New Direction Trust Company (NDTCO, formerly New Direction IRA) Review: Precious Metals IRA Fees, Storage and Pros and Cons (2026)

New Direction Trust Company (NDTCO) is a real, Kansas-chartered IRA custodian that charges $220 a year and $130 per metals trade (September 29, 2026). It also faces a pending class action over First State Depository losses. So the question is not whether NDTCO exists, but what its fees add up to and what you give up when you sign its contract.

A custodian is the trust company that legally holds your IRA and reports it to the IRS. A depository is the vault that stores your metal. Like other gold IRA custodians, NDTCO does not sell metal. It is one of the gold IRA custodians SafeOunce checks against its own fee schedule, contract and court record.

This review explains the two New Direction companies, their complaint and court record, and the 2026 contract. It then lists every precious metals IRA fee, prices the account at $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000, and covers storage, timelines, the metals list and who NDTCO suits. It covers New Direction Trust Company of Kansas and Louisville, Colorado, and its administrator New Direction IRA, Inc. It is not Directed IRA of Phoenix, Arizona, a separate custodian.

The 12 facts below come from NDTCO's own pages, its 2026 contract, the Kansas banking regulator, the BBB and federal court files, each dated.

Is New Direction Trust Company Legit? Our Verdict#

Yes: New Direction Trust Company is a legitimate Kansas-chartered custodian, but its trade fees are high and a First State Depository class action is pending. NDTCO has acted as the legal custodian of its own IRAs since 2018. The Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner supervises it. The BBB grades it A+ with 12 complaints in three years, and SafeOunce found no regulator action (September 29, 2026).

A class action is one lawsuit filed on behalf of a whole group of customers. Pending means not decided yet. The First State case, D. Kan. No. 2:23-cv-02477, was still in discovery on September 29, 2026. No court has ruled on the merits.

What should you check before opening a metals IRA at NDTCO? Check three things. First, ask whether your metal products count as one "asset" or several, since the fee page bills "per asset". Second, ask which depository you will use and what it charges. Third, decide whether you accept the arbitration clause and the one-year claim limit.

NDTCO publishes its full fee schedule and charges the same $220 a year at $50,000 or $500,000, unlike custodians that charge a share of your balance. Its per-trade fees are the weak spot: $130 each time you buy or sell. That flat fee suits a large, buy-and-hold account. Look elsewhere if you plan to add money every month, hold less than about $25,000, or want to keep the right to sue in court.

Who Is New Direction Trust Company? NDTCO, New Direction IRA and the Kansas Charter#

New Direction Trust Company is a self-directed IRA custodian that holds title to the assets in your IRA, keeps the records and files the IRS forms. A sister company, New Direction IRA, Inc., does the day-to-day servicing. A self-directed IRA is an IRA that can hold assets beyond stocks and funds, such as gold and silver.

NDTCO "performs the duties of a directed custodian" and "does not provide due diligence to third parties regarding prospective investments, platforms, sponsors, dealers" (NDTCO precious metals page, September 29, 2026). It is "not affiliated with any investment sponsor, issuer, or dealer" and gives no discounts for dealer referrals, per its metals guide.

Why does it matter which New Direction company you deal with? Your contract, your account title and any court claim use the legal names.

New Direction IRA vs New Direction Trust Company: two companies, one account#

New Direction IRA and New Direction Trust Company are two related companies: the trust company is your legal custodian, and New Direction IRA, Inc. is the administrator it appoints. An administrator is the company that handles paperwork and customer service for the custodian.

The three New Direction names you may see are compared in the table below (September 29, 2026).

Make sure every form and wire instruction names New Direction Trust Company FBO your IRA, never you personally. FBO means "for the benefit of".

From Entrust franchise to Kansas trust company: 2003 to 2018#

New Direction started in 2003 as a franchise and became its own custodian only in 2018, when Mainstar Trust transferred title to the new New Direction Trust Company. The five dated steps below come from NDTCO's About page and from a federal court's findings (D. Kan. Doc. 115, March 31, 2025).

