Mutual Fund Tax Clienteles

54 Pages Posted: 8 Sep 2009 Last revised: 20 May 2023

See all articles by Clemens Sialm

Clemens Sialm

University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Laura T. Starks

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2009

Abstract

Mutual funds are pooled investment vehicles with diverse tax clienteles. Whereas many mutual funds are held primarily by taxable investors, a significant fraction of mutual fund assets are held in tax-qualified retirement accounts. Our paper investigates whether the characteristics, investment strategies, and performance of mutual funds held by diverse tax clienteles differ. Examining both mutual fund income distributions and mutual fund holdings, we find that funds held primarily by taxable investors tend to be more tax-efficient than funds held primarily in tax-deferred retirement accounts. Despite these differences, we find no evidence that any investment constraints that may arise from the funds that pursue tax efficient management strategies result in performance differences between funds held by different tax clienteles.

Suggested Citation

Sialm, Clemens and Starks, Laura T., Mutual Fund Tax Clienteles (September 2009). NBER Working Paper No. w15327, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1469121

Clemens Sialm (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business ( email )

Austin, TX 78712
United States

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.mccombs.utexas.edu/Clemens.Sialm/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Laura T. Starks

University of Texas at Austin - Department of Finance ( email )

Red McCombs School of Business
Austin, TX 78712
United States
512-471-5899 (Phone)
512-471-5073 (Fax)

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