Self-Directed IRA Articles & Informational Blog

Getting a Rest from the News

September 5, 2013

Article by Glen Mather, President of NuView IRA:

My family and I are off the grid. Well, partially. Just the entertainment part. That means no football, American Idol, Disney, cartoon, and cable news.

It was a combination of the monthly bill and the mountain of unfinished homework that flipped the switch for me. Goodbye, Direct TV.

I expected my four children to march with pickets, to pout and to otherwise act out – but nothing happened. It has been a few weeks, and some very unusual activity has been brewing: books have appeared and a family game night is in the works.

Another unexpected side effect has occurred: I’m no longer plugged into the seemingly clueless news corporation slavishly covering all the mindless goings-on and petty bickering in Washington. I’ve always considered myself a bit of news junkie, so now I have to read to be informed, which seems to be working out much better. Now my wife is talking to me more than ever, which is good most of the time, and the dogs are even benefiting with longer walks.

Based on the last few weeks, I would heartily recommend detaching from your satellite or cable provider. Besides, you will likely have a friend to visit when a really good show is on, but the rest of the time will be yours.

A Difference of Opinions – JOBS Act Updates

August 7, 2013

In this edition of A Difference of Opinions, two attorneys sound off about the SEC adoption of a mandate in the JOBS Act of 2012 that permits general solicitation in private securities offerings. We reached out to two attorneys with different backgrounds just to get a better idea of what this update might hold for the future of promotional activities among investors and those wishing to raise money.

And You Thought Law Firm Advertising Was Bad?
By: Wayne Patton, Esq, an asset protection, business, finance and estate planning attorney. Wayne’s firm is based in Miami, Florida, and he can be contacted through his website.

In March of 2012 the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”) became law. The purpose of the legislation simplifies the process of business fundraising. The law specifically touches investment firms like hedge funds and private equity funds, which have traditionally struggled to “get the word out” under the previous stifling rules that prohibit “general solicitation” under the Securities Act of 1933.

Though it took more than a year for the SEC to approve rules implementing the JOBS Act, we now officially have a framework on which to rely. There are a few things you should know before you start urging clients to advertise openly.

First, while general advertising and solicitation is permitted under the new rules, the “accredited investor” rules regarding unregistered security offerings are still in place.

Also, with the permission to generally solicit comes more responsibility. Specifically, the burden of proving “accredited investor” status has shifted. Under the new rules, investment firms need to ensure that investors are actually accredited.

The next logical question is “Just how inundated will we be with fund advertising?” You thought lawyers were bad. Just wait…

Adoption of New Rule 506(c): General Solicitation in Regulation D Offerings
By: Sara Hanks, co-founder and CEO of CrowdCheck, is an attorney with over 30 years of experience in the corporate and securities field.

On July 10 the SEC complied with a mandate in the JOBS Act of 2012 to permit “general solicitation” in private securities offerings. In doing so, the SEC created an entirely new type of securities offering not required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933.

The SEC adopted amendments to Regulation D under the Securities Act to add new Rule 506(c). Rule 506(c) offerings are technically private placements, made only to “accredited” (rich) investors. In the past this has meant not just that accredited investors only could buy the securities, but also that the issuer could offer them to accredited investors only.

Under the new rule, small companies and private investment funds and their intermediaries will be able to use “general solicitation” to reach accredited investors, which means they may advertise or publicize an offering on television, in newspapers, and most importantly over the internet. They may talk about the offering on talk shows and webinars, and they may promote the offering on social media.

This is a big change. But companies planning to take advantage of the ability to make public solicitations (and their advisers) should bear in mind that something that hasn’t changed is the application of the securities anti-fraud laws to all statements made in connection with the sale of securities. And for that reason, this new type of offering might not be as game-changing as some think.

Proponents of the new rule believe that it will increase transparency, make it easier for small companies to raise capital and decrease companies’ administrative costs. Opponents worry that, in the words of SEC Commissioner Aguilar, removal of the prohibition on general solicitation would be “a boon to boiler room operators, Ponzi schemers, bucket shops, and garden variety fraudsters, by enabling them to cast a wider net, and making securities law enforcement much more difficult.”

