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Adam Frank

Managing Director, Head of Wealth Planning and Advice, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management

Holding investments through short-term volatility and not trying to time the market is generally prudent, but tax-loss harvesting could enhance your after-tax returns.

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INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS:

  • NOT A DEPOSIT
  • NOT FDIC INSURED
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  • NO BANK GUARENTEE
  • MAY LOSE VALUE

FOR ILLUSTRATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

 

All Investments involve risk, including loss of principal. There can be no assurance that any return objectives will be met. The impact of a tax loss harvesting strategy depends upon a variety of conditions including the actual gains and losses incurred on Holdings and future tax rates. Tax loss harvesting may not be appropriate for everyone. If you do not expect to realize net capital gains this year, have net capital loss carry forwards, are concerned about deviation from your model investment portfolio, and or are subject to low income tax rates or invest through a tax deferred account, tax loss harvesting may not be optimal for your account. You should discuss these matters with your investment and tax advisors. Tracking error is one potential risk of a tax loss harvesting strategy. Investors considering a tax loss harvesting strategy should look at their portfolios holistically to ensure they stay on track for their overall investment goals.

 

Are Taxes Eating Up Your Investment Returns?

 

Nancy Rooney, Managing Director, Global Head of Managed Solutions.

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

Over time, taxes can erode your returns. And while taxes can't be avoided, they can be managed. And we call that being tax smart. So how do you build tax awareness into your portfolio? One way is through tax-loss harvesting.

 

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What's Tax-Loss Harvesting and Why Does It Matter?

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

Stocks go up and down. It's a natural part of what they do. And as an investor, you have a choice. You can ride along in that journey. And usually, holding and not trying to time the market is good. You're not a victim to the quick ups and downs of the market.

 

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A line on a graph of Market Volatility bounces up and down along a timeline.

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

But in the end, it may not be as tax efficient as it could be.

 

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Money flows from a piggy bank labeled "Returns" to a tax bill.

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

Let's say you have $100,000 invested into stock A. Over the course of the month, the price fell by 40%. When your stock has depreciated, you can now lock in that loss by selling stock A. And since you want to keep your portfolio in line with your strategy's objectives, you buy and now hold $60,000 of stock B in a very similar investment.

 

And this natural journey of ups and downs continues. All along you repeat this process and continue to pick up a bit of these tax benefits.

 

On screen:

 

A bar graph graphic depicts the sold funds as harvested losses. Other bards rise and fall under the title "Portfolio".

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

And because you're tax smart, now you're building up a reserve of losses that you can then use to offset capital gains in other parts of your portfolio, potentially resulting in a lower tax bill at the end of the year.

 

On screen:

 

Money from the harvested losses container and less from the piggy bank flow into the tax bill.

 

Nancy Rooney:

 

That is called tax alpha. It's the incremental value add resulting from tax efficient management. At JPMorgan, we implement tax-loss harvesting for you in a way that's customized and cost efficient, which essentially allows you to get exposure to broad market indices such as the S&P 500 or even certain active strategies. Our systematic approach actively looks for opportunities on a daily basis to harvest losses. We're essentially using the market's natural volatility to create potential tax savings for you.

 

Now, for investors that have high embedded gains and don't necessarily want to pay a hefty tax bill to make the switch, we offer a transition process that is unique to your preferences as well as your tax sensitivity. Taxes are a part of life. And we believe that with the right strategies, they can be managed for better outcomes. Speak to your JPMorgan team to learn more about how tax-smart strategies can add tax alpha for your portfolio.

 

That was great.

 

Yeah. Good job. Good job.

 

On screen:

 

Speak to your J.P. Morgan Team.

 

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.

 

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Are Taxes Eating Up Your Investment Returns?


The impact of a tax loss harvesting strategy depends upon a variety of conditions, including the actual gains and losses incurred on holdings and future tax rates.

