Hello and welcome to another review on Gold Retired! Today we’ll be investigating Equity Institutional. What is Equity Institutional? What are the products and services it offers? What are the IRAs it offers, and how much are its IRA fees? Let’s find out!
Company: Equity institutional (former: Sterlink Trust)
Website: www.trustetc.com
Owner: Richard Desich (CEO)
Who is it for? Investors, retirees
Overall rating: 
(3 / 5) (below average)
Warning!
There are many scammers who will trick you into giving them your hard-earned cash.
They employ high-pressure sales techniques like calling you every day.
To avoid this, please do your own research before you decide what firm to invest with.
You can do this by checking the reviews and ratings independent 3rd party consumer protection agencies give them.
To discover which investment firm consumers rate the highest… who won’t bother you with pushy sales calls… and who you can trust to protect and grow your wealth… then take a look at the #1 Recommended Gold & Silver IRA Dealer on our top-5 list (works with ALL major custodians).
With that being said, let´s continue with the review on Equity Institutional!
What is Equity Institutional?
Based in Westlake, Ohio, Equity Institutional services institutional clients of Equity Trust Company which serves as a Custodian for Self Directed IRA’s and 401(k)’s. Richard Desich founded this company in 1974. He’s also the Founder of Retirement Education Group. The companys former name was Sterlink Trust Company but they changed it to Equity Institutional.
This company offers alternative options to traditional investments through different types of IRAs, which we will be discussing later. Below is a screenshot of the physical address of the company:
So, what are these products and services offered?
This company allows investors to diversify their portfolio through options like:
- Public limited partnerships or LLCs
- Precious metals
- Private Equity/Private Debt
- Residential & Commercial Real Estate
- Hedge Funds
- Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy
- And more
IRAs offered?
Here is the IRAs Equity Institutional offers:
- Precious Metals IRA
- Digital currency IRA
- Real Estate IRA
- Private Equity IRA
- Private Debt IRA
Here’s an excerpt from their website explaining their different account types:
Individual Retirement Accounts
- Traditional and Roth IRAs
- SEP and SIMPLE IRAs
Custodial Accounts
- For Individuals, Trusts, Plans and Businesses
- Non-Retirement Custodial Account Solutions
Institutional Services
- For Registered Investment Advisors, Broker-Dealers, Banks and Other Financial Service Firms
- Customized Solutions for Registered Investment Advisors, Broker-Dealers, Banks and Other Financial Service Firms. To discuss customized services, please contact Equity Institutional Services at 855-355-ALTS (2587).
**See my #1 recommended IRA solution on this page
IRA fees?
Many scammers nowadays don’t include IRA fees on their websites, and thus, they get away with forcing hidden fees on their customers. I’m sure you’re smarter than falling for this. Therefore, it’s crucial to check out any company’s IRA fees before working with them.
If you want to check out Equity Institutional’s complete fee schedule, click here (opens in new window)
P.S.
My #1 recommended company is also the #1 rated company online. Is 100% transparent about their fees, and their fees are also among the lowest in the industry, so you might want to look at what they got to offer you before making any decisions. I always recommend that you compare different alternatives against each other to get the best deal possible and do business with a company that makes the most sense to you.
==> Read more about that company instead!
Can you store with the company?
Yes, you can! Fees will apply, though.
Can you get the metals delivered home?
Not mentioned on their website.
Can you sell back to the company?
There is no information about whether you can sell back to Equity Institutional.
Equity Institutional Complaints, Reviews, and Ratings?
Something that is always wise (and highly recommended) to do before you make any decisions is to look at the particular company you are interested in and then see what the most well-known and trusted review and rating sites have to say about them.
As always in our reviews, we make sure to provide you with their ratings and scores (with clickable links) to make this task easier for you:
BBB
Rating: NOT Accredited by the BBB
(4.3 / 5) (out of 85 reviews) click here for details (opens in new window)
Trustpilot
Rating: 
(4 / 5) (out of 498 reviews) click here for details ( opens in new window)
Trustlink
Rating: N/A (not available)
Yelp
Rating: 
(1.5 / 5) (out of 144 reviews) click here for details (opens in new window)
The conclusion from this:
On the BBB website, you can see that this company is NOT an accredited business by the BBB! That might be a bit alarming to you…
They do have some great reviews on Trustpilot, though, but also some awful ones, just like this one, for example:
It’s unclear whether the experience of working with this company is a decent one or not. I would personally prefer to work with a company that has (atleast mostly) positive reviews everywhere.
There are also a lot of complaints to be found about this company!
** Learn about a #1 rated gold IRA custodian instead (recommended by most 3rd part consumer protection agencies in the industry)
Do You Own or Represent Equity Institutional?
If you are a representative or associate of Equity Institutional and have found something not to be correct in this review, please, feel free to tell, and I will make sure to update the info on this post. The easiest way to do it is in the comment section below or simply by sending an e-mail to contect@goldretired.com.
Final Words and verdict
Verdict: Not recommended
Overall rating: (3 / 5)
Overall this company has decent services and explain their fees well. But, they suffer from problems such as the lack of positive reviews and the vast number of complaints.
This makes them fall behind compared to other renowned IRA providers with basically no complaints and thousands of highly positive reviews!
Are you looking for a Great IRA experience in particular?
As mentioned earlier, it is always recommended to compare different options against each other to get a better overall view and find the company that suits your needs the best.
You made a wise choice reading this review, and you are an intelligent person, so I am sure that you will find the right one that suits your particular needs the best!
Below is the absolute highest rated one, by us (Gold retired), but also the best rated one overall according to the most well-known and trusted (3rd party) independent consumer protection agencies & review and rating sites:
Click here to read about our #1 recommended precious metals IRA custodian
OR
See our top-5 list of cryptocurrency IRA companies here
Okay, I think this sums up everything about Equity institutional, what it is and whether you should consider it or not. If you have any questions or remarks, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I am looking forward to your input!
I wish you success!
Michael,
founder of: Gold Retired
I agree that Equity Institutional is a poorly run company. I have no eperience with any other trust company. But I have had a horrible 2 weeks of trying to liquidate some metal holdings for an emergency situation, paid for an “expedite” wire of liquidated funds, and Equity Institutional cannot seem to get the wire out in a timely fashion! This is the THIRD DAY I have been on the phone with them (today 2 hours) and NO ONE can tell me when the wire will go out of if it has. I DO NOT RECOMMEND.
First of all, thank you for your comment!
It is great that you share your experience with this company as it can help others make better decisions.
It is an important thing to be able to liquidate and get access to cash, if you look at our #1 recommended gold & silver company they got a highest price buy back guarantee that also run very smothly and fast, so that is just another reason why we recommend them: https://goldretired.com/what-is-goldco-direct-your-best-self-directed-ira-alternative
Please feel free to come back here and tell us how your situation resolves in the end,
thank you again,
/Sincerely
Equity Institutional Trust is not good. Trying to get my $150.00 refunded back to me. My IRA transfer was always Pending. They sent me a bill for $150.00 maintenance fees. I finally canceled the pending transfer of retirement money. They will not respond to my emails, and will not return calls. Thankful I stopped the transfer. If they won’t return the $150.00, maybe I would have lost all my money
First of all, thank you for your comment!
ALso, thank you for sharing your experience about that company, feel free to elaborate and explain more on what happened with your pending IRA transfer and how long it was pending, etc as it will help others!
Yeah, people in this industry have lost a lot more than 150 bucks so you pretty much got away without even a scratch so to speak…
Thank you again!
/Best