Awareness of fraudulent promotional activities means that prospective issuers and their advisers will have to be very careful about the accuracy and completeness of any statements they make. Will the rule change mean that we see hedge funds advertising on late-night TV or Twitter campaigns for investments in startups? The impact of the new rule is likely to be more limited in that respect than some have predicted. Public registered mutual funds do advertise, but those advertisements tend to be staid and contain lots of “fine print” disclaimers prescribed by law; private funds will likely be just as constrained. Broker-dealers putting together Regulation D deals are already subject to FINRA rules with respect to their advertising and social media use, and these requirements have not changed. The anti-fraud laws discussed above should have a tempering effect on any overly-exuberant publicity attempts in either paid or social media.

And the SEC will be watching. The SEC has established a “Rule 506(c) Work Plan” involving staff from all across the SEC, who will monitor the new Rule 506(c) market for fraud and compliance and to coordinate with state regulators.

The effective date for the new rule is September 23, 2013. Rule 506(c) offerings will only be legal after that effective date.

Weighing Long-Term Capital Gains Against Ordinary Income

August 6, 2013

Article by Glen Mather:

Why would anyone want to trade a 15% capital gain tax rate for a 22% marginal income tax rate?

During a recent presentation to a group of CPAs, I was asked this rather obvious question. We were in the process of discussing the relative merits of investing an IRA into rental housing.

For the investor that purchases with after tax money outside an IRA, certain tax advantages accrue largely based on the income and tax situation of the individual. If passive losses are able to offset ordinary income, an additional benefit can arise. However, the assumed disadvantage of the IRA investment in a similar real estate asset may not be accurate, based on the individual facts of the case.

Important variables to consider:

The age of the investor
The anticipated number of years until the investment will start to be distributed
Estimated cash flow of earnings, if any
Estimated profits upon sale of the asset
How long each asset will be held
How the proceeds from the sale of the investment will be re-invested
The marginal tax rate of the investor at the time investment revenue is received
The estimated marginal tax rate of the individual when the funds are to be distributed

Unless investments are in a fixed-return instrument, predicting investment results is a difficult task, and certainly forecasting individual tax rates in future periods is next to impossible. For the real estate investor using non-IRA funds, a 1031 exchange process may be a great choice if the timing of the sale and purchase permits. It will ensure that all of the proceeds of a sale can be rolled into the basis of the new property while forestalling capital gains until the sale of the final property.

The capital gain rates for those with federal marginal tax rates of 35% and 39.6% have been raised to 18.8% and 23.8% due to 2013 tax law changes and the affordable health care surcharge. Avoiding or deferring these higher charges for those in the upper brackets are now more necessary than ever for those outside IRAs. Indeed, these new LTCG brackets tilt the advantages more heavily to the benefit of using IRA monies for investments.

With an IRA, as long as the real estate investment is not leveraged, all gains are deferred until distribution, and then it’s taxed as ordinary income. Should tax rates stay constant (which they never do), generally the majority of retirees will enjoy a lower rate due to diminished earnings.

Roth IRAs change the landscape considerably. Roths are attractive for those who believe their investment performance will be able to recoup the tax costs of conversion or contribution, and for those willing to bet that future tax rates will be equal or higher in retirement than their current rates.

Glen Mather is President of NuView IRA, Inc., a leading self-directed IRA administrator in Orlando, Florida. He can be contacted at 407-367-3472 or gmather@nuviewira.com.

Wheelchair Distribution Trip to El Salvador

August 5, 2013

Last Saturday I was surrounded by the happiest people in the world. Five-year-old polio patients, legless landmine victims, amputees, and those with other infirmities shuffled on crutches or were carried by family members into the courtyard. Although most were from the poorest of backgrounds, on this day they all wore their best clothes and held their heads high.

This was the day that their life would be changed.

They were about to receive their first wheelchair.

The line outside the art museum in San Salvador stretched around the block – the queue lengthening after each diesel-belching bus unloaded. Inside the museum’s courtyard, more than 280 gleaming red wheelchairs were unpacked, awaiting new owners. A local Rotarian called each name from a clipboard into the megaphone causing a chain reaction among fellow workers to assist the recipient up a steep ramp to the official wheelchair distribution area.

