I knew a boxer that use to say, “If you hesitate… you meditate.”
Most investors think in terms of growth—and that’s good. But if you’ve reached a certain level of wealth, the real question shifts: how much of that growth do you actually get to keep?
This is where tax-efficient investing comes in. Not as a tactic, but as a mindset. Because the tax code doesn’t reward passive wealth. It rewards strategy. If we can manage where your assets live (tax-deferred, taxable, or tax-free), when they’re accessed, and how gains are harvested, we can often improve after-tax returns without changing your risk profile.
This includes things like asset location—placing growth-oriented investments in tax-advantaged accounts and income-focused assets in taxable ones. It also means understanding when to realize capital gains, when to defer them, and how to make use of tax-loss harvesting. Sometimes it means taking advantage of municipal bonds, charitable donations, donor-advised funds, or Roth conversions while you’re in a lower bracket.
You don’t need exotic strategies to reduce taxes. You just need someone who knows how to use the ordinary rules extraordinarily well. That’s where planning makes all the difference.
Why this matters
Because performance isn’t just what your portfolio earns—it’s what you keep after the IRS has had its say. And if we can lower that number without increasing your risk, why wouldn’t we? Let’s build a plan that treats taxes like the variable they are, not the cost of doing business.
By Orion K. Willis, ChFC®, CLU®