After market-risk and inflation-risk, which investors take great strides to mitigate through sound investment practices, taxation-risk presents the biggest obstacle to building wealth. A sound investment strategy not only seeks to generate returns on your capital, it also seeks to preserve as much of your capital as possible to keep it working for you. One of the surest ways to preserve your capital is to reduce the amount of taxes you pay on investment income and gains. By incorporating tax-saving strategies into your investment plan, you can minimize the impact that taxes have on your capital-at-work.
With Your Asset Allocation it’s all about Location
One of the first rules of wealth accumulation is to sock away as much of your income as possible into a tax-qualified retirement plan, such as a 401k, 403b, or an IRA. This gives you an immediate and long-term tax advantage. However, in terms of an overall asset allocation strategy, the placement of various types of investments among your tax-qualified plans and your non-qualified investment accounts is nearly as important as the selection of investments for meeting your particular investment objectives. At its simplest, you should place your tax efficient investment in your non-qualified investment accounts, and your non-tax efficient investments in your qualified accounts.
Non-tax efficient investments include securities and income-producing assets that tend to generate more taxable returns, such as taxable bonds, bond funds, actively managed mutual funds, and dividend-paying stocks. These should be placed in your qualified plans.
Tax-efficient investments include tax-exempt bonds and bond funds, tax-managed mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, broad market stock index funds. These should be held in your non-qualified investment accounts.
Watch What and When you Buy
If you are going to invest in mutual funds within your non-qualified accounts, it’s important to consider the portfolio holdings of the fund, how much the portfolio is turned over each year, and the amount of unrealized gains sitting in the portfolio. About the worst thing a mutual fund investor can do is to buy shares of an actively traded mutual fund with a high turnover ratio that’s sitting on a boat-load of capital gains. These types of funds are notorious for selling off their most profitable stocks, especially to meet share redemption demands, and distributing big gains to their shareholders, which are fully taxable to the shareholder. When that happens, the share price is reduced in some proportion to the distribution which means the shareholder is left with a lower share price and a taxable distribution.
Instead, consider investing in tax-managed funds which seeks to minimize taxes through tax-harvesting or broad index stock funds which are more passively managed.
Harvest Your Losses with Your Gains
If you feel the need to sell any securities to lock in gains, use that opportunity to “harvest” your portfolio for losses that can offset the gains. This can be done each year as a way to keep your target asset allocation in line with your investment objectives. You can use the proceeds of the stocks sold for gains and losses to add to portion of your asset allocation that needs to be increased.
Reduce Net Investment Income to Avoid the 3.8% Surtax
Beginning in 2013, if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is greater than $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers), your investment income above a certain threshold could be subject to an additional 3.8% surtax. This doesn’t affect investment income earned in qualified accounts, and income from certain investments, such as tax-exempt bonds and “qualified” dividend-paying stocks, are not included in the calculation.
By investing systematically in a well-conceived, disciplined, long-term investment strategy investors can achieve reasonable returns that can compound into substantial wealth over time. However, without consideration for taxes on their investments, the road to wealth could turn into a steep uphill climb. It’s important to invest in a way that can generate the best possible returns commensurate with the amount of risk you are willing to assume, AND it’s your after-tax return on investments that really matters.
In all matters of taxation, you should seek the guidance of a qualified tax professional to thoroughly analyze the immediate and long-term implications of investment decisions.
*This content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information in this material is not intended as tax or legal advice. It may not be used for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. Please consult legal or tax professionals for specific information regarding your individual situation. This material was developed and produced by Advisor Websites to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. The opinions expressed and material provided are for general information, and should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Copyright 2014 Advisor Websites.
1. Standardized Performance Data and Disclosures
Russell data © Russell Investment Group 1995-2014, all rights reserved. Dow Jones data provided by Dow Jones Indexes. MSCI data copyright MSCI 2014, all rights reserved. S&P data provided by Standard & Poor’s Index Services Group. The BofA Merrill Lynch Indices are used with permission; © 2013 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; all rights reserved. Citigroup bond indices copyright 2014 by Citigroup. Barclays data provided by Barclays Bank PLC. Indices are not available for direct investment; their performance does not reflect the expenses associated with the management of an actual portfolio.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Diversification does not guarantee investment returns and does not eliminate the risk of loss.