After brief introductions in fragmented Spanglish, NuView IRA volunteers, together with other Rotary Club members, gently lowered our new friends into their gift of mobility. The emotions in that moment seemed to erase the challenge of language as tears of gladness and appreciation led to smiles and hugs.

Five-year-old Maria said she heard that you can dance once finally in a wheelchair, which she then proceeded to happily try. Edwin, an eight-year-old with legs that will never be able to carry him, exclaimed he want to be a soldier now that he has his chair. Antonio, a man at the young age of 101, received his first chair alongside his wife, Maria, a feisty 79-year-old, and he plans to live a much more active life back in his village. Hundreds of other stories have been stitched together in the fabric of our minds after participating in this distribution last week in El Salvador.

Thanks to many of our friends, colleagues and clients, and to all of those that participated in the 2013 Hero Games to raise money for the Wheelchair Foundation, hundreds of lives have been changed forever. It is said it is far more blessed to give than to receive, and this past week was an awesome reminder of the power of sharing just a small portion that which we so frequently take for granted.

Stay tuned for our second annual Hero Games event coming next spring so that you may be part of the next chapter in this wonderful adventure.

God Bless,

Glen

3 Simple Ways to Worry Less about Retirement

July 24, 2013

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey broke down the percentages of American confidence in being able to afford a comfortable retirement. While more than half of Americans express some level of confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement, (13% are very confident and 38% are somewhat confident), 21% are not too confident, and 28% are not at all confident. In addition, the percentage of those “not at all confident” is at the highest level it has ever been in the 23 years this survey has been administered.

Despite a brighter economic outlook this year than last, experts believe that one of the main reasons retirement confidence remains low is that people are beginning to realize just how much they need to save for their retirement. While it’s best to start saving for retirement as early as possible, what about those who reach their 40s before they start saving? Here are a few simple things you can do to make saving for retirement a little easier:

Cut back your spending: An easy way to worry less about retirement is to decrease your spending. Try cutting back on small purchases first and see how much you miss them, (or maybe don’t miss them at all). You may need to ask yourself – “Would I rather spend $60 on coffee a month or use that money for retirement?”

Stay healthy: Health care is a big expense during retirement. Even though a large part of your health is genetic, there are still many good habits you can practice in order to maintain a good weight and good overall health. Eating right, exercising often, drinking plenty of water, and getting enough sleep at night are just a few things you can do to stay healthy.

Make a plan to pay off your mortgage: A mortgage is one of the biggest monthly household expenses. If you pay off your mortgage before retirement, it will then be much easier to make ends meet. You can even use one of the various online mortgage calculators to time your mortgage payoff to your retirement date.

Let’s face it, retiring comfortably can be expensive. If you’re looking to take control of your retirement and start building a healthy retirement nest egg, call our experienced self-directed IRA administrative staff at 407-367-3472 to discuss your investment options within a self-directed IRA.

Rebounding Real Estate and IRAs

June 26, 2013

Imagine taking advantage of the continual rebounds the U.S. real estate market is experiencing, all from the comfort of your retirement account.

“We have a continued, gradual recovery,” said Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist for New York’s Societe Generale in a recent Bloomberg story. The article went on to detail specific data on property values, but stated home prices overall rose by the most in seven years as the recovery in residential real estate continues to gain momentum.

Shortly after that news, Yahoo! Homes quoted a RealtyTrac report that listed the top 25 U.S. markets for flipping homes — including some that offer more than 50% gross returns. Luckily for our local Floridians, Orlando and its neighbor Tampa made it to the top of the heap.

What exactly does this mean for you and your self-directed IRA? It means it’s time to earn some returns.

For years now people have been waiting to dive back into the realm of real estate investing out of fear of another housing bubble burst. In reality, we are far from it. According to Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac, Orlando had one of the worst foreclosure rates in America throughout the past five years, but its average home price rebounded at a 12% annual rate during the beginning of this year. Now seems a better time than any to invest your self-directed IRA funds into something malleable like the recuperating housing market.

