Checkbook SDIRA & Ameritrade

[Harold Groetsema]

I have a Checkbook controlled IRA LLC and want to invest into TD Ameritrade. Can I just set up an account from my LLC or do I need to set it up directly with my SDIRA? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Dmitriy Fomichenko]

Harold,

Yes you can open brokerage account at TD Ameritrade for your LLC (that your IRA owns) and fund it from your LLC's checking account.

[George Blower]

@Harold Groetsema

The following link is for the LLC brokerage account.

https://invest.tdameritrade.com/grid/p/accountAppl...

The following will get you started. Also, the company that assisted you with the LLC IRA should help you with this.

Then click on "Business/Trust"

Then selected "Limited Liability Company"

[Harold Groetsema]

Perfect, that's what I wanted to hear. I wanted to clarify that before I funded the account.

Thank you!

[Kevin Zimmer]

Harold, just curious, since you have already established a self directed IRA with checkbook control, and you can literally invest in anything except collectibles and life insurance, why are you putting money in the TD account? To keep it earning something because you are between opportunities?

[Brian Eastman]

@Kevin Zimmer

That is a great question, and certainly Harold will need to respond with his own motivations.

We have a lot of clients with the Checkbook IRA LLC or Solo 401(k) establish standard trading accounts. Diversification is a good thing, and these brokerage accounts are a mechanism to keep contingency funds or earnings actively deployed within the program as opposed to sitting idle in cash.

That said, there may be benefits to maintaining a separate IRA elsewhere for reasons of asset segregation. If you have a larger portfolio and assets that create risk exposure such as rental property, you would not want a significant amount of cash or stocks sitting in that same LLC and potentially exposed to a lawsuit. In that case it is best to transfer money out of the system to a separate IRA. Of course the reverse can be done as well.

[Harold Groetsema]

I have money loaned to flippers and have excess that is sitting idle like Kevin said. If I put it into pretty safe stocks then I can withdraw as other opportunities come up. Thank you for all your expertise, and please continue to help us novice investors.