1. 2003: New Direction opens as an independently owned franchise "of a national retirement provider" (NDTCO). The court names the franchisor as Entrust Group ("Entrust Group New Direction").
2. 2007: It buys a self-directed retirement franchise in Hawaii, per NDTCO's timeline.
3. 2011 or 2014: The court finds that the founders bought the franchise in 2011, after Entrust changed its model. NDTCO dates its independent national brand to 2014.
4. Until 2018: Mainstar Trust is the custodian, and New Direction IRA, Inc. is the administrator (court finding).
5. 2018: New Direction Trust Company is founded, and Mainstar transfers title to it (court finding).

If you opened a New Direction account before 2018, your old statements name Mainstar Trust as custodian.

Who regulates NDTCO, and how to check its charter#

NDTCO is supervised by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner as a non-depository trust company. That state charter, not an IRS approval, lets it act as an IRA custodian. A non-depository trust company is a trust company that holds assets for clients but does not take bank deposits. Under 26 U.S.C. 408(n), a state-supervised trust company counts as a "bank" that may serve as an IRA trustee.

NDTCO's help center says it "operates in accordance with applicable federal regulations and Kansas state law, including the Kansas Uniform Trust Code" (September 29, 2026).

The Kansas regulator lists New Direction Trust Company of Overland Park among its trust companies. You can verify a custodian's charter on the state regulator's own list, not on a seller's website. The steps to verify a custodian's charter with a state regulator are on our IRS-list guide.

Who runs NDTCO, and how big is it?#

Kevin Dodson has been NDTCO's chief executive since 2022, with co-founders Catherine Wynne as president and Bill Humphrey as chief financial officer, according to NDTCO's About page (September 29, 2026).

The Kansas regulator reported $3.87 billion ($3,865,945,000) in trust assets at New Direction Trust Company at the end of 2022. The source is the regulator's testimony to the Kansas Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee on January 11, 2024. That put NDTCO among the five largest trust companies in the state.

NDTCO's own pages give bigger numbers (NDTCO About page, September 29, 2026). They say "over $4 billion" in one place and "$5.5B+ in Cash & Assets" in another. They also claim "more than 85,000 accounts".

Company size figures are marketing claims; the regulator's figure is the one to trust.

How a precious metals IRA at NDTCO works, step by step#

A precious metals IRA at NDTCO works in 6 steps, from an online application to metal showing up in your account after the depository confirms delivery. An invoice is the dealer's bill listing the coins, their price and the buyer. The six steps are listed below (NDTCO fee page and metals guide, September 29, 2026).

1. Apply online and pay the $30 application fee.
2. Fund the account by transfer, rollover or contribution.
3. Agree the coins and price with a dealer you choose. NDTCO needs an invoice naming your IRA as buyer and your depository as ship-to.
4. Submit NDTCO's Buy, Sell, Exchange form and choose the depository.
5. Let NDTCO pay the dealer within 1-3 days once funds are available ($130 fee plus the outgoing wire).
6. Watch for the metal: delivery "can be up to 4 weeks", and the account updates 1-2 weeks after delivery.

The metal must sit with a trustee, not with you: IRA bullion must be "in the physical possession of a trustee" under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B).

A transfer moves IRA money straight from one custodian to another. A rollover pays the money to you first, and you must redeposit it within 60 days. A direct gold IRA transfer avoids that risk. Ask for a direct gold IRA transfer from your current IRA: it has no 60-day clock and no once-a-year limit.

NDTCO's Complaint, Court and Regulatory Record#

NDTCO's record shows 12 BBB complaints in three years, one pending federal class action and no regulator action found, as of September 29, 2026. The class action concerns First State Depository, and an earlier state lawsuit came from Metals.com customers. The six parts of that record are summarized in the table below.

No court has found NDTCO liable for anything in the cases SafeOunce read.

BBB and Trustpilot numbers, and what the 12 complaints are about#

NDTCO has an A+ BBB grade with 12 complaints closed in the last three years, four of them in the last 12 months, as of September 29, 2026. The BBB lists its business start as July 17, 2003. On Trustpilot, NDTCO shows 3.2 from a single review, on an unclaimed profile with "No history of asking for reviews". NDTCO's About page claims a 4.7 rating from over 800 Google reviews, a figure SafeOunce has not checked.

SafeOunce read the complaint texts visible on the BBB page on September 29, 2026. Three themes appear in them, listed below.

