Say I convert at the end of 1998, when the market finishes on a relatively high note, can I recharacterize (or revalue) my portfolio (for tax purposes) if the market goes down (spring '99) and I make no changes to my portfolio mix during that time....or can you only recharacterize if you are beyond AGI limits or some other qualifying factor?

You can recharacterize for any reason you choose. But recharacterization only gets the money back into a traditional IRA. To get it back into the Roth, you must then reconvert it, at the then current value. At this point, it now becomes a 1999 conversion, and you lose the 4 year spread.

Thanks for the reply. Been tough to figure out all of the rules/numbers. I should probably let it ride for 30 or so years. Thx again.