The Slott Report

This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions about placing an IRA in a trust, what to do with 401(k) funds from a previous employer and the nuts and bolts of the Roth IRA 5-year rules.

As you are probably aware by now, the stock market has been on a bit of a downturn as of late (to say the least). It’s no fun to lose money in the market, but if you’re investing for the long haul, losses are bound to happen from time to time. If you’re quick on your feet, however, you can turn the proverbial lemons into lemonade by taking actions now to make the most of a bad situation. Here's how.

Have you seen or read those ads for putting gold in your IRA? They make it sound so easy. And that's the problem. In this article, we discuss the potential pitfalls and how to properly invest in gold with your IRA.

If you are an IRA owner looking for the best investment option, there are new rules in 2015 that you will want to know before moving your IRA. If you make an error in your effort to maximize the return on your IRA, you may end up with your entire IRA being distributed and taxable to you.

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at the proper titling on the IRA beneficiary form - and the headaches that ensue when the beneficiary form isn't properly filled out to meet the desires of the deceased and/or their beneficiaries - and answers how many trustee-to-trustee transfers an IRA account owner can do in one year.

Last week, we published a Special Report on the Back-Door Roth IRA. This week, we explore how a simple 401(k)-to-IRA rollover could dramatically change the tax impact of that transaction. Here’s how.

We are all going to die someday. That is pretty much guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is who is going to inherit our “stuff?” We can use a will, a trust, and beneficiary forms. This story is about a man who did not use his beneficiary form.

If you have an IRA and you are approaching retirement age, or if you are already in retirement, you are most likely familiar with the term “required minimum distribution (RMD).” But do you know how the rules work and what they mean for you as an IRA owner? Here are 10 facts about RMDs that every IRA owner should know.

Chances are that, by now, you’ve heard of a retirement planning strategy known to many as the “Back-Door Roth.” But what is it? Why is it important? What are the potential traps and how can it benefit clients? In this report, we dive deep into answering each of these questions and more.

There are very few things an IRA cannot invest in. Those are collectibles, life insurance and S Corp stock. An IRA can invest in just about anything else. The key word here is that the IRA can invest in an asset. Here is the story of an investment gone wrong.