Guidant?

I was speaking with a new prospect the other day, and he asked me if we were the same as Guidant Financial. That is a tough question, because I have never had a clear picture of what the company actually does? They are obviously one of the best internet marketing companies in the Self Directed IRA area. They are great self promoters, as well. But when I have spoken to people about Guidant’s services, what I am told is that they charged huge fees to set up LLC’s for their self directed IRAs, and then turned them over to a custodian to handle the administration of their IRA accounts. Guidant seems to be a successful marketing company for other custodians, and they get a big fee to set up the intital documents. If you read their site and their blog, they call themselves a “facilitator”. In their Blog they talk about how they lend money for small business. The truth is that I tell my prospects that if they are going to go to a competitor, they should compare fees and services. Guidant is an internet marketing company, and a very good one. But I don’t think they act as an IRA custodian or administrator.