Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/03/31) */ Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: [redacted] @theentrustgroup.com Dear Ms [redacted] We received your letter dated March 19, 2015, RE Case # XXXXXXXX: [redacted] ***, and reviewed our recordsWe will address Mr***'s assertions and share our findings and subsequent actions Mr [redacted] asserts that he tried to contact The Entrust Group ('Entrust') several times regarding his former Roth IRA account, by letter, email, voicemail, and fax, but never received any replyFurther, he states his account became inactive on February 28, 2013, and that Entrust received several fee payments subsequent to this date despite the claim that the account "no longer existed." Mr***'s first point regarding lack of response on the part of Entrust is difficult to qualifyEntrust is a service organization, and all correspondence from clients is responded to as expeditiously as possibleWe do have records of correspondence with him over the past few monthsExamples include mail sent by Entrust to Mr [redacted] in early October, 2014, that was returned to us due to an incorrect address; we subsequently found that Mr [redacted] had moved but not updated his address with usWe also received a Change of Address request from Mr [redacted] in late November, 2014, and his address was updated in our systemAround that same time we received a completed Fair Market Valuation from Mr***, the first notice received from him that his account asset had changed in valueThe Form was processed and the value of his asset was updated in February, To examine what transpired within his IRA account requires a deeper look at self-directed IRAs (the type of account established by Mr***), the services and responsibilities of Entrust, and the responsibilities of the clientA self-directed IRA is as it sounds, an IRA for which all investment decisions are made by the clientEntrust provides no investment advice and does not endorse any investment providersAs an administrator of self-directed retirement plans, Entrust's role is to keep records of clients' accounts, including their asset information and transactions made within the accountsWe provide trustee services as required by law for an IRA, account for the value of the assets based on information provided to us, and file relevant tax reporting documents required by the IRS Clients who choose to invest via a self-directed IRA take on a greater and more active responsibility than those who invest their funds via the IRAs offered by brokerage firms and banksThis is due in large part to the assets the clients choose to invest in, which typically are not available on public exchanges (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange) and thus are not easily valuedMr [redacted] invested the funds in his Entrust IRA into a futures trading account, in this case [redacted] At Mr***'s direction, Entrust wired his IRA's funds to the trading accountThereafter, however, Entrust had no knowledge of, nor are we responsible for obtaining the information about the value of the account as the information was not available via any public exchangePer Section of the 5305-RA client agreement, it is the responsibility of the client to update Entrust when an investment has a change in value (highlighted in the attached copy and pasted below for convenience)Without receiving this update from the client or his investment provider, Entrust does not have the ability to revise the account value and legally is not permitted to do so Thus, although Mr***'s documentation did clearly indicate that the [redacted] account became inactive February 28, 2013, neither Mr [redacted] nor the investment provider ( [redacted] ) notified us of any change in value until November, Without this knowledge, the asset will (and legally must) remain on our books at its last known value, the acquisition priceIn such a case, fees are applied accordingly, which is what occurred here The intent in providing the explanation above is to clarify Entrust's actionsLegally, we were not permitted to mark down the value of the account to $until such time that this value was provided to us by the clientThus, how we handled this case is and appropriate for our industryThat being said, we understand Mr***'s circumstances and realize he perhaps did not fully understand his obligations in managing his accountIn good faith, we will issue him a refund of the amount in question, $ Please let us know if you have any questions Sincerely, Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (2000, 7, 2015/04/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */ June 16, Ms [redacted] Dispute Resolution Specialist Revdex.com Broadway, Suite Oakland, CA XXXXX RE: Case # [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] Thank you for your letter dated June 3, We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to themWe have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address hereTo begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans)As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as EntrustDoing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lowerDrilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $to a high of $Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $for their account termination feeThis is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basisHowever, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account)Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $to a high of $This is the reason a termination fee is in place Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with EntrustIf the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishmentIt should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment providerThe agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effectFor the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment providerOur current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee Thank you for the opportunity to respond Sincerely, The Entrust Group, Inc
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/11/10) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX ext [redacted]
Contact Email: [redacted]@theentrustgroup.com
Operations staff has been working with client since early 2014 to obtain supporting documentation to remove the asset...
from the account. Asset was removed from the account 11/3/14 and account closed 11/5/14. $279.62 in fees have been written off. No fees are due from the client.
Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2015/01/13) */
account was closed November 5, 2014. letter has been sent to client 1/13/15 via US mail to address on file. [redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/31) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@theentrustgroup.com
Dear Ms. [redacted]
We received your letter dated March 19, 2015, RE Case # XXXXXXXX: [redacted]. [redacted], and reviewed our...
records. We will address Mr. [redacted]'s assertions and share our findings and subsequent actions.
Mr. [redacted] asserts that he tried to contact The Entrust Group ('Entrust') several times regarding his former Roth IRA account, by letter, email, voicemail, and fax, but never received any reply. Further, he states his account became inactive on February 28, 2013, and that Entrust received several fee payments subsequent to this date despite the claim that the account "no longer existed."
Mr. [redacted]'s first point regarding lack of response on the part of Entrust is difficult to qualify. Entrust is a service organization, and all correspondence from clients is responded to as expeditiously as possible. We do have records of correspondence with him over the past few months. Examples include mail sent by Entrust to Mr. [redacted] in early October, 2014, that was returned to us due to an incorrect address; we subsequently found that Mr. [redacted] had moved but not updated his address with us. We also received a Change of Address request from Mr. [redacted] in late November, 2014, and his address was updated in our system. Around that same time we received a completed Fair Market Valuation from Mr. [redacted], the first notice received from him that his account asset had changed in value. The Form was processed and the value of his asset was updated in February, 2015. To examine what transpired within his IRA account requires a deeper look at self-directed IRAs (the type of account established by Mr. [redacted]), the services and responsibilities of Entrust, and the responsibilities of the client. A self-directed IRA is as it sounds, an IRA for which all investment decisions are made by the client. Entrust provides no investment advice and does not endorse any investment providers. As an administrator of self-directed retirement plans, Entrust's role is to keep records of clients' accounts, including their asset information and transactions made within the accounts. We provide trustee services as required by law for an IRA, account for the value of the assets based on information provided to us, and file relevant tax reporting documents required by the IRS.
Clients who choose to invest via a self-directed IRA take on a greater and more active responsibility than those who invest their funds via the IRAs offered by brokerage firms and banks. This is due in large part to the assets the clients choose to invest in, which typically are not available on public exchanges (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange) and thus are not easily valued. Mr. [redacted] invested the funds in his Entrust IRA into a futures trading account, in this case [redacted] At Mr. [redacted]'s direction, Entrust wired his IRA's funds to the trading account. Thereafter, however, Entrust had no knowledge of, nor are we responsible for obtaining the information about the value of the account as the information was not available via any public exchange. Per Section 6.02 of the 5305-RA client agreement, it is the responsibility of the client to update Entrust when an investment has a change in value (highlighted in the attached copy and pasted below for convenience). Without receiving this update from the client or his investment provider, Entrust does not have the ability to revise the account value and legally is not permitted to do so.
Thus, although Mr. [redacted]'s documentation did clearly indicate that the [redacted] account became inactive February 28, 2013, neither Mr. [redacted] nor the investment provider ([redacted]) notified us of any change in value until November, 2013. Without this knowledge, the asset will (and legally must) remain on our books at its last known value, the acquisition price. In such a case, fees are applied accordingly, which is what occurred here.
The intent in providing the explanation above is to clarify Entrust's actions. Legally, we were not permitted to mark down the value of the account to $0.00 until such time that this value was provided to us by the client. Thus, how we handled this case is normal and appropriate for our industry. That being said, we understand Mr. [redacted]'s circumstances and realize he perhaps did not fully understand his obligations in managing his account. In good faith, we will issue him a refund of the amount in question, $292.50.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/04/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */
June 16, 2015
Ms. [redacted]
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Revdex.com
1000 Broadway, Suite 625
Oakland, CA XXXXX
RE: Case # [redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted]
Thank you for your letter dated June...
3, 2015. We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to them. We have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter.
With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $250 is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address here. To begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans.
Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans). As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated.
To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as Entrust. Doing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lower. Drilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $200 to a high of $275. Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $100 for their account termination fee. This is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable.
Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basis. However, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account). Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $74.75 to a high of $498.75. This is the reason a termination fee is in place.
Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with Entrust. If the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishment. It should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment provider. The agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effect. For the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $150. This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment provider. Our current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com.
For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc.
Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2015/03/31) */ Contact Name and Title: [redacted] Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: [redacted] @theentrustgroup.com Dear Ms [redacted] We received your letter dated March 19, 2015, RE Case # XXXXXXXX: [redacted] ***, and reviewed our recordsWe will address Mr***'s assertions and share our findings and subsequent actions Mr [redacted] asserts that he tried to contact The Entrust Group ('Entrust') several times regarding his former Roth IRA account, by letter, email, voicemail, and fax, but never received any replyFurther, he states his account became inactive on February 28, 2013, and that Entrust received several fee payments subsequent to this date despite the claim that the account "no longer existed." Mr***'s first point regarding lack of response on the part of Entrust is difficult to qualifyEntrust is a service organization, and all correspondence from clients is responded to as expeditiously as possibleWe do have records of correspondence with him over the past few monthsExamples include mail sent by Entrust to Mr [redacted] in early October, 2014, that was returned to us due to an incorrect address; we subsequently found that Mr [redacted] had moved but not updated his address with usWe also received a Change of Address request from Mr [redacted] in late November, 2014, and his address was updated in our systemAround that same time we received a completed Fair Market Valuation from Mr***, the first notice received from him that his account asset had changed in valueThe Form was processed and the value of his asset was updated in February, To examine what transpired within his IRA account requires a deeper look at self-directed IRAs (the type of account established by Mr***), the services and responsibilities of Entrust, and the responsibilities of the clientA self-directed IRA is as it sounds, an IRA for which all investment decisions are made by the clientEntrust provides no investment advice and does not endorse any investment providersAs an administrator of self-directed retirement plans, Entrust's role is to keep records of clients' accounts, including their asset information and transactions made within the accountsWe provide trustee services as required by law for an IRA, account for the value of the assets based on information provided to us, and file relevant tax reporting documents required by the IRS Clients who choose to invest via a self-directed IRA take on a greater and more active responsibility than those who invest their funds via the IRAs offered by brokerage firms and banksThis is due in large part to the assets the clients choose to invest in, which typically are not available on public exchanges (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange) and thus are not easily valuedMr [redacted] invested the funds in his Entrust IRA into a futures trading account, in this case [redacted] At Mr***'s direction, Entrust wired his IRA's funds to the trading accountThereafter, however, Entrust had no knowledge of, nor are we responsible for obtaining the information about the value of the account as the information was not available via any public exchangePer Section of the 5305-RA client agreement, it is the responsibility of the client to update Entrust when an investment has a change in value (highlighted in the attached copy and pasted below for convenience)Without receiving this update from the client or his investment provider, Entrust does not have the ability to revise the account value and legally is not permitted to do so Thus, although Mr***'s documentation did clearly indicate that the [redacted] account became inactive February 28, 2013, neither Mr [redacted] nor the investment provider ( [redacted] ) notified us of any change in value until November, Without this knowledge, the asset will (and legally must) remain on our books at its last known value, the acquisition priceIn such a case, fees are applied accordingly, which is what occurred here The intent in providing the explanation above is to clarify Entrust's actionsLegally, we were not permitted to mark down the value of the account to $until such time that this value was provided to us by the clientThus, how we handled this case is and appropriate for our industryThat being said, we understand Mr***'s circumstances and realize he perhaps did not fully understand his obligations in managing his accountIn good faith, we will issue him a refund of the amount in question, $ Please let us know if you have any questions Sincerely, Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (2000, 7, 2015/04/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */ June 16, Ms [redacted] Dispute Resolution Specialist Revdex.com Broadway, Suite Oakland, CA XXXXX RE: Case # [redacted] Dear Ms [redacted] Thank you for your letter dated June 3, We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to themWe have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address hereTo begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans)As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as EntrustDoing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lowerDrilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $to a high of $Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $for their account termination feeThis is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basisHowever, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account)Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $to a high of $This is the reason a termination fee is in place Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with EntrustIf the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishmentIt should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment providerThe agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effectFor the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment providerOur current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee Thank you for the opportunity to respond Sincerely, The Entrust Group, Inc
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/11/10) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX ext [redacted]
Contact Email: [redacted]@theentrustgroup.com
Operations staff has been working with client since early 2014 to obtain supporting documentation to remove the asset...
from the account. Asset was removed from the account 11/3/14 and account closed 11/5/14. $279.62 in fees have been written off. No fees are due from the client.
Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2015/01/13) */
account was closed November 5, 2014. letter has been sent to client 1/13/15 via US mail to address on file. [redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/03/31) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@theentrustgroup.com
Dear Ms. [redacted]
We received your letter dated March 19, 2015, RE Case # XXXXXXXX: [redacted]. [redacted], and reviewed our...
records. We will address Mr. [redacted]'s assertions and share our findings and subsequent actions.
Mr. [redacted] asserts that he tried to contact The Entrust Group ('Entrust') several times regarding his former Roth IRA account, by letter, email, voicemail, and fax, but never received any reply. Further, he states his account became inactive on February 28, 2013, and that Entrust received several fee payments subsequent to this date despite the claim that the account "no longer existed."
Mr. [redacted]'s first point regarding lack of response on the part of Entrust is difficult to qualify. Entrust is a service organization, and all correspondence from clients is responded to as expeditiously as possible. We do have records of correspondence with him over the past few months. Examples include mail sent by Entrust to Mr. [redacted] in early October, 2014, that was returned to us due to an incorrect address; we subsequently found that Mr. [redacted] had moved but not updated his address with us. We also received a Change of Address request from Mr. [redacted] in late November, 2014, and his address was updated in our system. Around that same time we received a completed Fair Market Valuation from Mr. [redacted], the first notice received from him that his account asset had changed in value. The Form was processed and the value of his asset was updated in February, 2015. To examine what transpired within his IRA account requires a deeper look at self-directed IRAs (the type of account established by Mr. [redacted]), the services and responsibilities of Entrust, and the responsibilities of the client. A self-directed IRA is as it sounds, an IRA for which all investment decisions are made by the client. Entrust provides no investment advice and does not endorse any investment providers. As an administrator of self-directed retirement plans, Entrust's role is to keep records of clients' accounts, including their asset information and transactions made within the accounts. We provide trustee services as required by law for an IRA, account for the value of the assets based on information provided to us, and file relevant tax reporting documents required by the IRS.
Clients who choose to invest via a self-directed IRA take on a greater and more active responsibility than those who invest their funds via the IRAs offered by brokerage firms and banks. This is due in large part to the assets the clients choose to invest in, which typically are not available on public exchanges (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange) and thus are not easily valued. Mr. [redacted] invested the funds in his Entrust IRA into a futures trading account, in this case [redacted] At Mr. [redacted]'s direction, Entrust wired his IRA's funds to the trading account. Thereafter, however, Entrust had no knowledge of, nor are we responsible for obtaining the information about the value of the account as the information was not available via any public exchange. Per Section 6.02 of the 5305-RA client agreement, it is the responsibility of the client to update Entrust when an investment has a change in value (highlighted in the attached copy and pasted below for convenience). Without receiving this update from the client or his investment provider, Entrust does not have the ability to revise the account value and legally is not permitted to do so.
Thus, although Mr. [redacted]'s documentation did clearly indicate that the [redacted] account became inactive February 28, 2013, neither Mr. [redacted] nor the investment provider ([redacted]) notified us of any change in value until November, 2013. Without this knowledge, the asset will (and legally must) remain on our books at its last known value, the acquisition price. In such a case, fees are applied accordingly, which is what occurred here.
The intent in providing the explanation above is to clarify Entrust's actions. Legally, we were not permitted to mark down the value of the account to $0.00 until such time that this value was provided to us by the client. Thus, how we handled this case is normal and appropriate for our industry. That being said, we understand Mr. [redacted]'s circumstances and realize he perhaps did not fully understand his obligations in managing his account. In good faith, we will issue him a refund of the amount in question, $292.50.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/04/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */
June 16, 2015
Ms. [redacted]
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Revdex.com
1000 Broadway, Suite 625
Oakland, CA XXXXX
RE: Case # [redacted]
Dear Ms. [redacted]
Thank you for your letter dated June...
3, 2015. We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to them. We have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter.
With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $250 is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address here. To begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans.
Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans). As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated.
To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as Entrust. Doing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lower. Drilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $200 to a high of $275. Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $100 for their account termination fee. This is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable.
Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basis. However, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account). Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $74.75 to a high of $498.75. This is the reason a termination fee is in place.
Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with Entrust. If the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishment. It should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment provider. The agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effect. For the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $150. This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment provider. Our current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com.
For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc.