Did you know that partnering your IRA funds to invest is one way you can acquire assets with limited funds?

After attending Planning for Prosperity, it is clear that a lot of investors are looking for alternatives to the stock and bond market. Most of those investors are looking for passive investment opportunities in the real estate market.

As an author, podcaster and active blogger, I have consistently been studying and writing about the real estate and real estate finance industry for 9 years. All of my research indicates that there are the two opportunities passive investors who want high returns with low risk should have in their portfolio. Both of these investment opportunities are in the financial instruments of the real estate industry (real estate notes & mortgages).

As a former banker, 22 years to be precise, I thought I knew about self-direction because mid-career my employer plan effectively disappeared, and I was told I could manage my own retirement accounts.  I could even do it in real time online.  I was pretty astute, so I thought, and began trading stocks and mutual funds for the first time in my life.

Not many people have had the chance to hear about my favorite charity, Chair the Love – a 501(c)3 that helps provide wheelchairs and other mobility related items and services to those in need in Central Florida and throughout the world. Every year, Chair the Love hosts their Chair the Love Dinner and Auction to raise money for their cause. Normally, I volunteer at the event, but today, I got to attend as a guest – lucky me!  

I walked through the doors of the Maitland Civic Center, and was immediately greeted by smiling volunteers, helping me down the registration line. They made checking in simple and quick! The registration process was seamless – it even included a way to cast my auction bid through my cell phone – a convenient 21^st century touch!

When it comes to investing, everyone looks for an angle – a way to “beat the market” and get sizable returns with little risk.

Unfortunately, with publically traded stocks and bonds, there is never an opportunity to make a purchase at a discount, below market, or at wholesale.  Of the almost $7 trillion in IRAs, almost all investors chose to invest in lockstep based on advice from paid advisors, money managers, or through personal research.  The fact that you are interested in notes, purchased at a discount, provides a great deal of separation from the masses.

As the CEO of NuView Trust, I have the unique opportunity of speaking in front of scores of CPAs, attorneys, financial planners, real estate brokers and agents, as well as just plain investors, about the power and prohibitions of self-directed IRAs. One of the most common questions I get is, “I only have a small IRA, so what are my choices for self-direction and how could I get started?”