• Fees and billing (5 complaints): a second administration fee added in year 2, and "fees keep raising every year". Others cite fees on an asset the customer says had left the account, and depository fees billed separately.
• Slow releases and distributions (2 complaints): in one, NDTCO replied that the delay came from "CNT releasing your metals".
• First State Depository losses (1 complaint): the reviewer states losing about $17,000 and objects to a "zero-value distribution form".

These are customer reports, not findings. The NDTCO replies quoted in this review appear on the same BBB page.

Why BBB and Trustpilot ratings measure complaint handling, not cost or safety, is explained on our ratings guide.

The First State Depository class action against New Direction#

Account holders who stored metal at First State Depository sued New Direction IRA, Inc., New Direction Trust Company and Mainstar Trust in October 2023. The consolidated case was still in discovery in September 2026. The table lists every dated step SafeOunce read in the federal court file and the receivership record.

Plaintiffs allege New Direction gave them "a short list of depositories" where metal would be "safely locked away and insured". They allege First State was on that list and that New Direction misrepresented its safety. The claims include fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and state consumer protection violations. A putative class is the group a lawsuit says it represents before a judge certifies it. About 540 people identified by the First State receiver as victims form that putative class (Doc. 309).

New Direction argues its signed account documents "absolve Defendants of any liability" for losses at the depository (Doc. 194). No court has ruled on the merits, as of the orders read September 29, 2026. The receiver's figures mean New Direction administered more than about 945 of First State's roughly 1,890 IRA accounts. What happened inside First State Depository, and what owners got back, is on our case page.

What does the case mean for you? It concerns accounts that used First State Depository, and it does not change NDTCO's fees. No class has been certified. If you had metal at First State through New Direction, you may be a class member; the court docket on govinfo.gov is public.

Other court cases: Metals.com customers#

Customers of Metals.com, a dealer the CFTC and 30 states sued for fraud in 2020, named New Direction in a Kentucky state lawsuit filed October 1, 2020 (Cravens). New Direction was their IRA custodian. It moved to compel arbitration. An appeal was dismissed on February 7, 2022, according to a court-filed receiver report in CFTC v. TMTE. SafeOunce did not find a final outcome. The federal case against Metals.com is still pending in Texas. The fraud case and recovery rate are on our Metals.com case page.

Twice, a failed dealer or vault sat on the other side of NDTCO accounts. A custodian processes your directions and does not check the dealer.

Regulator actions: none found#

SafeOunce found no CFTC, SEC or Kansas regulator action against New Direction Trust Company or New Direction IRA, Inc. in searches on September 29, 2026. That result covers those three regulators and that date only.

Precious metals IRA enforcement actions usually target dealers, not custodians. Every case SafeOunce tracks is in our list of precious metals IRA enforcement actions.

NDTCO's Contract Terms: What the 2026 Account Agreement Says#

NDTCO's 2026 Account Agreement, in effect since May 6, 2026, sends disputes to private arbitration in Kansas and bars class actions. It also sets a one-year deadline for claims and calls NDTCO a non-fiduciary custodian. A non-fiduciary is a company with no legal duty to act in your best interest. The table compares the dispute terms of four custodians, from documents read on September 29, 2026.

NDTCO told holders in advance and gave them 30 days to reject the 2026 terms in writing. It waived transfer-out and distribution fees for anyone who rejected them (NDTCO agreement update page, September 29, 2026).

Arbitration in Kansas, the one-year claim deadline and getting money back#

Any dispute with NDTCO must go to one confidential JAMS arbitrator in Johnson County, Kansas, and any claim must be filed within one year of the facts that caused it. Arbitration is a private judge instead of a court, with no jury and very limited appeal. A class action waiver is a promise not to join a group lawsuit.

The agreement also bars punitive and consequential damages (§30) and applies Kansas law (§32). SafeOunce found no opt-out.

A federal judge ruled in March 2025 that New Direction's April 2019 notice did not bind the plaintiffs to arbitration (Doc. 115). An order of July 2, 2024 explains that the court blocked the company from applying its 2024 arbitration changes to the plaintiffs and putative class (Doc. 48). The 2026 agreement says it does not affect claims in that pending case (§33).

To get your money back from a gold IRA company or custodian, you usually need a court, an arbitrator or a regulator. What arbitration and restitution can and cannot do is on how to get your money back from a gold IRA company.

Your statement is final after 30 days#

NDTCO's yearly accounting is "deemed to be accepted and accurate" unless you object in writing within 30 days (2026 Account Agreement §20). So check each statement against your invoice and the depository's holdings list.

