I've always believed that the sign of a good professional is not someone who tells you what to do. Rather, it is a person who explains the positives and negatives of the most pertinent options and guides you through the ramifications of each decision and how they will affect your specific situation. This is the main difference between receiving personal service and the generalized type of information provided by the mass media. Their facts may be accurate, but might not apply to your individual situation. Although you have to pay directly for personal service, hopefully it will prevent you from making expensive financial mistakes with your money through trial and error.

Nowhere is this fact more evident than with Roth IRA's. Every article in the mainstream media extols the wonderful virtues of Roth's. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the organizations trumpeting them stand to gain financially from their recommendations. Unfortunately, none of the articles I have read warn about the negatives. So in the spirit of disclosure, allow me to play Paul Harvey and expose "the rest of the story."

Now I have to guiltily admit to feeling like the Grinch who stole Christmas by bursting the Roth IRA balloon. It's not that I'm suggesting Roth's are a bad deal and shouldn't be used. The purpose of this article is simply to expose both sides of the issue so you can make an intelligent choice. Those of you who know me are aware that cynicism is not a natural emotion of mine. But the history of Congress and taxes can drag out the worst in me. Roth IRA's promise a future benefit with no current one. As with all aspects of financial planning, only in retrospect will we know which decision was best. You may still decide to open Roth IRA's, but at least now you know – the rest of the story.

Answered by Carmen Petote, Certified Financial Planner Allegiance Financial Advisors, Inc.

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