How to Get Information on Mutual Fund Year-End Distributions
- Make a list of all of your mutual fund holdings or the mutual funds you are researching. Record the mutual fund's exact name and its ticker symbol. For instance, Fidelity offers a mutual fund named Fidelity Series 100 Index Fund, ticker symbol FOHIX.
- Visit the website of the company that issued the mutual fund and access its online year-end distribution of funds page. Fidelity, Vanguard and Dreyfus are three mutual fund companies that offer this service. If the mutual fund you are reviewing does not offer this information on the company's website you will want to contact the company's customer service representative and request a shareholder's annual statement of additional information, SAI, for the most recent year of the fund you are reviewing.
- Compare your 1099-DIV form mailed to you with the information you obtained from visiting your mutual fund's company website or from the SAI report. The 1099-DIV contains any year-end distributions for dividends you received from your mutual funds invested in dividend-paying equities. Verify that the year-end distribution per share information you obtained from the fund's website or SAI report matches the actual year-end distributions as they appear on your 1099-DIV form. For instance, if your fund's year-end distribution was 17 cents per share and you owned 1,000 fund shares, your total distribution for the year would be $170 (1,000 X 0.17 = 170).
- Compare your 1099-INT form mailed to you with the information you obtained from visiting your mutual fund's company website or from the SAI report. The 1099-INT contains any year-end distributions for interest payments you received from your mutual funds invested in interest-paying fixed-income securities. Verify that the year-end distribution per share information you obtained from the fund's website or SAI report matches the actual year-end distributions as they appear on your 1099-INT form. For instance, if your fund's year-end distribution was 10 cents per share and you owned 1,000 fund shares, your total distribution for the year would be $100 (1,000 X 0.10 = 100).
- Request or review an online copy of your mutual fund's annual report. The annual report contains vital information regarding year-end distribution as well as a recent history of prior year-ending distributions along with other important fund performance information. Monitor the rate of change in year-end distributions to assess whether or not your year-end distributions are commensurate with your investment objectives. For instance, a high-yield fixed-income mutual fund should see increases in interest payments going into the fund when interest rates in the economy are rising as a whole. If your fund does not show increases that are to your liking based on your investment objectives, you might consider switching funds or changing your strategy.
