NEW YORK, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crowd Street, a private market investment platform providing members with direct access to private market investment opportunities, today announced the launch of new platform capabilities that allow members to open a self-directed IRA through Equity Trust Company directly within the Crowd Street platform.
These new capabilities build on Crowd Street’s existing collaboration with Equity Trust, a leader in the self-directed retirement space, and are designed to provide members with an integrated way to open self-directed IRA accounts.
For many people, the majority of their long-term capital is held inside retirement accounts such as IRAs. While private market investments often require multi-year holding periods and involve significant risks including illiquidity and potential loss of principal, historically the process of using retirement capital to access these opportunities has been fragmented and difficult to navigate. Crowd Street’s new integration is designed to reduce administrative steps by allowing members to establish a self-directed IRA account directly through the platform and complete the investment process online.
“Many investors have the majority of their capital sitting in retirement accounts, but historically it hasn’t been easy to connect those funds to private market opportunities,” said John Imbriglia, CEO of Crowd Street. “Through this relationship with Equity Trust, we are enabling members to open a self-directed IRA directly through Crowd Street, helping remove unnecessary friction and giving investors more choice in how they allocate their retirement capital.”
Once a member opens an IRA account through the platform, the investment workflow can be completed digitally – including document signing and funding – allowing members to complete the process without manually coordinating across multiple platforms.
The launch reflects Crowd Street’s continued commitment to empowering investors with access, education, and transparency as they explore private market investment options.
Private market investments typically require capital to remain committed for extended periods of time, and Crowd Street believes investors should clearly understand the long-term nature of these opportunities.
“As more investors look to take an active role in how their retirement capital is deployed, simplifying the process is valuable,” said George Sullivan, CEO of Equity Trust. “By working with Crowd Street to simplify how self-directed IRAs can be opened and funded, we’re helping investors more easily access private market opportunities.”
The integration is part of Crowd Street’s continued effort to improve the account opening experience for members seeking to use self-directed IRAs while expanding access to private markets across asset classes including private equity, private credit, venture capital, and real assets. Crowd Street expects to provide additional platform updates throughout 2026.
As part of its commitment to investor education, Crowd Street has published resources on private market investing, including a Guide to Private Equity Investing and a Guide to Private Credit Investing. These guides provide general educational information about these asset classes, including key considerations for accredited investors. These materials are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice.
Investors should also be aware that these investments carry risks including loss of principal and limited transparency. Crowd Street believes investors should clearly understand the costs and risks of these opportunities before investing. Crowd Street does not provide investment advice, and members are solely responsible for their own investment decisions.
For more information, visit https://crowdstreet.com/.
About Crowd Street
Crowd Street empowers its members to reach their financial ambitions through self-directed private market investments. The platform offers a marketplace of alternative investment opportunities that have historically primarily been available to a small group of people. In addition to providing advanced tools, research, and insights to help investors confidently explore these available opportunities, Crowd Street is also building a member experience rooted in trust and experience – further bridging the gap between investment opportunities and true financial wealth.
Private market investments involve significant risk, including the potential loss of principal. Crowd Street does not provide investment advice. All investment decisions are made solely by the investor.
About Equity Trust Company
Equity Trust Company is a financial services company that enables individual investors and financial professionals to diversify investment portfolios using alternative asset classes such as real estate, private equity, cryptocurrency, and precious metals. With $81 billion in assets under custody and administration as of March 2026, Equity Trust supports clients nationwide with education, service, and technology to help them build wealth through self-directed investing.
Equity Trust Company is a directed custodian and does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice. Any information communicated by Equity Trust Company is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as tax, legal or investment advice. Whenever making an investment decision, please consult with your tax attorney or financial professional.
Media Contact
LaunchSquad
crowdstreet@launchsquad.com
Crowd Street Capital compensates Equity Trust Company, a self-directed IRA custodian, for certain purchases of investment opportunities by Equity Trust clients through the Crowd Street platform. Equity Trust and Crowd Street are not affiliated entities. Neither Crowd Street nor Equity Trust provides investment advice or makes investment recommendations.
NOTICE: CrowdStreet, Inc. (Crowd Street) offers investment opportunities on its website (the “Platform”). Broker-dealer services in connection with the placement of securities are offered through CrowdStreet Capital LLC (Crowd Street Capital), a registered broker-dealer Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services are offered exclusively to private funds and not otherwise provided to Crowd Street’s members through CrowdStreet Advisors, LLC (Crowd Street Advisors), a federally registered investment adviser. This communication is for informational purposes only and should not be regarded as a recommendation nor as investment, legal, or tax advice, an offer to sell securities, or a solicitation to buy any investment products or services. Investment opportunities available through Crowd Street are speculative and involve substantial risk including the potential loss of the entire amount invested, illiquidity, and lack of a secondary market. Visit CrowdStreet.com for additional disclosures, our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding future platform capabilities. Actual developments may differ, and Crowd Street undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
