BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : AUGUST 9, 1999 ISSUE
BUSINESSWEEK INVESTOR

How It Works


Say you bought 6,300 Microsoft shares in December, 1994, at $7 each. If the stock were at $100, your holdings would be worth $5 million. If you sold 20%, or $1 million worth, you'd pay $200,000 in federal capital-gains taxes, plus any state levies. Here's how to diversify and avoid the immediate gains:

-- Take the 20% of your shares and contribute them to an exchange fund. In return, you get an interest in a diversified stock portfolio and pay no capital-gains taxes.

-- Your fund ownership equals the amount you contributed. So if the fund has $100 million in assets, your $1 million in Microsoft shares gives you a 1% interest.

-- After seven years, you can withdraw your portion of the fund.

DATA: BESSEMER TRUST CO.


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Exchange Funds: Time to Swap 'n' Save?

TABLE: How It Works



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