Gusto Retirement is launching its own broker-dealer, Gusto Brokerage, LLC. As part of this change, if you use the brokerage services of Gusto Brokerage, LLC, the custodial services for your IRA will be provided by Forge Trust Co. instead of Benefit Trust Company. This transition is designed to be seamless for account owners.
A broker-dealer is a financial institution that buys and sells securities, either for themselves (as a dealer) or on behalf of their customers (as a broker).
Broker-dealers are regulated by organizations like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to ensure fair and ethical practices in securities markets. Their responsibilities include safeguarding customer assets, maintaining proper records, and following rules designed to protect investors.
Custodians are regulated entities that play a key role in protecting account owners' interests by ensuring assets are held safely in compliance with relevant regulations.
If you received an email asking you to sign new agreements, you’ll need to complete the steps to complete the new agreements by the deadline listed in your notice.
To complete your IRA migration:
Log in to your Gusto Retirement account at my.guideline.com/login.
Select Sign agreements in the banner at the top of your dashboard.
Review and sign your new agreements.
Select Complete.
Important: Sign your new agreements by the deadline outlined in your notification email to move your account to Gusto Brokerage, LLC. If you do not sign your agreements, we will not be able to migrate your account to Gusto Brokerage, LLC. If your account is not migrated, we will provide more information on next steps at a future date.
The transfer of IRAs is primarily a structural adjustment – the way you manage your IRA investments, access funds, or view your account will not be affected. Your investment options, contribution processes, and withdrawal procedures also remain unchanged.
During the migration process, your IRA assets will be transferred in-kind, meaning no liquidation will occur.
IRA fees are changing. Account owners will no longer pay the monthly account fee of $2 or $4, depending on the account balance. An IRA’s annual asset under management fee will change to 0.25% of the account balance.
If you currently hold an IRA with Gusto, account fees will be waived once you sign the new agreements until June 30, 2027. Starting July 1, 2027, your annual account fee will change to the standard 0.25% of your account balance, as stated above.
Learn about how your Gusto IRA annual account fee is calculated.
Establishing our own broker-dealer gives us greater operational control and flexibility, enabling us to innovate and better serve our clients. Key benefits include:
Increased flexibility in product offerings: With our own broker-dealer, we have more direct control over financial operations. This can lead to greater flexibility in developing and introducing new product offerings and investment options.
Enhanced operational control: Direct oversight of the brokerage function allows us to streamline processes, which can lead to more efficient service and quicker implementation of new features.
Continued focus on compliance and security: While the custodian changes, our commitment to robust compliance and the security of assets remains a top priority. The new structure is designed to meet all necessary regulatory requirements.
There will be a short period of time where your account will have limited functionality while your information and IRA assets are being transferred over to Gusto Brokerage, LLC. This includes portfolio changes and money movement requests.
As we get closer to the time for the migration, we will update you on the time frame we anticipate account access to be restricted. We expect the migration to occur in late 2026.
Once you’ve reviewed and signed your new agreements by the noted deadline, no additional action is needed.
Gusto will complete the migration and verify your account is properly set moving forward.
Your IRA assets will transfer in kind, so nothing will be sold as part of the move.
You can review recent fee transactions on the Home page of your IRA account, or by opening the specific IRA from Accounts and selecting View all in the Recent transactions section.
You can see the investment options available to you on Gusto Investment Services, LLC’s fund menu.
If you do not sign the new agreements, your IRA migration cannot be completed. We may be required to take additional steps regarding your account, and will provide more information on next steps at a future date if this applies to your account.