Investing risks include loss of principal and fluctuating value. Small cap securities are subject to greater volatility than those in other asset categories. International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability. Investing in emerging markets may accentuate these risks. Sector-specific investments can also increase these risks.
Fixed income securities are subject to increased loss of principal during periods of rising interest rates. Fixed-income investments are subject to various other risks including changes in credit quality, liquidity, prepayments, and other factors. REIT risks include changes in real estate values and property taxes, interest rates, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, supply and demand, and the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.
Lake Tahoe Wealth Management, LLC is an investment advisor registered in the States of Nevada, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
Principal Risks:
The principal risks of investing may include one or more of the following: market risk, small companies risk, risk of concentrating in the real estate industry, foreign securities risk and currencies risk, emerging markets risk, banking concentration risk, foreign government debt risk, interest rate risk, risk of investing for inflation protection, credit risk, risk of municipal securities, derivatives risk, securities lending risk, call risk, liquidity risk, income risk. Value investment risk. Investing strategy risk. To more fully understand the risks related to investment in the funds, investors should read each fund’s prospectus.
Investments in foreign issuers are subject to certain considerations that are not associated with investment in US public companies. Investment in the International Equity, Emerging Markets Equity and the Global Fixed Income Portfolios and Indices will be denominated in foreign currencies. Changes in the relative value of these foreign currencies and the US dollar, therefore, will affect the value of investments in the Portfolios. However, the Global Fixed Income Portfolios and Indices may utilize forward currency contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future currency rates (if applicable), to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another. Foreign Securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets.
The Real Estate Indices are each concentrated in the real estate industry. The exclusive focus by Real Estate Securities Portfolios on the real estate industry will cause the Real Estate Securities Portfolios to be exposed to the general risks of direct real estate ownership. The value of securities in the real estate industry can be affected by changes in real estate values and rental income, property taxes, and tax and regulatory requirements. Also, the value of securities in the real estate industry may decline with changes in interest rate. Investing in REITS and REIT-like entities involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. REITS and REIT-like entities are dependent upon management skill, may not be diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency and self-liquidations. REITS and REIT-like entities also are subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for tax free pass through of income. Also, many foreign REIT-like entities are deemed for tax purposes as passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), which could result in the receipt of taxable dividends to shareholders at an unfavorable tax rate. Also, because REITS and REIT-like entities typically are invested in a limited number of projects or in a particular market segment, these entities are more susceptible to adverse developments affecting a single project or market segment than more broadly diversified investments. The performance of Real Estate Securities Portfolios may be materially different from the broad equity market.
Fixed Income Portfolios:
The net asset value of a fund that invests in fixed income securities will fluctuate when interest rates rise. An investor can lose principal value investing in a fixed income fund during a rising interest rate environment. The Portfolio may also be affected by: call risk, which is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, a bond issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding bond before its maturity date; credit risk, which is the risk that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner.
Risk of Banking Concentration:
Focus on the banking industry would link the performance of the short term fixed income indices to changes in performance of the banking industry generally. For example, a change in the market’s perception of the riskiness of banks compared to non-banks would cause the Portfolio’s values to fluctuate.
The material is solely for informational purposes and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy securities. The opinions expressed herein represent the current, good faith views of Lake Tahoe Wealth Management, LLC (LTWM) as of the date indicated and are provided for limited purposes, are not definitive investment advice, and should not be relied on as such. The information presented in this presentation has been developed internally and/or obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, LTWM does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such information.
Predictions, opinions, and other information contained in this presentation are subject to change continually and without notice of any kind and may no longer be true after the date indicated. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and LTWM assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward looking statements. No investment strategy can guarantee performance results. All investments are subject to investment risk, including loss of principal invested.