Investment Capital Gains

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.

http://www.mutualfundmagic.com; 1-888-345-7870

recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

New phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

Investment Capital Gains

Stocks & Mutual Fund