Vanguard - preliminary cap gains estimates are out

[walkinwood]

For my funds, the estimates are way higher than last year!

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/article/preliminary-capital-gains-112014

 

[jebmke]

I only have one fund left that is active. And I'm still sitting on a load of losses that I harvested in 2009 so I think I'm good.

 

[pb4uski]

None of my funds are on the list. Includes Total Stock, 500 index, FTSE All-World ex-US Index. Not that I care, but a bit strange.

 

[Looking4Ward]

Wow, those are some large numbers!

For my four funds (Energy, Health, Wellesley, Wellington) it looks like the CG distribution and final quarter dividends will pretty much fund my entire expense budget for 2015.

I suppose that's a good thing?

 

[MichaelB]

None of my funds are on the list. Includes Total Stock, 500 index, FTSE All-World ex-US Index. Not that I care, but a bit strange.

Those funds all have ETF asset classes, so the capital gains are all washed through the ETF. One of the real advantages of an ETF.

 

[pb4uski]

But they are not on the ETF list either. Not sure I understand what you mean.

 

[MichaelB]

But they are not on the ETF list either. Not sure I understand what you mean.

All three of the funds you referenced have mutual fund and ETF asset classes. An ETF is able to exchange shares without recognizing capital gains, so most ETFs never realize capital gains, which is one of their key attractions. Vanguard is the only company that has ETFs that are also mutual funds, so the mutual fund doesn't register cap gains because the ETF class was able to eliminate them. You get the same increase in NAV and fund value but only record capital gains when you sell, not when the fund transacts.

 

[LOL!]

^Yep, I like that I am not getting any capital gains in my taxable accounts that I did not realize myself.

But what about the breakdown of qualified versus non-qualified dividends? Rumor has it that some funds in the past that were 100% qualified dividends might only be 70% qualified in 2014.

Dividends are so pesky. I hate them. (And before you ask: No, I am not giving them to you.)

 

[audreyh1]

Wow! I already noticed that cap gains paid out through 10/31 were 85% higher than same period last year!

 

[donheff]

I don't see anything leading to a table in the linked page. Just a bunch of other Insight articles. When I search VG I get a link to the same page but no data.

 

[donheff]

When I click the link all I get is a page full of Insight article but none lead to preliminary capital gains. What am I missing. A search at VG returns the same link but, again, no data.

 

[MichaelB]

The link works for me, opening up to a page titled "Preliminary capital gains estimates"

 

[REWahoo]

The link gives me a page listing a substantial number of funds with their cap gains estimate. Maybe you need to be logged in to see it?

 

[donheff]

Hum, tried logged in. Tried Firefox and IE. No dice. Maybe VG is mad at me.

 

[karluk]

The link works for me too. For the members having problems, I suggest you simply go to vanguard.com. Vanguard's home screen has a link to the preliminary capital gains estimate..

 

[MichaelB]

Hum, tried logged in. Tried Firefox and IE. No dice. Maybe VG is mad at me.

Maybe clear your cache?

 

[Amethyst]

As the Brits would say, it's early days yet. Maybe those funds don't have enough data to declare gains yet.

Amethst

None of my funds are on the list. Includes Total Stock, 500 index, FTSE All-World ex-US Index. Not that I care, but a bit strange.

 

[kramer]

As the Brits would say, it's early days yet. Maybe those funds don't have enough data to declare gains yet.

Amethst

I own the main Vanguard index ETFs for domestic and international and I don't think any of them have issued a single capital gain in even the last decade. There might have been a small exception or two that I forgot about.

 

[donheff]

There must have been a temporary glitch. I returned after a few hours and the link is working fine. No cache clearing or anything.

 

[Cobra9777]

I own the main Vanguard index ETFs for domestic and international and I don't think any of them have issued a single capital gain in even the last decade. There might have been a small exception or two that I forgot about.

I know this is a good thing, but I always have this irrational feeling of being short-sheeted.

 

[Looking4Ward]

I'm thinking I should have put my after-tax funds in ETF's (65% VTI/35% BND) instead of Wellesley/Wellington.

The predicted CG Distribution is going to cause me a $9K tax hit. I would have withdrawn about the same amount as the distribution, but not this year when I already have significant income. I would have waited until after the first of the year and then only a portion of the withdrawal would have been capital gains and my tax liability would have been $0 for the year under the 15% ceiling.

I can't trade the existing W's into the ETF's now without incurring a six-figure capital gain.

 

[walkinwood]

+1
Different funds, same regret.
I should have made the switch when I did tax loss harvesting in late 2008 & early 2009. C'est la vie.

 

[eta2020]

I don't see anything I own on the list.

I guess that is one of the advantages of owning index equity only ETFs. But index funds do have same tax advantage.

 

[Texas Proud]

I looked and the amount is way lower than the amount I got last year...

 

[kaneohe]

All three of the funds you referenced have mutual fund and ETF asset classes. An ETF is able to exchange shares without recognizing capital gains, so most ETFs never realize capital gains, which is one of their key attractions. Vanguard is the only company that has ETFs that are also mutual funds, so the mutual fund doesn't register cap gains because the ETF class was able to eliminate them. You get the same increase in NAV and fund value but only record capital gains when you sell, not when the fund transacts.

Thanks, Michael B, for that info. Didn't know any of it even tho I occasionally wonder about funds vs ETF and read articles about them. Do you by chance have a link to a VG (or other) article about that? Do you have a brief explanation of how ETF funds can exchange shares w/o recognizing CGs?

Before you mentioned that, I thought that it was because those 3 funds that pb4uski mentioned are passive index funds and I thought one of their attributes is that they have minimal CG distributions.