Strip 401k/IRA or self-directed IRA

[Kevin Polite]

I am considering moving my IRA to a self-directed IRA and told a friend and he said he took the tax hit and depleted his IRA and is happy he did. He said even with the tax consequences he came out ahead. He has complete control of his money and he says that he would have had to pay taxes on the amount anyway. I told him that though they maybe true he lost all that money to taxes that he could have put to use in a self-directed IRA.

[Jon Holdman]

I think there's some merit to the "take the hit now" strategy. I just don't see tax rates going down in the future and I think increases, especially at the higher end.

OTOH, the Roth is a good choice because it avoids the penalties associated with doing a distribution too soon. But you still have all the self-dealing rules to be aware of.