Millennium Trust Company Reviews

Gary Anetsberger –  Chief Executive Officer

Dan Laszlo – Chief Financial Officer

Bob Kunimura – Chief Technology Officer

Erik R. Beck – Chief Growth Officer

Assets Under Custody
$27 billion

Company size
346 employees

History
Millennium Trust was founded in 2000. It has always been a privately held company, but the controlling interest in the company has switched a number of times since its inception. In September 2015 Millennium Trust was purchased by Parthenon Capital Partners. Parthenon is a private equity firm that specializes in both healthcare and financial services. They are self-described on their website as “accelerating earnings growth through both acquisitive and organic strategies.” The controlling interest in Millennium was subsequently sold by Parthenon and purchased by Arbry Brothers. This acquisition was announced in January 2019. Parthenon still holds a minority stake and a place on the Board of Directors.

Services
Millennium Trust offers all the standard services found in a typical Self Directed IRA custodian. The company breaks them down into the following categories:
Account creation – This includes the initial account set-up, as well as any ongoing maintenance.
Tracking and reporting – Millennium will keep records of all of your transaction and assets. This can be important for tax filings.
Reconciliation – This is really just a function of the above-mentioned Tracking and Reporting. Theoretically it is meant to catch any fraudulent activity or concealed errors. Occasionally it can also mean that asset value has been officially determined, but usually the onus for that number is put on the account holder (and not the custodian.)
IRS reporting – This includes the processing of annual tax documents, like IRS Forms 1099s and 5498s.
Asset record maintenance – This also seems to be a repeat of Tracking and Reporting.

Unique Services
Rolled Over IRA – One of the most reviewed features of Millennium Trust is its Rolled Over IRA program. This occurs when an employer shuts down a retirement plan and then offloads the accounts to another custodian. Millennium has positioned itself as one of the more popular custodians to receive Rolled Over IRAs, and this has led to a lot of new client interactions

Cash Sweep Program – Millennium Trust offers investors the option to participate in a branded sweep account. A sweep account is a specialized bank account that invests sitting funds. It is often utilized for checking accounts or brokerage accounts that have available funds that are not being actively invested. The account will “sweep” these funds into a high interest short term investment like a money market fund.
Millennium Trust’s Cash Sweep Program allows account holders a variety of options depending on the size of their account. Accounts with less than $5 million in assets will be invested in bank demand accounts at unaffiliated banks. This allows them to retain the FDIC insurance held by these banks. Accounts holding in excess of $5 million will be invested in Federated Government Obligations Fund – Trust Shares (GORXX). Clients in either of these programs need to due diligence in understanding the investment fees and any risk involved.

MAIN – Millennium Trust offers account holders a number of third party investment platforms. These are all grouped under the name Millennium Alternative Investment Network, or MAIN. These platforms often focus on the more popular alternative assets like real estate and precious metals. Although some are fairly well known, Millennium Trust stresses that it functions merely as a directed custodian and does not offer any investment advice or approbation of specific investments. In other words, buyer beware.

Workplace Savings Solutions – As the economy moves towards a more fragmented job sphere, Millennium Trust has responded with the creation of the Workplace Savings Solutions program. This program offers small businesses and individual contractors the opportunity to participate in a formalized retirement plan. The three basic plans offered are a SEP IRA, a Simple IRA, and a Payroll Deducted IRA. These are easier for small companies to implement as they have lower entrance fees, less compliance requirements, and a relatively easy application. For the investing vehicle behind these plans, Millennium Trust has contracted with Morningstar Investment Management LLC. Both companies offer extensive disclaimers regarding these programs, and the responsibility is on the plan participants to do the proper research.

Location
2001 Spring Road, Suite 700
Oak Brook, IL 60523

Contact info
Phone: 630.368.5600
Email: ia@mtrustcompany.com

Hours
Client service hours: Mon – Fri, 8:00am – 4:30pm CT