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How do wealthy families get ahead?
Its not by buying fancy financial products and its not by taking unfounded risks.
Wealth is built with prudence, knowledge and execution - which includes avoiding paying taxes whenever possible.
Think of your investment accounts as "buckets" with different levels of tax shelter.
The key principle: match tax-inefficient investments with tax-advantaged accounts, while keeping naturally efficient investments in taxable accounts.
The Three Account Buckets
This is your retirement 'space'
1
2
3
Taxable Brokerage
No upfront deduction. Income and growth face annual taxation at ordinary or preferential rates.
Tax-Deferred - IRA
Contributions may be deductible. Growth is tax-free until withdrawal, then taxed at ordinary rates.
Tax-Free - Roth IRA
Funded with after-tax dollars. All future growth and qualified withdrawals are completely tax-free.
Score and Allocate
Tax-score each Investment
Catalog all investments and classify each by tax burden - how much ordinary income, nonqualified dividends, or capital gains they generate annually.
Rank Tax Inefficiency
Order from highest to lowest tax drag: taxable bonds, REITs, high-turnover equity funds, balanced funds, dividend stocks, then tax-efficient index funds.
Fill Tax-Advantaged Accounts First
Place highest-burden assets in tax-deferred or tax-free accounts first. Use all available tax-advantaged capacity before moving to taxable accounts.
Optimize Remaining Assets
Place lowest tax-drag investments in taxable accounts. This minimizes annual taxation and maximizes after-tax growth across your entire portfolio.
We use AI to efficiently tax score each investment
assigning tax burden into accounts that can best shield taxable investment returns while still maintaining a targeted portfolio overall
Target Model Portfolio
moving you towards your goal while attempting to drive your annual 1099s as close to zero as possible
Tax-Deferred - IRA
Account 'Space'
Taxable Brokerage
Tax-Free - Roth IRA
This systematic approach improves long-term, after-tax returns with little to no change to risk level or investment mix - just smarter placement.
Stocks
Bonds
Alts
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