Book excerpt: When looking at a monthly brokerage statement, an investor’s eyes go straight to the bottom line—the account value. But there’s a catch. If you have big gains and decide to play it safe and take some of that money off the table, taxes will take a hefty chunk of those profits. Brokerage firms know how to handle such risk for their own accounts, hedging holdings, for example, to iron out volatility instead of incurring taxable capital gains. Savvy individual investors can use the same techniques to protect themselves. In this indispensable guide, Robert Gordon, a Wall Street veteran, shares the strategies of an insider to demonstrate how you can use the tax laws to your advantage. Written in plain English, this book explains federal and state tax considerations that investors need to know to make the most tax-efficient choices and to protect their portfolios. The emphasis is on practical application, aimed at guiding you to specific, accessible tax-saving goals without having to wrestle down the entire Internal Revenue Code. Thanks to the talents of Gordon and respected journalist Jan M. Rosen, this book is clearly organized along transactional lines, offering easy entry for busy readers and allowing investors to zero in on a powerful array of proven, tax-minimizing techniques and strategies. By the time you finish reading Wall Street Secrets for Tax-Efficient Investing, you will be on your way to reducing your tax bite to a nibble and enjoying the full benefit of your investment earnings.