If you're not seeking fast growth, don't do a Roth conversion
Freddy Garcia, vice president for investments for Left Brain Wealth Management, talks about converting traditional individual retirement accounts into tax-free Roth IRAs, a move that he says may not pay off unless it is done with high-growth assets. Garcia noted that converting an IRA forces the owner to pay taxes due now, before moving the money into a Roth, which grows tax-free for life. The loss due to paying taxes now should get investors thinking about asset location, where they want to put their high-growth assets, because without significant growth in the new Roth, investors won't recover the taxes they pay now for many years, if ever.