NDTCO "updates the value of your precious metals daily based on the spot price of metal", per its metals guide. The spot price is the current market price for immediate delivery of the metal. Melt value is the metal content times that spot price, without the dealer's markup. So your first statement shows less than you paid. $50,000 spent at 10% over melt shows about $45,455 at an unchanged spot price.

The same melt basis goes into Form 5498, the IRS form that reports your IRA's value on December 31. For tax year 2026, custodians file it with the IRS by May 31, 2027.

A gold IRA statement that reads lower than your invoice is normal, not an error. Why a gold IRA statement shows less than you paid is on our statement guide.

Fee holds, forced sales and fees on empty accounts#

Five NDTCO clauses can cost you money when fees go unpaid, an account sits empty or NDTCO steps away. They are listed below (NDTCO fee page, September 29, 2026, and 2026 Account Agreement).

• Fees on empty accounts: "unfunded accounts, and accounts with zero value, will continue to incur administrative fees" until you close the account or NDTCO resigns.
• Fee holds: NDTCO has "no obligations to process any transfer, rollover, resignation, or distribution" until fees are paid (§24).
• Forced sale: after 30 days' written notice, NDTCO may sell assets to pay fees, at $150 per forced liquidation.
• Closure: fees still unpaid 30 days after a past-due notice can close the account and send the assets to you, reported on Form 1099 as a taxable distribution.
• Resignation: NDTCO can resign on 30 days' written notice. If you name no successor custodian, it may distribute the assets to you, with tax consequences, or appoint a successor (§23).

Close an account you no longer use in writing. Keep a card on file only if you watch the charges, because the late fee is $40 every 30 days.

Who keeps the interest on your idle cash#

NDTCO keeps all the income earned on uninvested cash in your IRA as its own fee, so idle cash earns you nothing. Its fee page says NDTCO is "entitled to receive ... a fee equal in amount to all income that is generated from any undirected cash" (September 29, 2026). NDTCO told one BBB complainant that "cash in these accounts does not earn interest".

Keep only enough cash in the IRA for about one year of fees.

New Direction IRA Fees in 2026: The Full Precious Metals Fee Schedule#

NDTCO charges a $30 application fee, $220 a year for precious metals and $130 each time you buy, sell or exchange metal (September 29, 2026). Depository storage is billed separately, at cost. An anniversary month is the month your asset was first added to the account. Not prorated means you pay the full year even if you close in month 2. The table lists every NDTCO fee a precious metals IRA can meet, from ndtco.com/fees read September 29, 2026 (no revision date shown).

Three costs sit outside this list. The first is the dealer's markup: NDTCO warns that "Some precious metals dealers or brokers may include a commission or markup". The second is depository storage, and the third is shipping when metal leaves the vault. NDTCO must give 30 days' written notice before it changes fees.

NDTCO's yearly fee sits in the middle of published gold IRA custodian fees. Its $130 purchase fee is the highest SafeOunce found (September 29, 2026).

The 2024 fee increase: $185 to $220 and $95 to $130#

NDTCO raised its precious metals fees on November 15, 2024: the yearly fee from $185 to $220 (up 18.9%) and the per-trade fee from $95 to $130 (up 36.8%). The four changes are shown in the table below.

The flat $150 exit fee helps larger accounts. The old $185 rate survives only for "Online Trading" metals. Metals fees are unchanged since, as of September 29, 2026.

The "per asset" question: one $220 fee or one per coin type?#

NDTCO's fee page calls the metals fee a "$220 Flat Rate" but also says "All annual fees are per asset". It does not say whether two coin types count as one asset or two. The same page says it bills "in the asset's anniversary month" (September 29, 2026).

One BBB complaint shows the policy in practice. NDTCO added a second administration fee in year 2 and wrote: "Our policy is to charge an administration fee for each asset held within an account." That case involved shares and warrants, not metal.

Ask NDTCO in writing, before you buy, how many $220 fees your exact order will create.

Storage fees: passed through from the depository, not published#

NDTCO does not publish storage prices: the depository you choose sets them, NDTCO pays the invoice and bills you the same amount, usually about two weeks later. The fee page calls it "a pass-through charge set by your selected depository" (September 29, 2026).

