Vanguard Diversified Equity Fund tax distributions

The Vanguard Diversified Equities Fund is a questionable candidate for placement in taxable accounts. While the fund's dividend distributions have provided low tax burdens during its history, the fund, as is true of most actively managed funds, has distributed both long and short term gains over most of its short history. The fund can be expected to distribute gains in years in which it, and its underlying fund portfolios do not have available loss carryforwards to offset realized gains.

The fund represents a selection of actively managed fund portfolios that basically covers the US stock market; thus it serves as an active managed substitute for a passively managed Total Stock Market fund.

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. One should note that the fund has a fiscal year ending in October, so its reported distributions for a year reflect the prior year's December distribution of dividends and capital gains.

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 distributed both short and long term capital gains during its first five years of existence. The fund currently has loss carryforwards that can offset, until depleted, future realized gains. The fund provides lower than average (i.e. the total market) dividend yields, and virtually 100% of dividend distributions have been qualified dividends, which under the current tax regime, are taxed at lower capital gains tax rates.


 * FY 2005 dividends annualized

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
Reference article: Average net assets

The reported turnover ratio in the fund's annual report reflects the manager turnover of the eight underlying funds in the portfolio and does not reflect the turnover ratio in the separate funds, which is much higher. Shareholder turnover has been historically moderate, reflecting a shareholder holding period of about five years. Fiscal year 2010 is the only year in which the fund has experienced net redemptions.

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.

Fund analysis
The following table presents the federal tax cost on the fund's historical distributions (see second tab, table 7.) 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. As an actively managed fund, one can expect that capital gains realization will persist going forward. The distributions will be lower after the realization of losses and the accumulation of loss carryforwards; distributions will be higher after any carryforwards are depleted. Also note that the fund's recent dividend yields have been modestly higher than its average historical yield.

Table 7.

Note: Average excludes the partial year returns from the first year of operations.