Customer Reviews

Roth IRA Book: An Investor's Guide

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
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I was disappointed in the book. I reasoned that a decision involving thousands of dollars warrants a $40 book purchase. Unfortunately, there is little to be gained from this book that can't be found from a quick search of public media. Moreover, the author uses this hastily-prepared book as a platform for selling yet another product, a so-called "high-end software package" to compute "optimal" Roth conversion levels. No book or software can really deliver an "optimal" recommendation due to the many uncertainties involved. The failing of this book is that it does not help the reader intelligently consider the variables and possibilities. It's full of boosterism about the virtues of the "Roth project." It has not been spell-checked, much less edited. The level of organization and quality of writing style are exemplified by the fact that Chapter 7 (SEVEN) begins, "The Roth IRA is a new type of IRA that has been made available as of January 1, 1998. It is named after..." In sum, an opportunistic volume targeted to the millions who need help with a complex financial decision.

Have reviewed several publications dealing with this topic. This book answers all of the common questions which arise and is also relatively easy to follow as a reference book. In addition, if I had trouble interpretting an answer, Dr. Daryanani's email address served me well. A reply came within 2 days! This book was recommended to me at a Fee Only Financial Planning Forum by another planner. I would be comfortable recommending it to anyone.

At first glance, this book may look a bit intimidating -- like the textbook for an advanced economics course. But once you get your feet wet, you discover that it has been very cleverly organized. Through devices such as a "quick start" overview, the reader is guided through the basics of retirement planning to a clear understanding not only of how the Roth IRA can be quite beneficial, but also of how to make the key decisions necessary in starting and using a Roth plan. A particularly compelling section is found in the analysis of 11 profiles of persons aged from 25 to 85. To many people, retirement planning stops at the magic age when one ceases to work. But the author shows that the Roth IRA (because of its short 5-year minimum investment period) allows people who are retired to continue to enhance their retirement assets through tax-free growth at potentially high yields.

Other valuable materials includes a section on estate planning with the Roth IRA and the Roth Education IRA. Finally, the book contains an interview with Senator Roth that may provide a hint as to future legislative developments with the Roth IRA.

I've thumbed through some other books on the Roth IRA, but they seem primarily directed toward stressing its advantages, as opposed to providing the tools and analysis for actually using the program.

I am over 65 and have found the "Roth IRA Book, An Investor's Guide" by Dr. Gobind Daryanani to be an excellent information source. There are a number of factors to be considered in evaluating the the conversion of a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Dr.Daryanani's book is an excellent supplement to IRS Publication 590 (Individual Retirement Arrangements) since it explains and clarifies many potential problem areas. His book is well organized and written in clear understandable language. The book, together with reference to Pub. 590, provided the information I needed to feel comfortable in my IRA planning and execution.

This book takes some pretty complicated number crunching and makes sense our of it. It walks you step-by-step throught the calcualtions to determine what kind of benefit a ROTH IRA would provide to you. After reading you should easily be able to tell if the ROTH IRA is the best choice for you. Additionally, if you have other funds eligible for rollover into a ROTH IRA, the book helps you determine the optimum rollover amount. I thought is was very well written.

Daryanani's book does have some rough edges, but it is far and away the clearest, most logical of the many I've read on IRAs and Roth IRAs. He has a systematic way of building a portfolio of Roth and non-Roth assets, and clear explanation on how to convert the assets to an inflation-adjusted, after-tax annuity at various retirement ages. He uses sample investor profiles which are very useful in converting the math to scenarios an average person can relate to and understand.

I've been reading a lot about the Roth and this is the most complete treatment I've seen. This is easy to follow and complete. I'm happy to have read it and have already saved money.