Storage can grow in two ways. Using a different depository for a new purchase adds "an additional annual storage fee", and at the same depository "annual storage fees may increase based on the value". Since 2022, depository fees are "no longer included on the annual account statements", NDTCO told a BBB complainant. Get the depository's written storage quote before you pick it.

What depositories charge through other custodians is compared on gold IRA storage fees.

What a New Direction Gold IRA Costs at $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000#

A one-product metals IRA at NDTCO costs $415 in year 1 and $220 a year after that in NDTCO fees, before storage, whatever the balance. Year 1 is $30 to apply, $220 for the year, $130 for the purchase and a $35 wire to the dealer. The table shows NDTCO's fees as a share of three balances, before storage and dealer markup (fee page, September 29, 2026).

The table assumes one product (one $220 fee), one purchase paid by wire, electronic statements and no sales. The $125 and $175 storage figures are SafeOunce illustrations. They match the commingled and segregated storage lines on GoldStar's schedule (GTC Rev. 01/2026) and STRATA's fee page (August 31, 2026). Commingled storage is your coins kept with identical coins of other owners, still recorded as yours. Segregated storage is your own coins kept apart.

Where does a flat $220 beat a fee that grows with your balance? The table sets NDTCO against three custodians with published 2026 schedules, at the same three balances (schedules read September 29, 2026).

Entrust's one-type fee passes NDTCO's $220 at about $50,588 ($219 plus 0.17% of the $588 above $50,000). Above that balance, NDTCO's flat fee is the cheaper of the two before storage. Both custodians can multiply the base fee by product. A second NDTCO fee would make the year $440 (not confirmed), and Entrust charges $329 instead of $219 once you hold two or more asset types.

Your depository may charge more or less, and value-based vault fees rise with the balance. A gold IRA fee calculator redoes these sums with your real numbers. Enter the storage quote you receive in the gold IRA fee calculator.

Year 1 and 10-year cost compared with GoldStar, Equity Trust and STRATA#

Over 10 years on $100,000, NDTCO's own fees come to $2,620 before any storage, about what GoldStar charges in total including storage. The NDTCO figure assumes one $220 fee a year, one wired purchase and an in-kind exit for $225. With $125 of illustrative storage, NDTCO's $3,870 is $720 less than Entrust and $3,040 less than Madison over 10 years.

The table shows the 10-year custodian cost at $100,000: setup, one purchase, 10 years and exit (schedules read September 29, 2026).

NDTCO is cheaper than Madison Trust, which costs $656 a year at $50,000 including storage. NDTCO also costs the same at $500,000 as at $50,000.

If NDTCO billed two coin types as two assets (not confirmed), the 10-year figure would rise by $2,200.

Why $130 per trade hurts small, frequent purchases#

At NDTCO a $500 monthly gold purchase loses 26% to the $130 trade fee, or 33% with a $35 wire, before the dealer's markup. The table shows three purchase patterns (NDTCO fee page, September 29, 2026).

Buy in fewer, larger orders, or pick a custodian with no trade fee if you plan to add money every month.

RMDs and in-kind distributions at NDTCO#

NDTCO waives its $150 distribution fee for required minimum distributions, but selling metal to raise the cash still costs $130 a trade. An RMD is the amount the tax code makes you withdraw each year once you reach RMD age. That age is 73 if you were born in 1951-1958 and 75 if born in 1960 or later (26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v)). In kind means taking the coins themselves instead of cash, and re-titling means moving them into your own name.

The table prices three ways to take a $4,065 RMD from a $100,000 metals IRA at age 75 ($100,000 / 24.6, IRS Pub. 590-B).

With coins in kind, the coins' value on the day you sign the form is reported on Form 1099-R. Form 1099-R is the IRS form that reports money or property taken out of your IRA.

The RMD rules for precious metals apply at every custodian, not only NDTCO. The ages and tables are on RMD rules for precious metals.

Leaving NDTCO: exit fees and switching gold IRA custodians#

Moving your metal in kind from NDTCO to another custodian costs $225 ($150 transfer out plus $75 re-titling), and selling first costs $280 or more. The table compares both exit routes at four custodians (schedules read September 29, 2026).

Switching gold IRA custodians in kind keeps your coins and avoids a $130 sale fee. The steps for switching gold IRA custodians in kind are on our switching guide.

