What we’re optimizing for
A portfolio you do not have to think about.
The point is not to beat something. It is to fund the life the plan describes, with as little lost to tax friction and as little drama as the market allows.
01
Every position has a reason to be there.
Your allocation traces back to a specific goal, timeline, or income need in your plan. If it does not, it does not belong.
Instead of: A collection of accounts nobody has looked at together.
02
The tax cost of investing is managed, not ignored.
Asset location, loss harvesting, and the timing of gains are handled inside the process rather than bolted on at year end.
Instead of: A tax bill that arrives as a surprise in April.
03
A written process is watching.
Positions are monitored against predefined rules and rebalanced on a defined schedule, so discipline does not depend on anyone's mood, memory, or market opinion.
Instead of: A portfolio that only gets attention at the annual review.
Our philosophy
Why we invest by rules instead of predictions.
Predicting markets is harder than it looks. In 2025, 79% of actively managed large-cap United States equity funds underperformed the S&P 500, the fourth-worst year for active large-cap managers in the 25-year history of the scorecard.
Investors' realized returns have lagged the returns of the funds they own. The average dollar invested in United States mutual funds and exchange-traded funds earned 7.0% per year over the decade ended December 31, 2024, about 1.2 percentage points per year less than the funds' own 8.2% total return. Morningstar attributes the gap to the timing and size of investors' purchases and sales. Researchers debate how much reflects behavior versus other factors.
Diversification is the one reliable tool. Its academic foundation is Harry Markowitz's 1952 paper, “Portfolio Selection,” in The Journal of Finance, which showed that combining assets with different risk and return characteristics improves the relationship between expected return and risk.
At Up, that means a written, rules-based process, diversified allocations with stated targets, and rebalancing on a defined schedule, all in service of the financial plan. A disciplined process cannot eliminate losses or guarantee results. Its job is consistency.
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices, SPIVA U.S. Scorecard, Year-End 2025, data as of December 31, 2025.
Morningstar, Mind the Gap 2025, data as of December 31, 2024.
Harry Markowitz, “Portfolio Selection,” The Journal of Finance, 1952.
What’s included
The work, in detail.
01
Plan-first portfolio construction
Your allocation is built from your financial plan using our model process. It reflects your goals, timeline, tax situation, and income needs.
02
Evidence-based philosophy
We invest based on decades of academic research into what actually drives returns, not hunches, headlines, or hot sectors. Our philosophy section above explains the evidence.
03
Asset location strategy
We place each investment in the account type where it is taxed most favorably, coordinating across your taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts.
04
Tax-loss harvesting
We systematically capture losses throughout the year to offset gains and reduce your tax drag on returns, without disrupting your strategy.
05
Tax-aware rebalancing
We keep your portfolio aligned with your plan while minimizing the tax cost of doing so, using new contributions and losses to rebalance before selling.
06
Concentrated position management
For clients with large positions in a single stock, we build a strategy to reduce concentration risk over time in a tax-efficient way.
07
RMD planning and execution
We calculate, coordinate, and execute your required minimum distributions on time and in a way that fits your broader tax and income plan.
08
Decumulation and distribution
Beyond RMDs, we manage the full withdrawal strategy: which accounts to tap, in what order, and how to sustain income across a thirty-year retirement.
09
Cash and sweep optimization
We make sure idle cash is working as hard as possible, sitting in the right place while staying available when you need it.
10
Transparent performance reporting
Full visibility into your returns, your fees, and your allocation. You always know exactly how your money is doing and what you are paying for it.
Services vary by client situation and engagement. Not all services listed are available to every client. Additional services are available beyond those listed here.
Learn the terms
Concepts that come up in investment management.
Asset location
Asset location is the strategy of placing each investment in the type of account where it is taxed most favorably — c…
Tax-loss harvesting
Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling an investment that has lost value to realize a capital loss, then usin…
Concentrated stock position
A concentrated stock position is when a large share of your net worth is tied up in a single stock — often from compa…
Systematic investing
Systematic investing is a repeatable process in which portfolio changes follow predefined written rules rather than f…
Rebalancing
Rebalancing is periodically restoring a portfolio to its target weights. It usually means trimming what has grown and…
Common questions
Investment Management, answered.
How do you build my portfolio?
Plan-first. We design your allocation around your goals and timeline through our model process, with each holding placed in the account where it is taxed most favorably.
Are you fee-only?
Yes. We are paid only by our clients, never through commissions, product sales, or referral arrangements, so our interests and yours point the same direction. Explore our fee calculator.
How do you keep my investments tax-efficient?
Through asset location, tax-loss harvesting, tax-aware rebalancing, and thoughtful gains timing, all coordinated with your broader tax plan.
Do you try to beat the market?
No. The portfolio's job is to fund the plan with the highest probability we can manage, which is a different question from outperforming an index. Chasing a benchmark you do not spend is how people end up taking risk their plan never asked for.
What happens to my portfolio when markets fall?
Drawdowns are planned for before they happen. That is what the scenario modeling in your plan is for. We rebalance, harvest losses where it helps, and keep your near-term income needs insulated from what the market is doing that quarter. The response follows the written process rather than a judgment call made under stress.
Can I keep positions I already own?
Often, yes. Low-basis holdings and concentrated positions usually should not be unwound all at once, because the tax bill can cost more than the risk being removed. We build a strategy to reduce concentration over time rather than in a single trade.
What do you deliberately not do?
We do not forecast markets, chase sectors, pick individual winners, or move to cash on headlines. We are also honest that a rules-based process has costs. It can lag when a narrow group of stocks drives most of the market's gains, and rebalancing often means trimming what has recently worked. We accept those tradeoffs on purpose, because the evidence says consistency may be more useful than prediction over time for many investors.
Who actually manages my money?
Your portfolio is managed by Up's documented investment process, overseen by our Chief Investment Officer with four decades across major market environments and implemented by the team, not handed to a junior advisor. The process is written down, which means it does not depend on any one person, and the next generation of the firm's leadership is already in place. You work directly with the people making decisions about your plan.