As a custodian, STRATA Trust Company ("STRATA") is required by federal law to obtain and report the fair market value ("FMV") of each retirement account we administer on IRS Form 5498 each year. The current value of some investments — such as publicly traded stock or precious metals — are easy obtainable because they are bought and sold frequently on well-established markets. Alternative asset values, such as private equity and private debt, are not available through public trading exchanges. Therefore, self-directed IRA owners must generally work with their investment sponsor or issuer (“Sponsor”) to complete this valuation.
Unless there are special circumstances, all FMVs must be submitted to STRATA by April 30 in order to meet the IRS Form 5498 deadline of May 31.
No action is typically required from accountholders working with Sponsors because STRATA will work directly with the Sponsor to obtain the annual update. Beginning in February the annual valuation is due; STRATA will email out a valuation update request letter with the ability to update multiple investor assets at once.
- If the Sponsor has recently moved—please ensure to complete an Investment Issuer Contact Change Request form or provide STRATA with the updated contact information (address, phone, email, etc.), so we can update our records.
- If there is an exception or special circumstance that prevents a Sponsor from meeting the April 30th deadline, the accountholder or Sponsor must notify STRATA at their earliest convenience at InvestmentUpdates@StrataTrust.com and include the expected date for your FMV. Service fees may apply.
If you are needing to provide a single asset update, you may submit STRATA's Fair Market Valuation Update Request at any time. Otherwise, wait for STRATA to officially request a valuation update.
Please refer to STRATA's Alternative Assets FMV Annual Request Timeline for additional details.