Taxes are among the most significant expenses that can eat into investment returns. This is especially true for long-term capital gains.
According to a roboforex broker, you can increase your returns after taxes by choosing the right account types, and implementing an asset location strategy that is tax-aware. Understanding the differences between taxable and tax advantaged accounts and evaluating their benefits is important.
Asset Allocation
The proportion of stocks, bonds and cash that make up your portfolio is influenced by many factors, including risk tolerance and time horizon. The tax treatment of different investment classes also affects the composition of your portfolio. While you cannot control the market returns or the rules of the taxation, smart decisions in asset allocations and account types may help minimize the effect of taxes on your investment portfolio.
A financial advisor can help you determine the best asset allocation for your situation. They will explain to you what tradeoffs are possible. You’ll be able to determine what level of risk you are willing to take with each dollar of your portfolio and how you can balance it against your goals, financial situation and risk tolerance.
For example, if you’re saving for a specific financial goal that will occur within the next few years (buying a home, for instance), your financial advisor might recommend focusing on short-term investments like insured cash equivalents and CDs. But if you’re investing for a longer-term goal, such as college tuition for your child, your advisor might suggest that you increase the portion of your portfolio invested in growth investments, like stocks and stock mutual funds.
Your advisor might also recommend a tax-efficient strategy for your portfolio. If you have a traditional tax-deferred account with $1 million in it, your advisor may recommend implementing a strategy called yield-split. This involves replacing one broad-based index with two funds, one low-yield and the other high yield. This strategy is part of the core-plus-satellite portfolio model or the three-fund portfolio. It can improve the tax efficiency of your overall portfolio without changing your overall portfolio composition.
Your advisor may also consider the tax efficient sequence of investments for each account type, taxable, deferred, and tax exempt. This won’t eliminate taxes but it can make a big difference in your investment return over the long term. For example, your advisor might suggest holding high-yield municipal and corporate bond index funds in taxable accounts, and low-yield, nationally-diversified corporate and municipal bond index funds in tax-deferred or IRA accounts.
Tax-Advantaged Accounts
Tax Efficient Investing involves taking advantage of accounts and investments that provide tax advantages including tax deductions, tax deferrals or tax-free income. Tax-advantaged investing can help investors reduce their tax bills and increase the overall return on their investment. These advantages are especially valuable for investors who have higher marginal tax rates.
Generally, it is best to put as much of your investment money in tax-advantaged accounts as possible. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401ks, and annuities are all examples. These accounts let you save money and pay taxes at a later time.
In some cases you may run out space in your tax-advantaged account and it is then best to place less tax efficient investments into taxable accounts. This could mean putting total market stock index funds in your taxable account, but using a more tax efficient bond fund in your IRA or tax-deferred account.
Municipal bonds, for example, are good investments because they tend to lose a large percentage of their return to taxes. Municipal bonds offer tax-free interest for federal and state taxes, and may also be free of local and state taxes for residents in the municipality where the bond is issued.
A key aspect of investing with tax efficiency is rebalancing your portfolio on a regular basis. Rebalancing ensures your allocation of asset categories is in balance, and that you aren’t overweight in any particular area of the portfolio. If you have money in your taxable account, it is also a good idea to add new money to underweighted asset categories.
If addressing your tax situation and the impact of different account types makes you feel overwhelmed, it may be worth talking to a financial professional or investment advisor about your concerns. They can assess your situation and give advice on what changes should be made, if any. This will maximize tax efficiency within your portfolio. They can also offer a second opinion and make sure that you are pursuing your investment goals with the least amount of risk.
Taxable Accounts
The right investment in the right account is an important part of tax-efficient investing. Taxable accounts, like brokerage accounts, are good homes for investments that lose less of their returns to taxes. Tax-advantaged investments, like IRAs and 401ks, do better in tax-advantaged savings accounts.
The goal is maximize long-term wealth while minimizing taxes. Taxes don’t affect wealth alone, but they do play a major role. It’s important to take them into account when making investment decisions.
Investors often overlook the impact that taxes can have on their returns, which is why it’s so important to consider tax efficiency when choosing investments and setting asset allocations. Taxes can dramatically reduce the total return of an investment, so it’s important to minimize them whenever possible.
Investors who use taxable brokerage account may be more tax-efficient compared to those who use tax advantaged accounts. Taxable accounts are more tax-efficient because they have lower contribution and income limits. In turn, this allows investors to diversify their portfolios through the use of individual stocks and ETFs.
Asset location is a way to increase your returns with tax-efficient investing. It’s because it involves separating assets based on expected return and tax rates. For instance, a bond fund with a low expected return and high tax rate is best kept in a taxable account, while a stock fund with a high expected return and lower tax rate should be placed in a tax-advantaged account.
Ultimately, the decision to invest in a taxable or tax-advantaged account should depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and financial goals. A good financial advisor can help determine the best strategy for an investor’s specific situation. They can also give valuable information about the potential impact of tax on an investor’s return and recommend strategies to maximize their tax efficiency.
Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds (or munis) are debt securities that pay a fixed rate of interest and return your original investment at maturity, along with any earned interest. Because of their tax-exempt status, they’re free from federal income taxes and, in some cases, from state and local taxes as well. They may be subject to alternative minimum tax depending on where they live and their tax situation.
Investing in bonds allows you to customize your portfolio according to your goals, risk tolerance, and liquidity requirements. Alternatively, you may purchase municipal bonds from mutual funds that specialize exclusively in this asset category. These investments provide diversification and professional management, though they come with a trade-off: higher fees.
Most munis are issued by states, cities or counties and are “backed” by the full faith and credit of the issuing entity, meaning they’re typically less volatile than corporate bonds. However, some munis are secured by specific projects like toll roads or concert halls, which can be more vulnerable to changes in consumer demand and economic downturns than other infrastructure spending.
Because munis have a fixed-income component, their market price fluctuates with interest rate changes. When rates increase, bond prices drop. You can reduce your exposure to volatility by holding bonds with staggered maturity.
Many muni bonds offer the option to be called early, which means that the municipality will repay the investor their principal plus any accrued interest. This can occur if an investor needs to access their capital sooner than expected, or if the municipality decides to finance other initiatives that require more urgent funding.
As with other bonds, munis have lower risks of loss than stocks. They also can boost your portfolio’s after-tax yield. Their tax-exempt status may lower their potential returns. It’s important to compare them with taxable bonds within your portfolio. Talk with your financial advisor about whether munis make sense for your situation and goals. He or she can calculate your tax-equivalent return and compare it with other bond options such as low-cost index and active funds that focus on tax efficiency.