Don’t Get Dinged by Taxes when Making a Move
October 20 2014 - 7:00PM
ETFDB
In my last post, I talked about how some investors use fixed
income exchange traded funds (ETFs) as an investment bridge – a
place to put money when moving between managers or making other
portfolio changes. Two of the main reasons we see ETFs used in this
way are index tracking and liquidity. But there’s another big
factor, one that’s especially relevant this time of year: taxes. I
talked to one of our experts, BlackRock Managing Director Rob
Nestor*, about why taxes are a major consideration when making a
move. Q: Rob, I’ve heard you speak to
the “total cost of ownership” when it comes to investing. Most
people think of buying a car when they hear this phrase, so how
does it apply to a portfolio?
A: When you’re shopping for a car you don’t just look at the
sticker price, you also have to consider the maintenance fees,
insurance and gas mileage. When looking for the right investment,
the same principle applies: you need to look all the costs of
ownership. This includes not only the management fees but also the
costs to buy and sell the fund, and the fund’s tax efficiency. Only
by looking at the whole picture can you get a sense of what you’re
really paying.
Q: Let’s focus on the tax efficiency part. First, what does tax
efficiency actually mean? Is it specific to a particular type of
investment?
A: All mutual funds and ETFs are susceptible to making an annual
distribution ofcapital gains. When a fund buys and sells securities
during the year, it realizes a capital gain or loss on each
transaction. At the end of the year, the impact of these
transactions is added up to determine whether the fund generated
realized net capital gains or losses. If the fund is in a net
realized gain position, then fund investors will need to pay taxes
on the gain in the year it was received, assuming it is held in a
taxable account. (If held in an IRA for instance, then the
distribution isn’t a concern.)
Q: Let’s explore that a little more. As an investor, you want
your portfolio to do well, and “gains” tend to be a good thing. So
why are capital gains distributions generally frowned on by most
investors?
A: Four reasons. First, capital gains essentially return your
money to you early. You get cash when you probably wanted to stay
invested. Even though most accounts provide for automatic
reinvestment, you have to pay the tax on a distribution whether you
reinvest or not. Second, the gain could be classified as short term
or long term; it depends on how long your fund held the security
that triggered the gain. (For most investors, a short-term gain is
taxed at a considerably higher rate than a long-term gain.) Third,
the gain is driven by the actions of the portfolio manager, not
you, and not directly by the performance of your investment. This
means it’s possible to buy a fund, have it fall in value, and get a
capital gain tax bill on top of the loss of investment value.
Fourth, and probably most importantly, these distributions
accelerate the payment of taxes that otherwise wouldn’t occur until
a later date (if at all). Generally, although there are some
exceptions (such as increases in future tax rates), accelerating
tax payments results in real opportunity cost loss.
Q: Let’s look at ETFs specifically. We’ve discussed on The Blog
before about how they are generally designed to be tax efficient.
When an investor is thinking about using an ETF, what do they need
to know about capital gains?
A: Generally an investor shouldn’t let taxes, or any other cost,
“wag the investment dog”. Getting the asset exposure right
generally has more to do with driving your long-term investment
experience than any other factor. That said, it’s important to
understand that ETFs tend to be fairly tax efficient because of the
way they’re structured. Because they’re index funds, they have
limited turnover and thus tend to have fewer transactions that
could generate capital gains than mutual funds. Plus, the majority
of money coming out of ETFs does so in the form of a transfer of
securities, which is more tax efficient then if the fund had to
sell securities. When capital gains distributions are paid, they
are given to all fund holders, regardless of when those holders
purchased the fund.
Of course ETFs can at times make capital gains distributions;
they just tend to make distributions less frequently (and generally
smaller) than mutual funds. In 2013, 6% of the iShares fixed income
ETFs paid a capital gains distribution, versus 44% for mutual
funds1. It’s impossible to predict exactly how efficient ETFs will
be in 2014, but, the ETF is likely to offer fewer tax
surprises.
1 Source: Morningstar, as of 12/31/2013. Includes the oldest
share class of all Taxable and Tax Preferred (excludes Money Market
and Convertible) Open End Fixed Income Mutual Funds and iShares
ETFs available in the U.S. that incepted on or before 10/31/2013.
Past distributions are not indicative of future distributions. *Rob
Nestor is the head of iShares Retail Product Strategy at BlackRock
and has extensive experience in ETF product development and
portfolio construction.
Matthew Tucker, CFA, is the iShares Head of Fixed Income
Strategy and a regular contributor to The Blog.
Carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risk
factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other
information can be found in the Funds’ prospectuses or, if
available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by
visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus
carefully before investing.
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of
principal.
Transactions in shares of ETFs will result in brokerage
commissions and will generate tax consequences. All regulated
investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to
shareholders. Certain traditional mutual funds can also be tax
efficient.
This material is provided for educational purposes only and does
not constitute investment advice. The information contained herein
is based on current tax laws, which may change in the future.
BlackRock cannot be held responsible for any direct or incidental
loss resulting from applying any of the information provided in
this publication or from any other source mentioned. The
information provided in this material does not constitute any
specific legal, tax or accounting advice. Please consult with
qualified professionals for this type of advice. Investment
comparisons are for illustrative purposes only. To better
understand the similarities and differences between investments,
including investment objectives, risks, fees and expenses, it is
important to read the products’ prospectuses.
The Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC
(together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”). ©2014 BlackRock. All
rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of
BlackRock. All other marks are the property of their respective
owners. iS-13766-1014
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