The Perils of Self-Directed IRAs

Individual retirement accounts were created in 1974 as tax-sheltered retirement savings for employees whose employer did not offer an employer-provided retirement vehicle. Since then, they have been used primarily as rollover vehicles, such that amounts accumulated under employer-provided retirement plans can be rolled over into an individual retirement account. This Article examines the perils involved with a rollover IRA owner decides to invest his IRA assets in non-traditional assets.