Don't Get Caught

Stock-fund holders could be on the hook for big tax bites in a year of big redemptions

One of the things I learned the hard way in college is never to accept the third turn with a pilfered fire extinguisher. You think you're going to get to blast an unsuspecting roommate, but you end up a two-time loser--inheriting an empty canister just as the campus cops show up. A similar fate awaits many mutual-fund investors this year. Redemptions from stock funds are running at the highest level in a decade, and those who stay put could wind up holding a big tax liability--essentially having been handed that spent fire extinguisher. Here's how it works. Mutual funds pay no...

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