The Dow may be below 10,000, but mutual fund capital gains distributions, and their tax implications, are still on their way. Officials with Capital Group, Fidelity, OppenheimerFunds, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard all gained some ink in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal 'Tax Report' (login required) by talking about payouts they anticipate for year-end. The WSJ's Tom Herman frames the issue as a warning for investors who might faced unexpected tax hits, despite the market downturn. In light of recent volatility, managers may face more questions on the issue from shareholders in the coming months.

The Journal reports specifically that the American New Perspective Fund is expected to pay out seven to nine percent of NAV on December 24, the Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund is expected to have almost 20 percent in capital gains, and the Oppenheimer Global Opportunities Fund is expected to have gains of over 11 percent. Spokespeople for Fidelity, T. Rowe and Vanguard simply confirmed that they anticipate capital gains distribution from some funds, but in smaller amounts and from fewer funds than in 2007. (Herman cites the ICI's figure that total fund capital gains distributions reached to almost $415 billion last year.) 

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