# Equity Trust Company

> Equity Trust Company is a privately held, regulated directed custodian that administers self-directed IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts holding assets from public securities to real estate, private equity, precious metals, cryptocurrency and foreign exchange. Its business sits between investors and the assets they choose: Equity Trust handles custody, reporting, transaction processing and compliance administration while leaving investment selection and due diligence to the account owner. Recent products and integrations, including the Universal IRA, WealthBridge and Equity Solo 401(k), aim to make alternative-asset retirement investing less fragmented.

- **Founded:** 1974
- **Headquarters:** Westlake, Ohio, United States
- **Founders:** Richard Desich Sr. (Founder of predecessor brokerage and Equity Trust chairman)
- **Team size:** More than 500 employees were reported in January 2025; supplied company data lists approximately 600.
- **Products:** Self-Directed IRAs, Universal IRA, myEQUITY, WealthBridge, Equity Solo 401(k)
- **Notable:** Celebrated 50 years since its predecessor brokerage was founded in 1974., Reported $81 billion in assets under custody and administration as of December 31, 2025., Named Investopedia's Best Overall Self-Directed IRA Company for six consecutive years through 2025.

## Products & services

- **Self-Directed IRAs** — Custody and administration for Traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs that may hold traditional and alternative assets.
- **Universal IRA** — A self-directed IRA designed to hold public securities and alternatives such as real estate, private equity, precious metals and cryptocurrency in one account.
- **myEQUITY** — Online account-management system for account information, transactions, documents, valuations and fee payments.
- **WealthBridge** — An investment portal inside myEQUITY that connects clients with integrated private-market platforms and opportunities.
- **Equity Solo 401(k)** — An online plan setup, fund-control and recordkeeping platform for self-employed owners, offered through affiliate Equity Specialty Services with SEPira(k) technology.
- **Health and education savings accounts** — Self-directed HSAs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts with alternative-asset custody capabilities.
- **Directed Trustee Services** — Back-office, trust and compliance administration for financial firms using self-clearing retirement-plan models.
- **Real Estate Checkbook IRA LLC** — A structure introduced to give qualifying real-estate IRA investors checkbook-style transaction control through an LLC.
- **Equity 1031 Exchange** — Qualified-intermediary services for eligible tax-deferred real-estate exchanges through an affiliate business.

## Achievements

- Celebrated 50 years since its predecessor brokerage was founded in 1974.
- Reported $81 billion in assets under custody and administration as of December 31, 2025.
- Named Investopedia's Best Overall Self-Directed IRA Company for six consecutive years through 2025.
- Named a Glassdoor Best Place to Work in 2025.
- Acquired Midland Trust in 2023, adding teams and offices in Florida, Illinois and South Dakota.
- Launched the Universal IRA and Real Estate Checkbook IRA LLC in 2024.
- Launched the Equity Solo 401(k) integrated platform in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Announced a WealthBridge integration with Crowd Street for self-directed private-market investing; the release reported $81 billion under custody and administration at year-end 2025.
- **2025-06** — Launched the Equity Solo 401(k) integrated platform for self-employed investors with online setup, fund control and automated recordkeeping.
- **2025-05** — Integrated with StartEngine to connect eligible IRA investors with pre-IPO offerings through WealthBridge.
- **2025-02** — Collaborated with tastyfx on embedded self-directed IRA onboarding for foreign-exchange trading.
- **2025-01** — Announced collaborations with BiggerPockets, PassivePockets and Holdfolio around retirement-funded real-estate investing.
- **2025-01** — Named a Glassdoor Employees' Choice Best Place to Work for 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://www.trustetc.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/equity-trust-company
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/EquityTrust
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EquityTrustCompany/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equitytrust/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EquityTrustCompany/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/equity-trust-company
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14