tax implication of selling a non (or under performing) stock or fund

[Guest richreeve]

Some of my retirement is invested in Washington Mutual (which we all know is going down the river!)....Should I dump it now and salvage what little I can and reinvest or ride it out? What are the tax implications of the loss that I will incur?

Thanks for any advise.

Rich

[Bill Presson]

Some of my retirement is invested in Washington Mutual (which we all know is going down the river!)....Should I dump it now and salvage what little I can and reinvest or ride it out? What are the tax implications of the loss that I will incur?

Thanks for any advise.

Rich

If it's held in a 401(k) account, then the tax implications are that you get to eat the loss and not deduct it.

Regarding whether to keep it or sell it, I seriously doubt that anyone on this forum will make a suggestion to you.

[Bird]

I'm not going to give any advice, but...

-There is a mutual fund, Washington Mutual Investors Fund, in the American Funds group. Odds are pretty good that if you are in a 401(k) plan, you have mutual fund choices and this one of them. There is also a bank called Washington Mutual. I don't know that "we all know [it] is going down the river" but I have to assume that since banks are looking shaky, that that's what you are referring to. If so, that has nothing at all to do with Washington Mutual Investors Fund. (Well, I suppose Washington Mutual Investors Fund might have some tiny percent of its assets invested in the bank.)

-The first point probably means this is moot, but in general the market reflects expectations. That is, if "we all know" that something is going down the river, then the market already reflects that in its pricing and it's too late to sell. FWIW.