What Makes an IRA Self-Directed

A self-directed IRA is not a separate tax category. It is a Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, or inherited IRA administered in a way that gives the account owner wider control over investment choices, often including alternative assets that ordinary brokerage IRAs do not support.

This lesson explains the practical difference between a standard brokerage IRA and a self-directed IRA: the custodian still holds the account, the IRA remains the investor, and the owner directs transactions without personally owning or using the assets. Students learn the basic parties, documents, decision flow, and responsibility shift that make self-directed investing possible.