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.

You can invest in more than 200 crypto coins through the Alto Crypto IRA. You can also benefit from the Alto IRA, which allows you to invest in alternative assets like fine art and real estate, private equity and venture capital.

Alto has over $1.4 billion in assets under management at the time of this writing and multiple alternative partners that are accessible through the Alto platform. Alto makes it possible 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*
• No custody or monthly account fees

*A fee of 1% of the order size is included per transaction

Alto IRA:

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

Other fees: Both Alto IRA and Alto Crypto IRA are subject to certain service fees, such as:

• Outgoing wire fees: $25
• Outgoing check fees: $50
• 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, you could participate in a startup’s funding round or invest in real estate. The company has built a simple way for you to initiate these investments with a well-staffed support team to help you through the process.

Some opportunities are only available to people who qualify as accredited investors based on their annual income or net worth.

Limitations

Alto enables you to invest easily in private assets through an IRA and is subject to IRS restrictions. IRS rules generally restrict investments in IRAs if they involve transactions with immediate family members. Investments in S-Corp stocks and direct investments in collectibles that the IRA owner personally maintains are also prohibited.

For now, you cannot invest in publicly traded traditional assets like stocks and bonds. Some investments, like private equity, require accredited investor status. Furthermore, Alto does not offer account types outside of IRAs. However, as an IRA provider, it offers a range of IRA types.

Account Minimums

Alto IRAs do not have account minimums. However, 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 usually funded with pre-tax money, which means the contributions grow tax-deferred. Withdrawals 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 you’ve had the account for at least five years.

SEP IRA

A SEP IRA is geared toward self-employed people and small business owners. The account gives them the opportunity to amplify their retirement savings 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 and manage risk tolerance.

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, such as robo-advisor portfolios that invest in traditional assets like stocks and ETFs.

It’s also a way for sophisticated investors 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.