The silver lining of a cloud is not actual silver, but is actually sunlight diffracted by cloud droplets on the periphery. The darker and denser the cloud, the more prominent the silver lining appears to be. Hence the metaphor.

So when we talk about silver linings in a down economy, we do so with the knowledge there is, in fact, light behind the cloud. When we invest, we do so knowing that the fundamentals of our economy are sound. With this knowledge, we can use both the clouds and the linings to our advantage.

Silver Lining No. 1: Roth Conversions

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The coronavirus caused a major market downturn and probably took your retirement account balances with it. For those who have a traditional IRA, you have likely seen years of gains offset by this recent period of loss. That's the cloud.