Who is the Biggest Investor in the Stock Market, and Why Should You Care?

Abstract

The US Treasury effectively ”owns” about 24% of the stocks held by high income US taxable investors. Through the capital gains tax, Uncle Sam has an effective exposure of more than $1 trillion of equities. And this huge-but-silent investor might be about to get a lot bigger if capital gains taxation is increased. But it’s not all bad news; luckily there is something you can do to lessen the blow. In this note, we’ll explain how adjusting your asset allocation to account for capital gains taxation can improve your after-tax expected welfare.

Keywords: capital gains tax, cgt, stocks, equities, us treasury, asset allocation, expected welfare

JEL Classification: B12, B16, B20, C00, C10, C11, C50, C57, C73, D03, D81, D83, E00, G00, G02, G11, G12, G14, G17, G23