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Investors have until April 17 to make an IRA contribution for the 2017 tax year. Joining me via Skype to discuss some IRA contribution mistakes to avoid is the IRA expert himself, Ed Slott.

“As we’ve seen recently, it can drop like a stone, instantly,” said Ed Slott, who educates financial advisers on IRAs and publishes the Slott Report.

Ed Slott, Ed Slott & Company, and Ric Edelman, Edelman Financial Services, discuss the advice they are giving to their financial advising clients in this volatile environment.

"You pay the tax on the way in so you don't have to pay the tax on the way out," says Ed Slott, a certified public accountant and founder of Ed Slott and Company and irahelp.com.

Ed Slott, a CPA in Rockville Centre, N.Y., recognized that Roths would become a game changer and started a newsletter in 1998 to teach advisers about the accounts. Slott calls Roth IRAs "tax insurance" because once you're invested in one, you won't have to pay taxes on contributions or earnings again.

"If you have something that you think can appreciate greatly, that's what you want in a Roth because everything in a Roth will appreciate tax-free," Slott said.

 "In fact, there may never be a better time to do one, since tax rates are so low, and they're likely to rise in the future," said Ed Slott, founder of IRAhelp.com.

Ed Slott, Ed Slott & Company, and Carrie Coghill, Coghill Investment Strategies, discuss their strategies for protecting 401(k) accounts.

The Roth IRA, which turned 20 years old this month, can be especially beneficial to younger investors and offers features different from traditional IRAs. Retirement expert Ed Slott explains the pros and cons of investing in a Roth IRA.

Under the new rules, more investors will time their Roth conversions for year-end, experts predict. The sweet spot will be between Thanksgiving and mid-December, says Ed Slott, a certified public accountant and founder of IRAhelp.com.