Disclosures
What we are
The Self-Directed is an independent educational publication about holding real estate and other private assets inside retirement accounts.
What we are not
We are not a custodian, a trustee, an administrator, a bank, a broker-dealer, an investment adviser, a law firm, or an accounting firm. We are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, or any state securities regulator, and we do not need to be, because we do not offer securities or give personalized advice.
No advice
Nothing on this site is investment, tax, or legal advice, and nothing on this site is personalized to you. General information about how rules work is not the same as advice about what you should do. Retirement account rules change and apply differently to different people depending on facts we do not know. Before you act, talk to your own CPA and your own attorney.
No offer of securities
No page on this site is an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. No page on this site describes the terms of any investment. If you are ever offered a security, that will happen through separate documents, from a separate entity, subject to the securities laws, and it will be obvious that it is happening.
No performance claims
We do not promise or project returns. Where a page shows arithmetic, the numbers are illustrative, chosen to demonstrate how a mechanic works, and labeled as such. They are not predictions and they do not describe any particular account or property. Past performance of anything is not indicative of future results.
Risk
Real estate can lose value. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains. Private assets are illiquid and can be impossible to sell when you want to. A retirement account holding a single property is concentrated by definition. Nothing described on this site is safe, guaranteed, or risk-free, and we will not describe anything that way.
Tax
A tax-advantaged account can owe tax. Unrelated business income tax and unrelated debt-financed income are real obligations with real filings, and the rules are fact specific. Every discussion of them here is general. Your CPA decides your situation.
Third parties
Custodians, administrators, lenders, and other firms named on this site are independent third parties. We have no partnership, affiliation, or agreement with them. We are not compensated by them. We do not use affiliate links. Naming a firm is not a recommendation and omitting one is not a criticism. Fee schedules and service levels change without notice, so verify everything directly with the firm.
How this is funded
Readers who tell us they have a meaningful amount of capital, a real timeline, and a situation where a conversation is more useful than an article may be introduced to real estate operators who buy and manage property and who work with retirement account capital. That introduction is the only commercial relationship this publication has. It happens only after you volunteer your information, it is a conversation rather than an offer, and it is described plainly on our about page. You can read everything here forever without it.
Self-reported information
Our questionnaire collects information you report about yourself, including whether you consider yourself an accredited investor. It is used to decide what to send you. It is not accreditation verification, it has no legal effect, and nothing about answering it makes you eligible for anything.
Accuracy and corrections
We try to be accurate and we will get things wrong. Each page shows when it was last updated. Report an error to desk@theselfdirected.com and we will correct it and note that we did.
The full statement
The Self-Directed is an independent educational publication. We are not a custodian, a trustee, a broker-dealer, an investment adviser, a law firm, or an accounting firm. We do not provide investment, tax, or legal advice, and no page on this site is personalized advice. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Rules governing retirement accounts change and apply differently to different people. Custodians named on this site are independent third parties. We have no partnership with them, we are not compensated by them, and naming one is not a recommendation. Before you act, talk to your own CPA and your own attorney.