What is Forge Trust, a Scam? | WARNING Not Impressive Rating

This is going to be a short review of Forge Trust. What is Forge Trust, a scam or can you trust them? How does it work? Are there better alternatives out there? This and more we hopefully will be able to help you answer in this short review on the overall view of this company!

Company: Forge Trust

Website: www.forgetrust.com

Owner/Primary Contact: Patrick Huges (President)

Overall rating: (3 / 5)

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Formerly known as Equidate, Forge Trust is a subsidiary of Forge Global that has been the primary marketplace for trading private company shares since 2014. It is where early investors and employers of leading startups can monetize their privately-held shares without having to wait for ages to exit IPO or liquidity events. Forge Trust has been creating value by offering institutional investors and private equity with high-demand access to some of the world’s top pre-IPO companies.

So, what is Forge Trust? Forge Trust is a non-depository trust organization chartered by South Dakota State and regulated by the South Dakota Division of Banking. It acts as the custodian of Self-directed IRAs, which are tax-advantaged accounts that enable income to appreciate on a tax-free basis or tax-deferred depending on the type of account. The IRA accounts can be funded through IRA custodian-to-IRA custodian transfers, annual contributions, or rolling over funds from a previous qualified plan.

What Self-Directed IRAs Accounts Does It Offer

The major types of Self-Directed IRAs are:

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Traditional IRAs

Depending on your eligibility and income, Forge Trust allows your contributions to the traditional IRA to be tax-deductible.

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Roth IRAs

Through Forge Trust, investors can make after-tax contributions, but you will enjoy tax-free growth. Roth IRA doesn’t have Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), and qualified withdrawals are not considered taxable income.

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SEP IRAs

If you own a small business of fewer than 25 employees or are self-employed, a simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA might be the right option for you. It features tax-deferred benefits but extends them to the employer since the employer makes the contributions instead of the employee.

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SIMPLE IRAs

The Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA offers a simplified way for employees and small business owners to make contributions. It also entails an annual tax break and has a tax-deferred compounding.

**See our #1 Recommended Gold & Silver IRA Solution on this page

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Forge Trust self-directed IRAs Investments

Besides conventional bonds, stocks, and mutual funds, individuals can diversify their portfolios with alternative investments. Alternative investments are non-publicly traded investments held in IRA accounts that offer tax-advantaged growth and appreciation. Forge Trust is a custodian and administrator of the unique alternative investments such as:

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Real estate

IRA funds can be invested in an array of real estate such as farmland, vacant land, commercial or vacation property. Real estate is one the most popular alternative investments because it is a tangible and familiar asset with long-term appreciation and supplemental retirement income. Forge Trust enables investors with an easy-to-navigate, secure, and transparent platform. It guides the clients through the process and offers them white-glove support that they might need to complete this investment process.

However, the use of IRA funds for real estate has firm guidelines and rules as it has to strictly be used as an investment property. You cannot use the funds to buy a family vacation home, private residence, or property intended for use by a disqualified individual.

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Precious metals

Silver, gold, palladium coins, bullion, and platinum can be held in IRA. The IRS regulations require that a custodian reports annually on the value of assets held in the IRA. The investors have to make a depository for the safety of the IRA-owed metals as they require highly secure storage. Forge Trust has formal relationships with various depositories and offers its clients different storage facility options.

P.S.

Learn about the #1 rated gold & silver company (by most independent 3rd party consumer protection agencies in the industry) on this page

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Private equity

Self-directed IRA investment enables people to invest in early-stage, growing firms or startups that are raising capital. Through Forge Trust, privately-held organizations can offer stock to employees or facilitate private equity companies and certain online marketplaces.

Equity crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms allow investors to access coming startups and private stock in up. Forge Trust enables the investors to use their 401Ks, IRAs, and other retirement funds to almost any crowdfunded venture.

Promissory notes and trust deeds

Through Forge Trust, an IRA account holder can lend money out to individuals or businesses. The owner and the borrower typically determine the terms of the loan, including the payment schedule and interest rates. The loans can be unsecured or secured by collateral such as real estate.

Private placements

Typically, these include offshore, hedge funds, private REITs and funds of funds. The placements are governed by a set of SEC rules known as Regulation D offerings.

P.S.

Learn about my #1 recommended IRA solution on this page

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Is Forge Trust a Scam?

So, is Forge Trust a scam? No, it is not a scam, it is a legit company with a real physical address and real owners.

However, if it is you best alternative out there is a whole other story, and that leads us to what the consumer protection agencies have to say:

Forge Trust Reviews, Compaints & Ratings

I always look for reviews and ratings to be found online on the company I am looking into. I focus on the most well-known and trusted independent 3rd party consumer protection agencies as that way you get to know the opinion of the users who have had the experience of doing business with the particular company:

BBB (Better Business Bureau)

Rating: N/A

Trustpilot

Rating: N/A

BCA (Business Consumer Alliance)

Rating: N/A

Trustlink

Rating: N/A

Yelp

Rating: (1 / 5) (from 7 reviews) click here for details (opens in new window)

Birdeye

Rating: (2.5 / 5) (out of 46 reviews) click here to read them all (opens in new window)

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Conclusion from these poor ratings:

As you clearly can see above there is not only not much to be found from the consumer protection agencies, and the few reviews we did find was not very impressive, at least not overall, and there are complaints for anyone to see. See the links above for some examples.

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Why Forge Trust Company?

The pros:

• Wide range of knowledge of the best practices and investments requirements
• Accurate and efficient transaction processing
• Direct service assistance from an in-house staff
• High levels of information security and privacy

The cons:

• Negative reviews (has a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, from the 45 reviews on birdeye)
• There are companies with much better ratings

On a final note

Verdict: Legit

Overall rating: (3 / 5)

Ok, I think that sums up the overall view of this company pretty well. Forge Trust offers you the control to choose and direct your IRA investments. With their custodial services and your self-directed IRA, you can choose to invest your money through traditional assets, alternative assets, or a combination of the two.

What we would recommend?

You made a good decision to read this review and you are a smart person so I am absolutely sure you will find the right company that suits your particular needs the best.

There are some great companies out there, and depending on your needs you can find some that stands out among their peers on different points, I have listed many of them on this site. For example, the one that stands out in the form of reviews and ratings from its clients is without a doubt, AUGUSTA. They are especially for you if you are looking for an IRA solution in precious metals.

Below you can see our top 5 list of companies (depending on what you are looking for):

Learn more about our top-5 rated gold IRA companies on this page

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I hope you found this review of Forge Trust to be helpful and that you now have a better understanding omn what it is and if it is for you. If you have used any of their service then please share your experience in the comment section below as it can help others make better decisions. Also, if you got any questions about this I would be more than happy to answer them below!

I wish you success!

Michael, founder of Goldretired