IRA Financial vs Tenet Financial: ROBS Provider Comparison
IRA Financial is easier to compare when the first question is public pricing: its reopened ROBS page supports a $3,500 setup fee and a $1,000 first-year account-fee display, so the source-bounded first-year display is $4,500 before considering any conditional promotion. Tenet Financial Group is easier to compare when the first question is ongoing TPA administration language: its reopened ROBS page names design, installation, administration, employee eligibility and contribution tracking, Form 5500 help, and sale or dissolution walkthroughs. Neither provider is a universal winner because the missing contract terms are material.
The practical choice turns on written answers: IRA Financial should confirm renewal pricing and the exact scope of audit support; Tenet should provide a complete fee schedule. Both providers should define employee administration, valuations, filings, legal boundaries, partner referrals, sale support, cancellation terms and data handoff before a buyer treats the scopes as equivalent.
What both providers are helping set up
A ROBS transaction moves eligible retirement assets into a qualified retirement plan sponsored by a C corporation. The plan then buys stock in that corporation, and the corporation uses the stock-purchase proceeds for the operating business. The IRS describes this structure as a plan using rollover assets to purchase stock of a new C corporation and warns that plan operation, filings, valuation, participant treatment and prohibited transactions remain live compliance issues after setup.[1]
That definition matters because neither provider can make the business risk disappear. The retirement plan receives employer stock. If the company loses value, the retirement account may lose value even if the initial rollover and documents were handled correctly.
Pricing: IRA Financial has a public first-year display; Tenet is quote-only
| Provider | Setup | Recurring annual | First year | Three years | What the number does and does not prove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRA Financial | $3,500 | Unknown | $4,500 | Unknown | $3,500 setup + $1,000 first-year account-fee display = $4,500 first year before applying any conditional SUMMER200 credit. Renewal and three-year pricing remain unknown because the checked page does not publish the post-first-year account fee. |
| Tenet Financial Group | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Tenet does not publish setup, recurring administration, first-year, three-year, participant, pass-through, valuation, correction, audit-support, cancellation or exit fees on the reopened pages, so no Tenet total is computed. |
IRA Financial's SUMMER200 terms are narrower than a simple discount headline. The promotion applies to eligible new accounts opened from July 15, 2026 through August 31, 2026, requires code SUMMER200 at application, includes ROBS 401(k), provides a one-time $200 credit against the first-year account fee, excludes custodian fees, transaction fees, wire fees, expedited processing fees, third-party costs and other charges, generally cannot be combined unless stated, and may affect any applicable refund if the account closes within the first year.[4]
Because IRA Financial's renewal amount is unknown, this page does not compute an IRA Financial three-year total. Because Tenet's setup fee, recurring administration fee and pass-throughs are unknown, this page does not compute Tenet first-year or three-year totals. Tenet's unknowns are not treated as zero.
Services and responsibilities to compare in writing
| Question | IRA Financial | Tenet Financial Group |
|---|---|---|
| ROBS mechanics | IRA Financial says it sets up a C corporation and qualified plan, helps roll retirement funds into the plan, and describes the plan purchasing stock in the corporation. [3] | Tenet says a ROBS involves C corporation and 401(k) plan establishment, then a rollover into a new plan that invests in the company and buys stock. [5] |
| Published pricing | IRA Financial publishes the sourced $3,500 setup fee and $1,000 first-year account-fee display. SUMMER200 is a conditional first-year account-fee credit, not a renewal price. [3][4] | Tenet publishes no dollar inputs for setup, ongoing administration or pass-through costs on the reopened pages. [5] |
| Ongoing plan administration | IRA Financial uses broad ongoing-maintenance and administration wording but does not publish the renewal cadence, participant charges, testing detail or filing menu on the reopened ROBS page. [3] | Tenet identifies TPA design, installation and administration, assigned administrator access, employee eligibility and contribution tracking, Form 5500 help, and additional ROBS plan consulting. [5] |
| Employees and filings | IRA Financial's reopened ROBS page does not specify participant additions, notices, employee eligibility determinations, contribution calculations, vesting, Form 5500 help or Form 1120 coordination. [1] | Tenet states employees can participate, that the administrator helps track eligibility and contributions, that Tenet helps file Form 5500, and that the company needs a CPA for Form 1120. [1][5] |
| Valuation and audit questions | IRA Financial markets Guaranteed IRS audit protection, but its terms say it is not a law firm and does not provide legal, accounting or other professional services. The reopened pages do not state annual employer-stock valuation scope or cost. [1][3][4] | Tenet's reopened pages do not publish employer-stock valuation support, IRS or DOL audit representation, guarantee terms, penalty coverage or legal-fee coverage. [1][5] |
| Financing, sale and exit | IRA Financial's reopened ROBS page emphasizes funding without loans; it does not define lender packaging, partner duties, sale, redemption, final valuation or plan-termination scope. | Tenet discusses funding options and partner relationships and says an administrator walks clients through dissolution or sale. Partner language still does not prove direct lender packaging, loan approval or included financing services. [5][6] |
| Contract boundaries | IRA Financial's terms reserve legal, accounting, professional-service and promotion exclusions. Written agreements should control custody, pass-throughs, cancellations, refunds, data exports, corrections and exit services. [2][4] | Tenet states it does not provide tax, legal or investment advice. Written agreements should define fiduciary allocation, administrator duties, partner referrals, fees, records, corrections and termination support. [2][5][6] |
How to decide between IRA Financial and Tenet
IRA Financial may fit a buyer who wants public setup pricing before a sales call and is comfortable pressing for the missing renewal, participant, valuation, correction and exit details. Its public page is useful for the initial arithmetic, but its audit-protection phrase must be read beside the terms saying IRA Financial is not a law firm and does not provide legal, accounting or other professional services.[3][4]
Tenet may fit a buyer who expects employees, wants explicit TPA administration language, or values the public statements about Form 5500 help and sale or dissolution walkthroughs. The tradeoff is pricing opacity: without a written quote, Tenet cannot be compared against IRA Financial on first-year or three-year cost. Its partner and funding pages also should not be stretched into proof of included lender packaging, loan approval, legal advice, tax advice or investment advice.[5][6]
A reader choosing between them should give each provider the same fact pattern: rollover amount, account type, business or franchise plan, expected employees, other financing, sale timeline and desired support level. The DOL's fee guidance favors comparing complete services, compensation, bundled versus unbundled arrangements, participant communication, provider responsibility, monitoring information and cybersecurity practices rather than comparing one headline price to an incomplete quote.[2]
Written questions to ask before choosing
- What exact setup fee, first-year fee, renewal fee and payment date apply to this ROBS engagement?
