For many Americans the bad news surrounding the current crisis is all-consuming. Even for those not living check to check, it can still be very stressful. Employers struggle with using savings, loan lines, or selling assets to keep afloat. Others face layoffs of workers that are practically family members. There is a lot of heartaches out there, as everyone knows. When you find any silver lining you almost hate to even bring it up. How dare you be positive about anything right now? Well, I’m going to risk it.
Now is an excellent time if you have an IRA and have been planning (or should be planning) to do a Roth Conversion. If your IRAs have shrunk like mine, then what better time to convert from IRA to Roth IRA and have the tax bill assessed on the much lower values. Now don’t confuse this as advice to all, or advice to sell stocks. It’s not. If Roth is something you’ve been wanting to do, told to do by your advisor or CPA, or you are sure it’s right for you, I’m saying the timing is now good because things are so bad!
Furthermore, to convert you do not need to sell anything! An in-kind conversion usually consists of simply asking your custodian for paperwork to sign that says this IRA is now a Roth IRA, and you sell nothing and change nothing! Keep those same beaten-down investments that you are now waiting to come back in value. if you were to sell them and miss the return to value, that would be terrible and that’s not our recommendation! Just change the status of what you own with a signature. No need to move, sell or change anything else!
