Tax-Efficient Investing for Tax-Deferred and Taxable Accounts

Abstract

Conceding that a great deal has been written about which asset classes are best held in a taxable compared to a tax-deferred account, the author looks at investors who have taxable and tax-deferred accounts of varying size, varying investment horizons, income tax brackets that are less than 39.6% or will decline below 39.6% upon retirement, complex asset allocation strategies using five asset classes, and investors who can hold their asset until death, getting the step-up in cost benefit. Starting with the ultimate goal to recommend asset allocation strategies that maximize after-tax returns, the article proposes a rule of thumb for allocating a variety of asset classes between the tax deferred and taxable portfolios. It concludes with a number of tables that offer a quick means to calculate tax liability without the benefit of a computer model and illustrate the asset allocation strategies discussed within the article.