Blockchange Inc. and IRA Financial are partnering to enable IRA funds & select 401(k) plans to be invested in cryptocurrencies and digital assets, under the management of a financial advisor. The arrangement allows investors to leverage the tax-advantaged status of their IRA or 401(k) funds as they diversify into a range of cryptocurrencies.
Investors have previously been able to work with IRA Financial to invest in cryptocurrencies on an individual basis. Financial advisors have been able to expose their client's IRAs to crypto assets through digital trusts or funds that don't offer the benefits of owning the underlying assets. The new partnership means that the expertise of a financial advisor can be leveraged to manage a comprehensive crypto portfolio for the investor, while maintaining the tax advantages of a qualified IRA and owning the underlying assets.
"Many investors are realizing the diversification benefits cryptocurrencies offer and want to participate with their IRAs, but until now firms haven't had an efficient way to offer exposure for retirement accounts," commented Mathew Kolesky, President of Arbor Capital Management, one of the first RIA firms to adopt the Blockchange-IRA Financial solution. "The new partnership is a game changer that enables firms to expand their portfolio offering as they bring the benefits of crypto assets to their clients' IRAs and 401(k) plans."
How it Works
Investors begin by setting up a self-directed IRA with IRA Financial and transferring funds from an existing IRA, solo 401(k) plan, or former employer 401(k) plan into the new IRA. IRA Financial inherits the custody of the funds which are then transferred to Gemini Trust Company for investment into a portfolio of crypto assets. The assets are managed by the investor's financial advisor with the Blockchange BITRIA Digital Turnkey Asset Management Platform. Blockchange and Gemini previously announced a partnership to enable RIAs to manage digital assets.
"We are excited to partner with Blockchange and offer financial advisors the ability to help their clients use an IRA or solo 401(k) to invest in cryptocurrencies seamlessly, securely, and cost effectively through Gemini," said Adam Bergman, CEO of IRA Financial.
One of the unique advantages of the partnership is that investors are not limited to Bitcoin only. The solution supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and 18 other digital assets, allowing for a range of options depending on the investor's appetite for risk and reward, and the advisor's level of experience with digital assets.
"Investing in a more sophisticated range of crypto assets, beyond Bitcoin and perhaps Ethereum, really requires the expertise of an advisor with an understanding of the digital asset ecosystem," commented Blockchange CEO Dan Eyre. "Working with IRA Financial, we're able to help advisors bring this expertise to a whole new asset pool in the form of retirement accounts. RIAs new to digital assets can also benefit from firms with more experience in cryptocurrencies through the SMA structure enabled by our BITRIA platform."
This article originally appeared on Yahoo! Finance.