“There is a 2.68 month supply as of May left. That is if no new houses list and none expire or are withdrawn, we will sell through our inventory in 2.68 months,” said Andy Tolbert, a short sale specialist and the director of programing and membership for the Investors Resource Center chapter in Central Florida. Tolbert went on to explain that the numbers are proof of a strengthening market.

Here at NuView, we offer countless educational classes on how easy it is to introduce the booming real estate market to your self-directed IRA. Even if you are familiar with holding alternative assets and you just want to know more, our team is willing and able to help you understand every aspect of your self-directed IRA. Knowledge is power. Knowledge about the real estate market gives you an advantage that could help make investments more profitable. To learn more about your options, give our expert self-directed IRA administrators a call today at 407-367-3472.

Making a Dent with Community Service

May 29, 2013

How many times have you seen a bedraggled sign toting person at the end of an exit ramp and wondered, what is his or her story? If I hand them a dollar, will it help provide a meal or a bed, or be used for less honorable purposes. In traveling to my office in downtown Chicago, for the four block walk from the train, I’m accosted by a dozen needy citizens, each holding out a hand or cup and a sign. What is a caring person to do?

God gives us clear directions about how we are to treat those less fortunate: “Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land.” (Deut 15:10,11)

It’s a bit confusing though, because we can run out of funds long before we make a dent in fulfilling the needs of others either with our dollars or time doing community service.

Serving others certainly embraces the idea of monetary contributions. Yet, true service demands much more of us; connection with the people that need our help. On that front, we all have an equal amount of capital to deploy.

Two years ago, the NuView staff spent several days defining the collective values that we share as an organization. Particularly poignant was the idea that we have a desire to serve others – not just in the workplace, but in the community as well.

While some of the NuView staff were always first in line to sign up for the myriad of charitable community service activities in Central Florida, others held back a bit. To provide a nudge, we decided to incentivize the behavior with a company- wide bonus if each employee donated at least 15 hours per quarter on any activity that benefited someone less fortunate.

How are we doing? Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to confess that my staff is running laps around me, donating their time to the Wheelchair Foundation, Shephards Hope, Ronald McDonald House, Feeding Children Everywhere, and many more.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, when you give to the needy, do not let your right hand know what the left is doing. What I have found is that public affirmation is unnecessary – the satisfaction of serving others seems to be quite enough.

So, we hope to see you at the next walk-a-thon, tutoring session, or at the local health clinic. We also enjoy hearing about the ways that our friends and clients serve others, and will be happy to join you in your ventures of community service as well.

Indeed, the poor will always be among us – perhaps just to teach us about ourselves. Although the needs are large, join us in helping make the dent just a little bit bigger.

Lars Houmann of Florida Hospital Joins NuView IRA Advisory Board

May 20, 2013

Article by Maria Hernandez, NuView IRA, Inc.:

Lake Mary, Florida – April 29, 2013

NuView IRA, Inc. a leading self-directed IRA administrator announced today the addition of Lars Houmann, President and CEO of Florida Hospital to the NuView Advisory Board. With more than 20 years of economic development experience and various leadership roles within Florida Hospital, Lars will provide insight on how to better serve clients, employees and community.

Houmann’s accomplishments include the addition of the state-of-the-art medical center near Disney – Celebration Hospital, providing a blueprint for innovative delivery of medical services that has inspired hospital administrators internationally. Lars’ current projects include the development of a 172 acre Health Village in downtown Orlando.

Under his leadership since 2006, Florida Hospital has continued rapid growth, reporting revenues of over $2.2B for the last period. Florida Hospital has also set the standard for excellence and being named by US News and World Report as the the number one hospital in Orlando.

“We are extremely pleased and honored that Lars has agreed to be part of our advisory group,” said Glen Mather, NuView President. “His innovative ideas and his legacy of service to his community are attributes that cannot help but be an inspiration to us all.” When asked why he serves on so many boards, including chairing the Florida Chamber Board of Directors as well as the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Lars said “I do it because it makes a difference.”

