Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late last year while the market was doing its skyrocket thing? Last year it was hard to lose money. This year it has been easy.
You should be calling your mutual fund (they all have 800 numbers) to find out if and when they plan to pay their capital gains and dividends. You might say to yourself, they won't be paying anything this year because the fund is selling for less now than it did at the beginning of the year. Think again. It is very probable that the mutual fund manager took profits on many high flyers that he bought cheap last year. According to the way funds are set up those profits are taxable to holders of the mutual fund and not to the fund itself.
It is possible you bought a fund at $40 per share that is now selling at $30 per share and be hit with a 25% capital gains distribution of $10. On paper you now have a $10 per share loss and a tax bill based on the $10 per share distribution. That is adding injury to insult.
With this as a possible scenario it might be prudent to sell your fund for less than you paid for it. You should work the numbers with your accountant to see if this might reduce your tax bill. But you have to do it now. You can't wait until after the mutual fund declares its capital gains distribution. This is especially true if you have purchased any high tech or international funds during the past year. You can carry losses forward to next year to offset against profits and distributions next year.
The greatest numbers of mutual funds declare these distributions near the end of the year, usually starting in November with most of them in December. The rumors I hear are that the distributions will be early this year because of the poor performance of the majority of funds.
This applies to everyone who does not have a tax shelter of some kind such as a 401k, IRA, SEP or other similar investment vehicle.
One piece of advice I want you to heed. Don't buy any mutual funds now because they are "cheap". Wait until after they declare their capital gains and dividend distributions. You could be whacked with a big tax bill.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870
maid service near Lake Forest ..Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
The stock market can present you with a lot of... Read More
We have two candidates for president that have really different... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
Financial markets provide their participants with the most favorable conditions... Read More
Money: the most charged word in the planet. It means... Read More
Has your broker been calling you recently with the "great... Read More
With an insecure job market, overworked employees, insufficient retirement savings... Read More
As I have said many times before in this column... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
I continually hear from economists, talking heads, other market letter... Read More
Invest in the stock market for the RIGHT reason, using... Read More
This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders,... Read More
Mutual funds were moderately successful in creating a presence in... Read More
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's... Read More
Where is the beef? Or maybe it should be where... Read More
The stock market has not been very kind to your... Read More
THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR standing firm in the... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
The greatest stock market myth is the idea that investing... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
In 1960 an engineer working for a watch company in... Read More
top rated cleaning service Des Plaines ..I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More
How do you make money without picking tops and bottoms?I... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
A recent cartoon in my daily newspaper showed two guys... Read More
If you are a baby boomer, time is not on... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
For years I have been saying you must have a... Read More
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
The bear market that showed up at the end of... Read More
During our travel down life's path we come to many... Read More
Success in small cap & micro cap stock trading like... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics is that a... Read More
With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
Ever done any whitewater rafting or canoeing? Long periods of... Read More
Intervention. Now don't let that big word scare you. The... Read More
You must take the time once a month to review... Read More
It depends on your level of understanding of the market... Read More
I know there are a lot of you out there... Read More
There are major differences between trading stocks and trading futures.... Read More
Every day in any financial publication you will find the... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
What! Me worry?Many of you remember the cover of MAD... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |