Vanguard Small Cap Growth Index Fund tax distributions

The Vanguard Small Cap Growth Index Fund is a  suitable candidate for placement in taxable accounts. The fund has been recommended for the following situations: I expect that the new style indexes will greatly assist investors in meeting their particular investment objectives. In the accumulation phase of your life, you might be well served by a relatively low dividend yield to minimize your taxes. At retirement and in the distribution phase of your life, you would presumably be better served by a higher yield. (Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor ISBN 978-1556238604, p. 184.)
 * 1) An investor who is employed by a value company may wish to diversify away the risk to his human capital by allocating investment capital to growth companies.
 * John Bogle has stated that Vanguard created style index funds with tax consequences as the paramount factor that should guide investors:

The following tables provide long term data on the fund's history of both dividend and capital gains distributions. The first table also provides the historical distribution of qualified dividends.

The second table provides a database of the fund's accounting figures: the annual level of realized and distributed gains; its level of unrealized gains and loss carryforwards; as well as the annual in-kind redemption gains the fund has realized. These figures highlight the level of a fund's tax liabilities.

Because both manager turnover of securities inside the portfolio and investor turnover of fund shares can affect the level of gains realization, a third table provides historical turnover ratios.

Distributions
The following table provides a view of the fund's historical distributions expressed in terms of yields. We can see that the fund has made one capital gains distribution (2000) since its inception in 2006. The fund has distributed an average of 87% qualified dividends, which under the current tax regime, are taxed at lower capital gains tax rates.


 * The fund made a minor change of benchmark on 05/16/2003, moving from the S&P SmallCap 600/Barra Growth Index to the MSCI US Small Cap Growth Index.
 * The fund introduced ETF shares on 01/26/2004

Accounting data
The accounting figures and associated ratios (tables 3 and 4) can help one visualize some of the major determinants of a fund’s tendency to distribute taxable gains. These determining features include:

Turnover: The rate at which a fund manager sells securities within the fund has a major effect on potential gains realization. Single digit annual fund turnover percentages result in a low rate of realized gains. Similarly, fund shareholders' sales flows have major effects on a fund’s distribution tendencies. Net flows into the fund have the following effects:


 * 1) Constant inflows allow a fund manager to purchase a wide range of price lots for shares. The manager can select high basis shares when forced to sell a stock (this may realize a loss). The manager can also select low basis shares when redeeming a stock in-kind (a non-taxable transaction that can remove an unrealized gain out of the portfolio.)
 * 2) A large and growing net asset base serves to diffuse any realized capital gains across a large base of shareholders and reduces the per share gain distribution. Large outflows have the opposite effect; any gains realized are spread across a smaller asset base and result in higher per share distributed gains.

The level of unrealized gains and carryover realized losses in a fund: A fund which defers gains realization accumulates unrealized appreciation, which when distributed, will be taxed; thus the unrealized gain/loss figure shows the potential gain (or loss) that would be realized if the portfolio was to be entirely liquidated. Any loss carryovers a fund possesses can be used to offset future realized gains (carryovers have an eight year expiration period). The second tab on the Table 3. spreadsheet shows the data in percentage of total assets form.

Table 3.

Turnover
Table 4.

Tax rates
Mutual fund distributions will be taxed according to the tax laws governing the investment over the holding period of the investment, which are subject to change. The actual tax imposed will depend upon each individual's tax rate and the timing of purchases and sales. The federal tax rates applicable to mutual fund distributions and investor sales of securities for the period 2008 - 2012 are outlined below. Keep in mind that investment income may also be subject to state and local taxation.
 * 1) Short-term capital gains distributions are made from realized gains on securities held for one year or less. Short-term gains are taxed at ordinary income tax rates up to 35%. Mutual fund short-term gain distributions are included in a fund's ordinary dividend distribution; therefore, capital losses may not be subtracted from these distributions when computing taxes.
 * 2) Long-term capital gains distributions are made from realized gains on securities held for more than one year. Long-term gains are taxed at 0% for taxpayers in the 10% and 15% tax brackets and at 15% for taxpayers in the 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35% tax brackets. (These tax rates are mandated for 2008-2012.) They are reported on tax Schedule D along with any other capital gains, and can be reduced by capital losses.
 * 3) Qualified dividends are the ordinary dividends that are subject to the same 0% or 15% maximum tax rate that applies to net capital gain. They should be shown in box 1b of the Form 1099-DIV you receive. Qualified dividends are subject to the 15% rate if the regular tax rate that would apply is 25% or higher. If the regular tax rate that would apply is lower than 25%, qualified dividends are subject to the 0% rate.
 * 4) When you sell at a loss you will either offset capital gains which would have otherwise been taxed at your capital gains rate or you will offset income (up to $3,000 maximum per year) which would have otherwise been taxed at your marginal income tax rate, or both. If you offset capital gains that would have otherwise not been taxed at all (because your capital gains tax rate is 0%) then this part of the tax loss harvest may be an outright loss.

Tax analysis
The annual fund accounting figures show that the Vanguard Small Cap Growth Index fund, since its changeover to the MSCI small growth index, has provided turnover ratios inhabiting a range between 30% to 40%. This moderately high turnover can be attributed to the fact that stock migration out of a mid cap growth index can come in the following dimensions:


 * 1) An individual company becomes relatively larger and migrates to a mid cap index;
 * 2) An individual company becomes relatively smaller and migrates to a micro cap index;
 * 3) An individual company migrates to a value index;
 * 4) An individual company is bought out or merged with a second company.

Shareholder turnover, revealed in the Redemptions/Average Net Assets (R/ANA) metric, shows that shareholders have gravitated towards a shareholder turnover range of between 20% to 40%, suggesting, on average a three to five year holding period. A considerable portion of fund assets is held in the ETF share class. The higher R/ANA metric reveals institutional creation and redemption in the fund. .

A look at realized net gains/losses shows that the fund has realized net losses over the last five years, and has realized net losses in seven of the past ten years (see the second tab, tax attributes in Table 3 above for net loss data). These losses produce loss carryforwards. These carryforward losses have been used to offset realized gains during the period of market recovery after the 2000-2001 bear market, and remain available to offset future realized gains.

The following table presents the federal tax cost on the fund's historical distributions (see second tab, table 6.) under two scenarios: the current favorable tax rate regime (2010-2012) and under a higher tax regime (with dividends taxed at marginal rates and long term capital gains taxed at a maximum 20%). Keep in mind that distributions can also be subject to state and local taxation. The average is based on the results from qualified dividend tax regime period 2004-2010. Table 6.

John Bogle's original insight into the relative tax efficiency of growth indices is evidenced in the following table of relative yields. The third tab provides the results for small cap value and growth indices. Since inception the funds show an average 1.36% spread in annual yields (small value average yield of 1.68%; small growth average yield 0.32%).

Table 7.


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