Setting aside whether TLH is saving money or simply borrowing it from future tax liabilities, how much is 3k in capital losses worth to you? At what point does the 0.25 expense ratio cost more than the benefit to you?
By my calculations, the breakeven AUM is around $240k, assuming you always have 3k cap gains to offset.
It’s more of an argument for how lots of individual holdings could beat an ETF, in USA anyway. If your commissions are free anyway. Lots of paperwork tho.
For all I know, these robo-advisers just buy you ETFs.
At $100k AUM they start “direct indexing,” buying shares as well as ETFs. I only started in 2020 but so far they’ve harvested 3.6x their own fees. I would not have spent time doing that, so it’s gravy.
Except you are still going to pay those taxes when you do sell, you are just delaying the taxable event so I wouldn't consider that money actually saved.
What is the situation where that is actually useful? Take me for example, I invested for 5 years in VTI and then sold it for a downpayment. What would their TLH do for me in that situation because I didn't need to offset cap gains in those middle years and the end year both get hit with cap gains.
Doesn't seem to do anything except charge a higher fee and create more irs paperwork in that situation.
True, if you cash out that soon you only get use of the tax money for a little while. I like TLH for the same reason I like a traditional 401(k). Right now I’m getting a Bay Area tech salary and RSUs, and I want to defer some taxes until I’m in a lower bracket.
If we’re talking about the first $3k of losses applied to income account instead of capital account, it is saving you taxes by turning capital losses into income losses where the tax benefits are greater.
By my calculations, the breakeven AUM is around $240k, assuming you always have 3k cap gains to offset.