Tax-Smart Investing. How to keep more of what you earn

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1 Tax-Smart Investing How to keep more of what you earn

2 Many shareholders are still unaware that Uncle Sam takes a huge bite out of their wallets each year due to taxes on funds it is at least partly preventable. Lipper Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry August 14, 2002 The Impact of Taxes Matters Taxes can be the biggest expense faced by mutual fund investors today greater than commissions and investment management fees. As an investor, you pay taxes on distributions made by your mutual fund each year even if you haven t sold any of your shares. A recent study by Lipper, a leading independent provider of mutual fund research, shows that over the past decade stock fund investors in the top federal income tax bracket gave up an average of 2.5 percentage points to taxes each year while bond fund investors gave up 1.3 percentage points each year.* Because taxes can be a major consideration, many people are taking a new look at the tax efficiency of their investments. *Source: Lipper Inc. Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry, August 14, 2002.

3 How Mutual Funds Are Taxed AS A SHAREHOLDER, YOU CAN OWE TAXES ON THE FOLLOWING EVENTS. Distributions. A mutual fund distributes its net investment income and taxable capital gains to shareholders each year. The income consists of interest and dividends earned on the fund s investments. Taxable capital gains arise when the fund sells holdings that have increased in value. Reinvestment of distributions. You pay taxes on fund distributions even if you automatically reinvest the income in your fund. Short-term capital gains. When a fund designates a short-term capital gain, the tax treatment is not affected by how long you have held shares in the fund. Share redemptions/exchanges. Unless you are investing in a 401(k) plan, IRA, or other qualified plan, you must pay taxes whenever you sell or exchange mutual fund shares that have appreciated in value. HOW THE IRS TAXES MUTUAL FUND DISTRIBUTIONS Taxed at rates up to 38.6% Taxable interest and dividends distributed by the fund Distributions of capital gains from the sale of securities held less than one year Taxed at rates up to 20% Distributions of capital gains from the sale of securities held longer than one year Not taxed until sold Gains on securities not yet sold by the fund YOU CAN STILL OWE TAXES WHEN SHARE PRICES FALL. Even if your mutual fund share price has fallen, it is possible for the fund to have realized capital gains on stocks it has sold during the year. The fund could have gains in many individual stocks, but those gains may be outweighed by unrealized losses in other stocks still held by the fund. This could result in a lower net asset value and tax exposure for you! in several categories studied by Lipper, tax-efficient funds produced higher after-tax returns than tax-inefficient funds that had higher total returns. Lipper Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry August 14, 2002

4 Tax-Smart Investing Styles WHEN INVESTORS SEEK TO LIMIT THEIR TAX EXPOSURE, MANY WILL TURN TO TAX- EFFICIENT AND TAX-MANAGED MUTUAL FUNDS. WHAT S THE DIFFERENCE? Tax-managed funds seek maximum after-tax growth, and are actively managed for tax efficiency. Unlike index funds, they respond to changing market conditions to take advantage of potential investment opportunities. TAX-EFFICIENT INVESTING Analysis of Tax-Managed Fund Returns vs. All Fund Returns Based on 5-Year Annualized Returns for Core Equity Funds Annualized Returns Pretax After-Tax Pretax After-Tax TAX-MANAGED FUNDS ALL CORE EQUITY FUNDS Taxes can shave several points off your investment results, so it s important to focus on returns after taxes are taken out. Tax-efficient investments include tax-managed mutual funds, municipal bond funds, and index funds. As the chart shows, tax-managed funds have delivered competitive pretax and after-tax results when compared with ordinary equity funds. This chart is for illustrative purposes only, and is not indicative of the performance of any Prudential mutual fund. Source: Morningstar, Inc. as of 12/31/2001. Municipal bond funds are designed as tax-efficient investments (see below) because they invest in tax-free debt securities issued by governments and municipalities. Generally speaking, income realized from a municipal bond mutual fund can be free of federal taxes and sometimes of state and local income taxes also. TAXABLE VERSUS TAX-EXEMPT YIELDS (2003) Tax-Exempt Equivalent Taxable Yield for a Tax Rate of: Yield 27% 30% 35% 38.6% 4.0% 5.48% 5.71% 6.15% 6.51% This table shows how the yield on a tax-exempt municipal bond compares with the yield on a fully taxable investment in your tax bracket. (State taxes are not considered in this table.) Index funds are designed to mirror the performance of a market index by buying and holding securities that comprise the chosen index, such as the Standard & Poor s 500 Index. These passively managed funds are considered tax-efficient because they do less buying and selling of securities, which tends to result in fewer taxable gains. PRETAX AND AFTER-TAX RETURNS: MORNINGSTAR MUTUAL FUND CATEGORIES (5-YEAR ENDING 9/30/02) Median Investment Pretax After-Tax Difference Index Funds 1.57% 2.49% 0.92% Large Value Funds Large Growth Funds Small Growth Funds Small Value Funds Annualized 5-year returns. Source: Prudential Investments and Morningstar Principia. Index Funds, Large Value Funds, Large Growth Funds, Small Growth Funds, and Small Value Funds represent funds in each category as represented by Morningstar. After-tax returns show a fund's annualized aftertax total return for the time period specified. All income and short-term capital gains distributions are taxed at the maximum federal rate of 38.6% at the time of distribution. Long-term capital gains are taxed at a 20% rate. This chart is for illustrative purposes only, and is not indicative of the performance of any mutual fund.

5 Tax-Managed Strategies T AX-MANAGED FUNDS SEEK TO LIMIT YOUR TAX EXPOSURE BY EMPLOYING INVEST- MENT STRATEGIES, LIKE THE FOLLOWING. Low turnover. To reduce exposure to potential taxable gains, a fund may limit the buying and selling of stocks in its portfolio. Buy and hold. This approach holds stocks in the portfolio for at least one year to qualify for lower capital gains tax rates. Offset gains with losses. When appropriate, funds will offset taxes on realized gains by selling other stocks with losses. Sell highest-cost stocks first. This strategy seeks to limit taxable gains by selling the highest-cost shares first that have been held for at least one year. Focus on growth. Growth stocks generally provide little or no annually taxable dividend income. Growth stock returns tend to be based on long-term capital gains not interest or dividends that are subject to higher short-term rates. FOR MORE INFORMATION Here are additional resources you may wish to explore as you develop a comprehensive investment strategy: Prudential Financial Investment Company Institute Issues in Mutual Fund Legislation and Regulation Internal Revenue Service Social Security Administration

6 Past performance is not indicative of future results. For more information and free prospectuses that detail the funds investment objectives, sales charges, expenses, management fees, and other matters of interest, please contact your financial professional. Please read the prospectuses carefully before you invest or send money. Shares of Prudential mutual funds are distributed through Prudential Investment Management Services LLC (PIMS), Three Gateway Center, 14th Floor, Newark, NJ PIMS is a Prudential Financial company and member SIPC. Prudential Financial is a service mark of The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Newark, NJ, and its affiliates. IFS-AO75995 PRU1476 Ed. 12/01/2002 Mutual funds are not bank guaranteed or FDIC insured, and may lose value.