NDTCO's $225 in-kind exit is lower than Equity Trust's, STRATA's and GoldStar's ($235 plus shipping).

NDTCO can hold a transfer until all fees are paid (§24), and annual fees are not prorated. So time a move before the next anniversary month.

On the schedules SafeOunce tracks, exit fees run from $100 or less (Inspira $100; Advanta's 0.5% closure fee on small balances) to $500 (Horizon Trust, archived 2025 schedule). Every custodian's charges are compared on gold IRA termination and transfer-out fees.

Storage at NDTCO: You Pick the Depository#

At NDTCO you, or your dealer, choose the depository that stores your IRA metal, and NDTCO opens the vault account in your IRA's name when you buy. NDTCO's metals guide says "NDTCO establishes the account at the depository at the time of the metals purchase" (September 29, 2026). It adds that "Some depositories offer commingled and/or segregated storage".

That choice puts the job of checking the vault on you. Commingled and segregated prices, insurance limits and audit types all differ from one vault to the next.

Vault fees, insurance and audits are compared on gold IRA depositories.

"NDTCO does not select the depository": what the release clause means#

NDTCO's fee schedule makes you release it from any damage caused by the depository you pick.

Whether that release holds when a custodian is alleged to have recommended the vault is one question in the pending class action. At First State Depository in Wilmington, Delaware, New Direction administered more than half of the IRA accounts, and the owner was sentenced to 65 years in 2025. Customers whose coins were all there got them back after a 14-month freeze and a 5.6% surcharge.

What happens to your IRA gold if a depository fails depends on the records and the receiver. Your rights are set out in what happens to your IRA gold if a depository fails.

Pick a depository not owned by your dealer. Ask for its insurance limit and audit type in writing.

Depositories NDTCO clients have used#

NDTCO does not publish its list of depositories, but four vaults appear in NDTCO-related documents. The table names each one and the document that ties it to NDTCO.

SafeOunce has asked NDTCO for its full depository list and each vault's storage price. Neither is published, as of September 29, 2026.

Insurance, audits and what your NDTCO statement shows#

NDTCO does not insure your metal; the depository's policy does, and FDIC insurance covers only uninvested cash held at an insured bank, up to $250,000. Depository insurance usually pays the metal's value, not the premium you paid over melt. Group policies are shared: A-Mark Global Logistics' cover is $50 million primary plus excess to $500 million across all locations, never per customer (Gold.com 10-K, fiscal 2026).

NDTCO relies on the depository's holdings report. Ask the depository once a year for an itemized list in your IRA's name, and match it to your invoice. How gold IRA storage is insured, with its limits, differs by vault. Limits and exclusions are explained in how gold IRA storage is insured.

Timelines: Purchases, Delivery and Distributions at NDTCO#

NDTCO says it pays a dealer within 1-3 days of a complete order, and delivery to the vault can take up to 4 weeks. Precious metals distributions take 6-8 weeks to process. The table lists each stated time from NDTCO's metals guide and depository page (September 29, 2026).

Regulators use 28 days as the benchmark for actual delivery (CFTC release 8215-20, August 4, 2020). NDTCO's own stated times add up to as much as about six weeks from payment to your account.

If your metal is not on your NDTCO account about six weeks after you paid, check delivery. Ask the dealer and the depository for the delivery receipt. The steps to check delivery of IRA metal are on our delivery checklist.

A 6-8-week processing time matters most near year-end. Most RMDs must leave the IRA by December 31, so ask NDTCO for its cut-off date in writing.

The in-kind value on your Form 1099-R is fixed on the day you sign the form, not the day the coins ship. A price move during the 6-8 weeks does not change that reported value.

Gold IRA distributions in cash or coins follow the same tax rules at every custodian. Taxes and steps for gold IRA distributions in cash or coins are on our distributions guide.

NDTCO's Allowable Metals List: Krugerrands, Eagles and Britannias#

NDTCO's fineness rules are correct (gold .995, silver .999, platinum and palladium .9995), but its coin lists mislabel the Krugerrand and misdescribe why the Gold Eagle qualifies. Fineness is the share of pure metal in a coin or bar.

The table compares four points on NDTCO's lists with the tax code (NDTCO metals guide and help-center article dated August 18, 2026).

A custodian's list is its own policy; the tax code decides whether a coin is a collectible. A collectible bought in an IRA is treated as a distribution of its cost (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(1)).

