Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are long-term savings accounts that offer tax advantages. There are various IRA types, such as traditional and Roth IRAs.
Clients reaching age 72, or 70 1/2, must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs). While they don’t necessarily need to sell off stocks in exchange for cash distributions, in-kind IRA distributions may also be an option.
1. When the Stock Price Hits a Bottom
Although it’s impossible to know exactly when the stock market hits bottom, investors need to attempt to recognize when this occurs. To do this, investors can rely on numbers rather than soundbites from business news channels as a guideline for finding an investment opportunity.
Analysts typically cite price and volume data as indicators that a stock is nearing bottom. Their belief is that securities reach their lowest points when there are few sellers left, signaling a possible bottoming out in its price. Once this occurs, it could be seen as a sure sign of its price bottoming out.
Another key indicator is when the VIX spikes – an index designed to measure investor fear. If this indicator increases significantly on Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index, it indicates investors have begun panicking and that an eventual bottom may be imminent.
2. When the Stock Price Hits a High
Buy-and-hold strategies are designed to ensure winning stocks remain in your portfolio over time, however not all winning stocks increase in price for similar reasons, and may continue performing well over time.
Investors may sell their IRA stock in order to adjust their portfolio, free up money or reduce tax obligations. Before selling their shares, investors should carefully consider their risk tolerance and time horizon when selling their IRA shares.
Some retirees prefer an in-kind RMD over liquidating their shares for cash, according to Luber. Luber notes that in-kind RMDs reset your basis – meaning if you transfer shares from an investment account at $20,000 into one at $25,000 later on, only taxes due on any gains above that will apply as the IRS will recognize that higher value as being your new basis.
Traders might also sell their IRA shares if they require funds for other expenses, such as an emergency expense. While withdrawals from an IRA account are reported as ordinary income and taxed at your bracket rate, sales from a taxable brokerage account are subject to capital gains rates.
3. When the Stock Price Hits a Middle
IRA owners frequently panic when stock prices fall, thinking they will be forced to sell shares from their tax-advantaged retirement accounts at discounted prices and face ordinary income taxes. But this isn’t true: instead they can save tax by taking their required minimum distributions (RMDs) in kind by moving their holdings directly from an IRA into a taxable brokerage account without liquidating their shares first.
The IRS considers this amount your new “basis,” thus shifting your timetable for paying taxes. Therefore, if a stock subsequently rallies and you want to sell, an in-kind RMD can be taken during its current year and only consider its higher value as basis.
Use stocks for charitable donations or give them to a low-income relative with no capital gains taxation rate to bypass capital gains taxes entirely; but be wary of the wash-sale rule, which prevents you from claiming losses on investments purchased within 30 days before or after selling them.
4. When the Stock Price Hits a Bottom
When stock prices reach their bottom, this signifies the lowest point that they have traded over an extended period. This could be one day, two weeks, or an entire year; most discussions of market bottoms involve stocks or indexes dropping significantly in value over such a time frame.
Predicting stock price bottoms accurately in advance may seem impossible, yet finding them can lead to substantial investment returns. Here are a few indicators that may help you recognize when they occur:
For instance, if most shares are increasing in volume, this can be taken as an indication that new buyers have entered the market – often signalling that a bottom is imminent. Or you could search for double bottom patterns. A double bottom occurs when a security drops to its same price level and then rallies twice over short period of time before rebounding further.