Tax loss harvesting may not be appropriate for everyone.  If you do not expect to realize net capital gains this year, have net capital loss carryforwards, are concerned about deviation from your model investment portfolio, and/or are subject to low income tax rates or invest through a tax-deferred account, tax loss harvesting may not be optimal for your account.
You should discuss these matters with your investment and tax advisors.

How can tax-loss harvesting enhance after-tax returns

Not all investments can be winners all the time. But as the video demonstrates, there may be a bright side: your losses may help you lower your tax bill, through a fairly straightforward tax strategy known as tax-loss harvesting.

Of course, you’ll need to plan in advance and consult with a tax professional to ensure this strategy is a good fit. Here are some considerations:

What is tax-loss harvesting?

Tax-loss harvesting means selling securities that have embedded losses – that is, you paid more for them than they’re currently worth. Once you sell, those losses may be available to offset capital gains from other parts of your portfolio – or from other capital assets you own for which you have realized, or may want to realize, taxable gain. If properly done, tax-loss harvesting could effectively reduce or eliminate capital gains tax on gains you realize in the same tax year. In addition, an individual with more capital losses than capital gains in a tax year can use up to $3,000 of the unused losses to offset ordinary income, and can carry forward unused losses to use against future gains.

Beware of “wash sales”

If you have a loss in a security that you still want to own, you can repurchase the security – but be careful not to trigger a “wash sale,” which will cause your loss to be disallowed in the year it is realized.

In general, a wash sale occurs when you purchase for a loss a “substantially identical” replacement security within 30 days before or 30 days after the sale date. If you purchase a substantially identical replacement security within that time period, the loss will be disallowed; instead, the disallowed loss is generally added to the tax basis of the replacement security, deferring the loss until you sell the replacement. (For example, if you sell stock at a loss on December 1, the wash-sale rule could be triggered if you buy a replacement security any time between November 1 and December 31.) Special rules may apply in cases where some, but not all, of the shares of the original security are sold.

What is a replacement security?

A replacement security doesn’t have to be exactly identical to the sold security to trigger a wash sale – rather, a wash sale can be triggered if a replacement security is only “substantially” identical. For example, if you are selling a stock at a loss, a wash sale can be triggered if the replacement is that same stock, or a call option on the same stock, or a number of other securities that are similar enough to the sold stock that the IRS deems to be substantially identical. Similarly, if you are selling a bond for a loss, the more different your replacement bond is (e.g., maturity date, coupon, etc.), the more likely it is that your loss will be allowed and that the replacement bond will not trigger a wash sale. You should consider consulting with your tax advisor to determine whether a replacement security may be “substantially identical” to the sold security.

How can you remain exposed to the market without triggering a wash sale?

You can “double up” on the security more than 30 days before you intend to sell it (and keep the newly purchased portion), or you can wait for at least 30 days after you sell it to repurchase it. Since doubling up heightens your exposure to the security for the period before you sell the loss portion, you need to be sure that the increased concentration is appropriate for you.

Alternatively, you could purchase a substitute that is not substantially identical to the sold security; possible substitutes may be stocks that trade similarly (e.g., you sell a consumer staples stock for a loss and purchase a different consumer staples stock to replace it), or market proxies (you sell a large cap U.S. stock for a loss and purchase an index fund or ETF that follows the appropriate index), so long as such substitutes are not “substantially identical”. Note that if any of the replacement securities appreciate in value and you sell them before you have held them for over a year, any gain will be short-term and therefore taxed at ordinary income rates.

To make sure you can fully benefit from tax-loss harvesting, you may want to speak with your accountant.

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The impact of a tax loss harvesting strategy depends upon a variety of conditions, including the actual gains and losses incurred on holdings and future tax rates.

Tax loss harvesting may not be appropriate for everyone. If you do not expect to realize net capital gains this year, have net capital loss carryforwards, are concerned about deviation from your model investment portfolio, and/or are subject to low income tax rates or invest through a tax-deferred account, tax loss harvesting may not be optimal for your account. You should discuss these matters with your investment and tax advisors.


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