Just a reminder, Vanguard has just confirmed for me that converting from regular investor shares to Admiral shares is not a taxable event, and likewise, converting from a regular fund to the corresponding Viper shares is also not a taxable event. (I guess the wash sale rule applies)
My understanding is that Vipers, like other ETFs, do not distsribute capital gains but just let them accumulate in the share price, which means they would not be taxable until you sell the Viper shares. If anybody knows otherwise, would be grateful to hear. If true, this could be a nice way, as the next bull cranks up and we use up our tax loss carryforwards from 2000, to avoid being taxed on fund distributions.