- Does the quote include C corporation formation, plan documents, EIN coordination, bank or brokerage account steps, rollover support, stock subscription documents and plan trust records?
- Who signs as plan sponsor, trustee and corporate officer, and which duties remain with the business owner after setup?
- What happens when employees become eligible, including notices, enrollment, deferrals, matching or profit-sharing contributions, testing, participant disclosures and per-participant fees?
- Who prepares or supports Form 5500, Form 1120, Form 1099-R, valuation records, annual fair-market-value updates and corporate minutes?
- What audit help is contractual, which agencies are covered, whether legal counsel is included, and whether penalties, corrections or professional fees are excluded?
- What does the provider do if the business adds a partner, obtains an SBA loan, raises outside equity, sells assets, redeems plan-owned stock, shuts down or terminates the plan?
- What cancellation, refund, data-export, transition-file, cybersecurity, privacy, referral-compensation and partner-boundary terms appear in the signed agreement?
Bottom line
Choose IRA Financial only if the written agreement confirms the public $3,500 setup fee, the $1,000 first-year account-fee display, any SUMMER200 credit, the renewal amount after year one, and the actual audit-support scope. Choose Tenet only if the written quote fills in setup, recurring, first-year, three-year and pass-through costs and ties its TPA, employee, filing and exit language to contractual duties. If either provider will not answer those questions in writing, the safer comparison is to keep shopping rather than treating unknowns as included.
Sources
- 1. IRS ROBS compliance project
Reopened July 31, 2026. The IRS describes ROBS as a qualified plan buying stock in a new C corporation, says favorable determination letters do not protect operational failures, and identifies filing, valuation, rollover, participant, discrimination, prohibited-transaction, Form 5500, Form 1120 and Form 1099-R issues.
- 2. DOL retirement plan fees
Reopened July 31, 2026. The DOL explains that plan fiduciaries must prudently select and monitor necessary services, reasonable costs, bundled or unbundled fees, participant information, provider compensation, service quality and cybersecurity practices.
- 3. IRA Financial ROBS 401(k)
Reopened July 31, 2026. IRA Financial states that its ROBS page includes C corporation and new 401(k) setup, rollover and employer-stock purchase mechanics, ROBS specialists, ongoing maintenance, live chat and phone support, a $3,500 setup fee, a $1,000 first-year account-fee display, SUMMER200, and Guaranteed IRS audit protection.
- 4. IRA Financial terms and SUMMER200
Reopened July 31, 2026. IRA Financial states it is a retirement account facilitator, document filing, and do-it-yourself document service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal, accounting or other professional services. SUMMER200 applies to eligible new accounts opened July 15, 2026 through August 31, 2026, including ROBS 401(k), requires code SUMMER200 at application, gives one $200 credit toward the first-year account fee, excludes custodian, transaction, wire, expedited processing, third-party and other charges, generally cannot be combined, and may be deducted from any applicable refund if the account closes within the first year.
- 5. Tenet Financial Group ROBS Funding
Reopened July 31, 2026. Tenet describes itself as a Third-Party Administrator specializing in ROBS plan design, installation and administration; states typical funding in four to five weeks; references $50,000 in pre-tax funds; names C corporation and 401(k) plan establishment, employee participation, eligibility and contribution tracking, Form 5500 help, assigned administrator access, sale or dissolution walkthroughs, funding-option context, and states it does not provide tax, legal or investment advice.
- 6. Tenet Financial Group Partners
Reopened July 31, 2026. Tenet says it partners with franchisors, consultants, brokers, funding partners, CPAs and professionals, and that collaborative partnerships cover financing and business startup processes. That page supports referral and coordination context, not direct legal, tax, investment, loan-approval, lender-packaging or bundled-financing duties.