Houmann will join three other business leaders on the NuView Advisory Board; John Ritenour, Founder and Chairman of Insurance Office of America, Charles Gray, Founder and Chairman of Gray-Robinson law firm, and Jerry Ross, Director of the National Entrepreneurial Center.

About NuView IRA, Inc.

NuView is a leading administrator of self-directed IRAs based in Lake Mary, Florida, and through its affiliates, holds over $600M in retirement funds. Since 2003, thousands of NuView clients have been able to self-direct their IRAs and Individual 401(k) plans into real estate, notes, mortgages, private placements, precious metals, and much more.

Summary:

Lars Houmann, CEO of Florida Hospital, joins NuView IRA, Inc. Advisory Board providing insight and experience in customer service, employee development and community involvement.

Do You Enjoy DIY Projects? Try a Self-Directed IRA

May 2, 2013

People are always looking for the gratification of successfully completing a do-it-yourself (DIY) project. Even if it’s something as simple as painting an old bookshelf to look new, building something on your own often creates a satisfying feeling. If you’re on Pinterest, one of the most popular ideas among users of this inspirational social media platform is do-it-yourself projects. Users pin DIY project ideas ranging from how to modernize your kitchen to designing your own flower arrangements at your wedding.

According to an article in Psychology Today, building something yourself also increases the item’s value. “The act of building something, putting your own blood and sweat into a physical object, seems to imbue it with additional value above and beyond its inherent quality,” said Travis J. Carter, Ph. D., author of the article. In fact, this is rumored to be one of the reasons why IKEA requires customers to assemble their purchased furniture.

So, how does this relate to IRAs and retirement planning? Banks, brokerages, and mutual fund companies are able to open an IRA for you and act as custodian of your retirement funds, helping you invest in the traditional bank, brokerage, and mutual fund products. However, for those who would like to put their own personal stamp on their IRA and customize their investment choices to ones they are most familiar with, there is a do-it-yourself IRA known as a self-directed IRA.

A self-directed IRA opens up a whole range of investment products that can be purchased inside an IRA beyond the stock market. Since many of us have specialized knowledge that could help us make niche investments in a self-directed IRA, this type of IRA becomes very appealing to the DIY investor. The benefits that accrue may be far more than just psychological.

Give our Florida self-directed IRA administrators a call today at 407-367-3472 to learn more about your IRA options including self-directed IRAs and real estate IRAs! As always, we wish you all the best in your investments!

There’s an App for That…Simplify Your Business and Your Life with Google Drive

April 23, 2013

Guest article by Tom Jelneck:

About two years ago, my company had a problem. We had way too many digital assets in way too many places. Where’s that Photoshop file? Where did the press release draft get stored? This huge waste of time trying to hunt down digital files is not only a headache, but costs us money. As our businesses create more and more digital files, the need for a one stop file repository is becoming mission critical in order to keep efficiency at peak levels. If you’re not crazy about housing power-sucking, maintenance hungry servers to store your data, keep reading.

Enter Google. The search engine giant Google has developed some amazing tools that are making all of our lives much more efficient and manageable. Google has created a platform where you can create, collaborate, share, print and alter documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more through it’s cloud service Google Drive. All docs, email, calendars, etc., can be accessed from your desktop, your smartphone, your tablet, etc., which means you’ll never need to call your secretary back at the office to have them pull a file. All of your files, emails, appointments, to-do lists, etc., all at your fingertips, 24/7.

Key Features:

Ability to upload and store multiple file formats in your Drive (you can upload Word docs, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, etc., and store them in Google Drive).
Ability to manage who in your organization has access to what.
Ability to manage how much data space users in your organization are using.
Ability to collaborate and share documents in real time.
Ability to sync online Drive with your local PC or Mac.

The Bottom Line:

If you need to streamline and simplify your business, consider Google Drive. It’s free, easy to use, robust and, best of all, doesn’t require hiring an expensive IT pro to keep it running smoothly.

Setting up Google Drive is simple, and it offers solid tech support to get you up and running. Google continues to expand with products and improvements on integral tools (like Search and Maps), and it will continue to innovate and create making it a robust technology partner for any business.

For more technology and Internet marketing tips, visit http://tomjelneck.com.