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.

Copyright 2005

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

best cleaning company Highland Park ..
In The News:

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.
Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.
Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.
Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.
Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.
Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.
Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.
Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.
Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.
New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.
A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A 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.

Basics of Stock Market

Financial markets provide their participants with the most favorable conditions... Read More

Option Trading Basics

Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading... Read More

Discipline

One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More

Race Horses and Mutual Funds

For years investors have been taught to look into the... Read More

Stock and Fund Dividends

When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More

The Information Age

It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More

Stock Trading Secrets?

How often have you come across an advertisement or e-mail... Read More

Humpty Dumpty the Stock Market Falls Down

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the King's... Read More

Trading Baskets II: The Crapolio, A Roll of the Dice in the Stock Market

In a previously written article, we expanded the use of... Read More

Size Counts!

What the heck am I talking about?It is often said... Read More

Prospering with Mutual Funds: How Anyone can ?Afford? an Investment Advisor

Recently I was invited to appear on a live CNNfn... Read More

You Wont Like This

Why? Because I am going to shatter your conventional wisdom... Read More

Is Your Garage Full Of Junk?

I have a 2-car garage. There are nice shelves on... Read More

Low Tide

When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More

Fake Money

Reach in your pocket and take out that big roll... Read More

Dont Lose All Your Money

That sounds like good advice doesn't it? Don't lose all... Read More

Dividend Paying Stocks

I would like to share with the reader an article... Read More

Struggling Stocks, Booming Commodities

04/28/2005NASDAQ dropped -12.5% year to date in 2005. S&P500 index... Read More

Oil Stocks CHK WLL - What Is Their Worth?

(1) CHK stock price $16.74, NAV $32.5CHK is my favorite... Read More

Evaluation II

As I said in Part I everyone in the insane... Read More

Gold Fever

Right now there doesn't seem to be any "gold fever".... Read More

Dont Buy Worldcom! A Guide to Wise Bottom Fishing

Over the past few months, several investment professionals have brought... Read More

I Love You, Warren Buffet

Sometime around 1980, can't remember exactly, there was a flight... Read More

Eternal Sunshine

There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the... Read More

A Good Fund Manager

Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More

high-end home cleaning Winnetka ..