Introduction

Banks which entered 1986 tax season expecting a 60% market share of new individual retirement account (IRA) deposits, emerged with somewhat more in the range of 40%. The push for creating a self-directed IRA became intense. Some banks advertised self-directed IRAs without informing even branch managers, customer service representatives, new account representatives, or tellers that the facility existed. The self-directed IRA is a product in which banking, insurance, and securities are certain to join. Yet given the size of IRA deposits and the competition from all major segments of the financial services industries-banks, brokerage houses, and insurance companies—few topics are likely to be more closely examined. Bankers are at more of a disadvantage than may initially be apparent. Attitudes form barriers as real as the institutional barriers found by law, regulation, and practice.