Most people don’t realize just how flexible self-directed retirement accounts can be. You’re not stuck choosing between a handful of Wall Street funds. Real estate, private lending, startups, precious metals—even farmland—can all be on the table when you’re in control. If you had full freedom, where would you put your retirement dollars?Drop your answer below—I’m curious to see the different directions people would take.

Hi All, I’ve been digging deeper into self-directed retirement accounts lately to better understand the tools people are using. One topic that comes up a lot is the checkbook-controlled IRA. It’s a setup where the IRA owns an LLC, and the account holder (as manager) writes checks or wires directly from that LLC. The appeal is clear: faster transactions and fewer custodian delays. I recently spoke with an industry veteran who’s seen this structure play out in practice. Here’s the summary of what I was learned: Why some people use it - Bypass custodian delays and fees - Move quickly on deals like private lending Where the caution comes in - Because the account holder is both owner of the IRA and manager of the LLC, it can look like too much direct control. - Different custodians treat it differently. Some won’t allow it; others do, but it’s still a gray area. - If it were ever questioned, the “fix” would usually be administrative (re-titling assets back into the IRA) — not catastrophic, but inconvenient. Other considerations - Some folks try to get around the control issue by naming a third party as LLC manager. That reduces one risk but creates another (trusting someone else with your funds). - For slower, one-off deals (like a single syndication), a standard custodian-processed IRA can be just fine. Bottom line Checkbook-controlled IRAs do exist and people use them, but they sit in a compliance gray area. For some investors the speed is worth it, for others the simplicity of a custodian held self directed IRA (or a Solo 401k if eligible) is a better fit.