how to make it happen.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #280 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk https://SelfDirected.org/bitcoin-ira https://SelfDirected.org/ira https://SelfDirected.org/solo-401k http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bitcoin IRA:  Is It A Real Thing? https://SelfDirected.org/279 What financial asset is booming in popularity, making people wealthy very quickly… and facing a difficult political terrain?  Why, it’s none other than Bitcoin, of course!  Today I’ll tell you all about bitcoin and how it fits into your self-directed IRA or solo 401(k).  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #279 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/bitcoin-ira https://SelfDirected.org/ira http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk https://SelfDirected.org/bitcoin   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Hourglass Technique https://SelfDirected.org/278 Hugh Hefner sold the Playboy Mansion for a whopping $100 MILLION dollars last year… and in so doing, he gave unwittingly provides a roadmap for how to get the tax benefits of a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA at the SAME TIME.  My friends, I proudly present the Hourglass Technique.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #278. https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If They Tell You The Investment is IRS-Approved, They're Lying! https://SelfDirected.org/277 You know that latest investment you were sold on the basis that it is “IRS-approved”?  Or maybe that vendor who offered you a so-called “IRS-approved” checkbook IRA?  Well, my friends… they’re lying to you, and I’ve got the evidence for you right now.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #277 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. https://SelfDirected.org/ira https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lawsuit Risk and Your IRA:  The Risk Is Greater Than You Realize https://SelfDirected.org/276 Have you ever thought about the risk of lawsuits involving real estate in your IRA?  Or maybe strategies to reduce your IRA taxes during retirement… or even estate planning issues for your IRA?  These things are rarely considered until it’s too late, and they are the topic of Step 5 of 5 Simple Steps to Getting Started Right with Real Estate IRA’s.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #276 of Self-Directed Investor Talk. 5 Steps To Getting Started Right With Real Estate IRA's: Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 https://SelfDirected.org/ira https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

4 Ways To Get Capital Into Your IRA/401k For Real Estate Deals https://SelfDirected.org/275 How, exactly, do you get the capital into your real estate IRA or 401k to fund that next great deal?  That’s the topic of part 4 of 5 Steps to Getting Started Right with Real Estate IRA’s, and it’s what I’ll tell you right now.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #275. 5 Steps To Getting Started Right With Real Estate IRA's: Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 - Next Episode! https://SelfDirected.org/ira https://SelfDirected.org/investor-talk http://www.Facebook.com/sditalk http://www.Twitter.com/sditalk   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.