Open-end mutual funds and capital-gains taxes

Michael J. Barclay, Neil D. Pearson, Michael S. Weisbach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite the fact that taxable investors would prefer to defer the realization of capital gains indefinitely, most open-end mutual funds regularly realize and distribute a large portion of their gains. We present a model in which unrealized gains in the fund's portfolio increase expected future taxable distributions, and thus increase the present value of a new investor's tax liability. In equilibrium, managers interested in attracting new investors pass through taxable capital gains to reduce the overhang of unrealized gains. This model contains a number of empirical predictions that are consistent with data on actual fund overhangs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3-43
Number of pages41
JournalJournal of Financial Economics
Volume49
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 1998

Keywords

  • Capital-gains taxes
  • G23
  • Mutual funds

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Strategy and Management

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