Investing Insights

Exchange-traded funds can help you cut your tax bill. All funds must distribute capital gains from the stocks and bonds that they sell throughout the year. The gains can leave you stuck with unwanted taxes. ETFs and mutual funds differ when it comes to tax efficiency. It starts with how the investments are traded and how the transactions are treated. The differences can result in ETF investors owing less than mutual fund investors or nothing at all because ETFs can minimize their capital gain distributions. Bryan Armour, Morningstar’s director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America, explains how ETFs beat mutual funds at the tax game.ETFs vs. Mutual Funds: The Benefits That Really Matter On this episode:00:00:00 Welcome00:01:01 ETFs are more tax-friendly than their mutual fund rivals. Why is that?00:02:17 How does the way ETFs are traded limit the tax drag that affects mutual funds?00:03:23 ETF investors will eventually pay a tax bill. Why is it important to control when that happens?00:04:0