New Direction Trust Company Pros and Cons#

NDTCO's strengths are a published, flat yearly fee and dealer choice; its weaknesses are the $130 trade fee, unpublished storage and restrictive 2026 dispute terms. The table sets six pros against six cons (September 29, 2026).

Who a New Direction Gold IRA Suits, and Who Should Look Elsewhere#

NDTCO suits a buy-and-hold owner of one or two bullion products with $50,000 or more who picks a strong depository and rarely trades. It is a poor fit for monthly buyers, small balances and anyone who wants a court option. The table matches seven reader situations to NDTCO's fit, on the fee page and contract read September 29, 2026.

Whatever your situation, ask NDTCO the six questions in the checklist below before you sign, and get each answer in writing.

How SafeOunce Checked New Direction Trust Company#

SafeOunce read NDTCO's fee page, its November 2024 fee notice, its 2026 Account Agreement, its metals guides, six federal court orders and the Kansas regulator's data on September 29, 2026. We also read the BBB and Trustpilot pages, the First State receivership report and the fee schedules of GoldStar, Equity Trust and STRATA. Every fee, count and date on this page carries its source.

SafeOunce does not give custodians a 100-point score; it compares them on published fees, contract terms and records. That score is how SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies, the sellers. Why custodians get no 100-point score is explained in how SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies.

NDTCO can send documents or corrections through our contact page. We recheck fees and records every quarter.

How Does NDTCO Compare With Other Gold IRA Custodians?#

NDTCO's $220 yearly fee is mid-priced, but its $130 purchase fee is the highest SafeOunce found, and the highest trade fee of the five custodians compared here. NDTCO and Entrust are the two of these five that print no storage price on their fee schedules; GoldStar, Equity Trust and STRATA print theirs. The table compares five custodians on the same fields (schedules and BBB read September 29, 2026).

Which company is best for a gold IRA depends on the dealer's prices more than on the custodian. The best gold IRA custodians for you depend on how often you trade and how you store. Rankings by total cost are on best gold IRA custodians.

Which gold IRA companies and dealers name New Direction#

Six gold IRA companies and bullion dealers name New Direction as an IRA custodian on their own sites, as of September 2026. The table lists each one and what it says.

NDTCO says it is "not affiliated with any investment sponsor, issuer, or dealer" and gives no referral discounts. Two of these dealers, JM Bullion and Money Metals, are tied to dealer-owned vaults. JM Bullion's parent and Money Metals run dealer-owned vaults; ask who owns the vault before you pick one.

Dealers sometimes offer to pay "3 years of fees". At NDTCO, three years on a one-product account cost $855 ($415 + $220 + $220). That is 9% to 17% of a 5-10% dealer spread on $100,000 ($5,000 to $10,000), so compare the spread first (SafeOunce computation).

Is New Direction IRA the same as Directed IRA?#

No: Directed IRA is Directed Trust Company of Phoenix, Arizona, a separate custodian that charges $495 a year and $50 per metals transaction under its 2026 schedule. The similar names confuse search results. Its fees and terms are on our Directed IRA review.

Can you keep NDTCO IRA gold at home?#

No: NDTCO requires a third-party depository, and IRA bullion must be in the physical possession of a trustee under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B). Keeping it at home is a taxable distribution (McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, 2021), so a home storage gold IRA is not an option at NDTCO. The court case is covered on home storage gold IRA.

Is NDTCO on the IRS nonbank trustee list?#

No: the IRS list of 73 approved nonbank trustees (April 1, 2026) does not include NDTCO, because a state-chartered trust company already qualifies as a "bank" under 26 U.S.C. 408(n). A nonbank trustee is a non-bank firm the IRS approves under Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e). Our glossary explains what a nonbank trustee is, in one page.

Does FDIC insurance cover metals held at NDTCO?#

No: FDIC insurance covers only uninvested cash held at an insured bank, up to $250,000 per depositor, and never the metal. SIPC does not cover physical metal either; it covers securities at brokerages.

What are the NDTCO login and phone number?#

NDTCO's client platform is reached from ndtco.com, and its phone number is 877-742-1270, with ext. 191 for client services, as listed in its metals guide on September 29, 2026. Do not use the old newdirectionira.com address, which no longer works.