OK, maybe capital-gains distributions aren't at the forefront of your mind right now, but they should be. Most mutual fund companies distribute their capital gains to shareholders in December, so many of them will begin releasing their preliminary distribution estimates this month.
Some funds already are well above that limit.
Those heavy estimates have many market watchers bracing themselves for more mammoth capital-gains distributions this year. We're probably looking at a repeat of last year's unusually high levels. Though that may be true, this fall's tech selloff might change the picture somewhat for capital-gains distributions, says Morningstar's director of fund analysis, Russ Kinnel. That's because many of the tech-heavy funds that did so well in 1999 and in the first quarter of this year experienced some steep losses. So even if these funds did take some profits earlier this year, those gains would be offset by the sharp losses seen this fall.