Solutions & Insights

Seeks to deliver improved after-tax returns through tax-loss harvesting


Seeks to replicate active strategies that are optimized for taxable investors

Seeks to reflect each client’s social, environmental, and governance values

Benefits of an Aperio personalized, tax-optimized SMA

  • Tax alpha: Aim to increase after-tax returns with advanced tax-loss harvesting.
  • In-kind transitions: Fund a new SMA while minimizing unnecessary tax costs.
  • Personalization: Tailor a portfolio to each investor’s needs, preferences, and values.
  • Future flexibility: Make tax-efficient strategy changes, deposits, and withdrawals.


After-tax performance is never an afterthought

After-tax return is what truly matters to taxable investors. Aperio’s time-tested tax-loss harvesting and other tax economics techniques may enhance after-tax returns across your client’s entire equity portfolio. Ask us for more details.


Thoughtful personalization

We tailor portfolios around five general dimensions. The options below are just the beginning.

  1. Market exposure - From standard indexes to blended benchmarks for custom exposure.
  2. Tax management - From custom levels of tax-loss harvesting to other tax economics techniques aiming to generate tax alpha. 
  3. Values-aligned investing - From personal values to a perfectly aligned portfolio through granular tilts, exclusions, and active ownership.
  4. Factor tilts - From traditional factors such as Value and Momentum to fully custom tilts.
  5. Risk management - From minimized tracking error to sophisticated volatility control.


Developing Each Client’s Optimal Solution

We start by asking questions to understand each client’s priorities. We explain the trade-offs between a client’s tax, risk, and values objectives so advisors can choose an optimal investment solution for the client.

We then construct a portfolio to track client-selected indexes or blended benchmarks, integrating tax management, targeted factor tilts, and/or social screening strategies. Throughout the process, we strive to reduce friction costs, ranging from fees to trades to the efficiency of our internal operations.

We pursue cutting-edge applied research in Active Tax Management, Factor Tilts, and Values-Aligned Investing to test new ideas and reveal insights that help improve our investment processes and consulting capabilities.


Elegant engineering

Rely on experienced portfolio managers to deploy our scalable SMA engine, which encapsulates more than two decades of experience, to rebalance accounts, with a high degree of customization.

© 2023 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. BLACKROCK and APERIO are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Important notes:

This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be suitable for all investors, because the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. The information herein is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are subject to change at any time without notice. References to specific securities, asset classes and financial markets are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be and should not be interpreted as recommendations.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Asset allocation and diversification may not protect against market risk, loss of principal or volatility of returns. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy discussed herein will work under all market conditions. Many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, as well as other economic, political, or financial developments.

The fees and expenses Aperio charges may be higher than the fees and expenses of other investment advisors and may offset profits. Additional information about the firm, and our fees and expenses, is included in our Form ADV.

You should not assume that investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable or will equal the investment performance of the past. With respect to the description of any investment strategies, simulations, or investment recommendations, we cannot provide any assurances that they will perform as expected and as described in our materials. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Any tax information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute the provision of tax advice by Aperio. Due to the complexity of tax law, not every single taxpayer will face the situations described herein exactly as calculated or stated, i.e., the examples and calculations are intended to be representative of some, but not all, taxpayers. Since each investor’s situation may be different in terms of income tax, estate tax, and asset allocation, there may be situations in which the calculations would not apply. Please discuss any individual situation with tax and investment advisors first before proceeding. For those clients using tax advantaged indexing, taxpayers paying lower tax rates than those assumed, or without taxable income, would earn smaller tax benefits from tax-advantaged indexing (or even none at all) compared to those described.

This material may contain “forward-looking” information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections, forecasts, estimates of yields or returns, and proposed or expected portfolio composition. Moreover, any historical performance information of other investment vehicles or composite accounts managed by Aperio or its BlackRock, Inc., affiliates, included in this material is presented by way of example only. No representation is made that any performance presented will be achieved, or that every assumption made in achieving, calculating or presenting either the forward-looking information or the historical performance information herein has been considered or stated in preparing this material. Any changes to assumptions that may have been made in preparing this material could have a material impact on the investment returns that are presented herein by way of example. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The information contained herein was carefully compiled from both internal data and external data, but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it is not necessarily all-inclusive. The information is provided with the understanding that we are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or tax services. We recommend that all investors seek out the services of competent professionals in these areas.

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