More often than not, the milestones we look back on in the financial services industry are negative in nature: Black Monday in 1987, the dot com bubble burst around 2000, the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, The Great Recession of 2007 – 2009, the Flash Crash of 2010. Even as we remember how these events made life incredibly difficult for a lot of folks in the moment, the economic lessons we learn tend to trend positive: time and time again, our resilient economy and continues its long-term upward trajectory.

But the milestone we're going to discuss today is unique because there aren't many negative things to say about the Roth IRA, which this year turns 20. After two decades, the Roth IRA is still one of the best investment and retirement vehicles available to most folks of any age. That's because it has some features that set it apart from traditional IRAs and other investment products.