Alto IRA Review 2024: Features, Fees, and More

Best If You Want

Alto offers one of the most affordable ways to diversify your tax-advantaged retirement assets (like a Roth IRA account) into alternative investments, including crypto through the Alto Crypto IRA. In addition to more than 200 coins through CryptoIRA, you can also benefit from the Alto IRA which enables investments in alternatives ranging from private equity to venture capital and securities in fine art.

For those hoping to bring the strength and diversity of alternative investment classes to their retirement accounts while managing a risk tolerance, Alto offers an inventive, easy-to-use, low-cost way to do so. With over $1.4 billion in assets under management at the time of this writing and multiple well-known integrated alternative partners that are accessible right through the Alto platform, the Alto team has made a worthy name for itself in the market by creating a way for everyday investors to buy into these asset classes, which are often reserved for the wealthy. Alto members can invest their retirement funds in the platform’s available alternatives for costs as low as $37.50 per quarter.

Alto IRA Fees

Crypto IRA: 1% trade fee (*A fee of 1% of the order size is included per transaction); no custody or monthly account fees

Alto IRA:

• Total invested capital $0.01 – $29,999.99: $37.50 per quarter
• Total invested capital $30,000+: $100 per quarter

Both Alto IRA and Alto Crytpo IRA are subject to certain service fees such as outgoing wire fees ($25), outgoing check fees ($50), and Roth Conversion fees ($50).

* partner investment fee covers the expense incurred each time we execute an investment on your behalf

What You Can Invest In

Alto allows you to invest in cryptocurrencies as well as other alternative investments. They’ve partnered with over 20 providers of alternative investments to make access easy. Alto also allows you to source your own private deal – for example, participating in a startup’s funding round or investing in local real estate alongside others. They’ve built a simple, digital way for you to initiate these investments with a well-staffed support team to help you through the process.

Currently, you can invest in a wide variety of assets including private equity, venture capital, real estate, fine art, regenerative agriculture, rare spirits, and more, along with over 200 different cryptocurrency coins.

Limitations

Alto enables you to invest easily in private assets through an IRA and is subject to all restrictions associated with IRC 4975 (c)(3), and IRC 408 (e)(2)(A), which generally restricts investments in IRAs between parent-child familial relationships, in addition to investment in S-Corp stocks, and direct investments in collectibles that the IRA owner personally maintains. For now, you cannot invest in publicly traded assets like stocks and bonds.

Furthermore, Alto does not offer account types outside of IRAs – though as an IRA provider, it offers a range of IRA types.

Account Minimums

Alto IRAs do not have account minimums; a $10 minimum investment is required for an Alto CryptoIRA.

Customer Support

Alto offers both email and telephone customer service, with live representatives available Monday through Friday, 8 am-5 pm, CT. Alto enjoys a high rating of 4.4 stars on TrustPilot and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Alto Account Types

Alto doesn’t offer non-retirement accounts, but it does offer a range of IRA options. It’s important to note that Alto does not offer an inherited IRA or a SIMPLE IRA.

Traditional IRA

Traditional IRAs are funded with pre-tax money, which means the contributions grow tax-deferred and are taxed as regular income in retirement.

Roth IRA

Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax money, which means the contributions and their gains can be withdrawn tax-free at retirement time (so long as the five-year rule is obeyed).

SEP IRA

A SEP IRA is geared towards self-employed people and small business owners and gives them the opportunity to amplify their retirement savings (or their employees’) by contributing from both the employer and employee side.

Other Features

Along with its array of retirement accounts that provide access to alternative asset classes, Alto also provides services for financial advisors looking to help their clients diversify their portfolios.

Considering an Alto IRA?

Alto’s Alternative IRA offers a streamlined, online way for people to invest some of their retirement assets in private, alternative asset classes at low monthly account fees. This is especially powerful for those seeking to add diversification to their automated performance accounts (robo-advisor portfolios) or self-directed IRAs at a large brokerage – which is normally invested in stocks and ETFs. It’s also a way for people to invest in private opportunities that they source themselves – all from the comfort of their computers. Alto’s transparent and reasonable account fees make this an excellent option for those looking to broaden the range of investments in their retirement planning, even if they’re beginners.