What is a tax-aware long/short strategy?+
It is a separately managed account that holds long and short positions around a benchmark index. The short side lets the account harvest losses in most markets, including rising ones, while overall exposure stays close to the index. Harvested losses may offset gains elsewhere, and the strategies seek pre-tax alpha as well. Loss generation depends on market conditions and is not guaranteed.
Do all providers run the same kind of strategy?+
No. The approach column summarizes the difference. NinePointTwo and AQR are quantitative managers that also run tax-agnostic hedge fund strategies, and their tax-aware accounts draw on in-house alpha models that forecast returns. Cache's product is sub-advised by Brooklyn Indexing (BKLN), a trade name of Nuveen Asset Management, and is described as using a multi-factor alpha model with tax-aware implementation. Frec tracks a chosen index with a growth, quality, or value tilt the investor selects, and Aperio extends its factor-tilted direct indexing with short positions. Quantinno, founded by an AQR alumnus, describes its process in its Form ADV brochure as quantitative return forecasting with tax-aware portfolio optimization, and describes its platform as personalized long/short solutions aimed at maximizing after-tax wealth. Each characterization is drawn from the provider's own published descriptions. The distinction matters because the long/short extension should be an investment an investor wants on its own merits, with the tax benefit alongside.
What do these strategies cost?+
Management fees in the category run from roughly 0.45 to 2.50 percent, and some managers publish only a starting rate or disclose terms only through advisors. Financing, stock borrow, and trading costs apply on top and grow with the size of the extension. Advisor-channel products add the advisor's own fee, which published research puts near one percent for many accounts, declining with size. Quoted cost figures follow different conventions, so comparisons need care.
What are the typical minimums?+
Published minimums run from $100,000 at Frec to $1 million at most of the providers listed here. The Form CRS filings of AQR Flex and Quantinno say their minimums typically start at $1 million, and Cache is accepting only accounts of $10 million and up at present. Typical accounts often run larger than the stated floor.
What did the 2026 custodian changes do?+
Schwab capped new enrollments and incoming transfers in tax-aware long/short strategies at 200/100 leverage in April 2026 and added heightened maintenance standards in June. In September 2026 it raised the funding minimum for certain new long/short accounts to $10 million and limited new accounts to Regulation T margin, with existing accounts unaffected. Fidelity paused new long/short account openings entirely, beginning in late 2025 and indefinitely from early 2026, and raised financing costs on some existing accounts from May 2026. Apex and Interactive Brokers, which custody Frec and NinePointTwo accounts, have announced no comparable restriction.
Is an advisor required?+
It depends on the provider. AQR, Aperio, and Quantinno distribute through advisors and wirehouses. Cache, Frec, and NinePointTwo accept investors directly, and NinePointTwo also works alongside an existing advisor when a client prefers that.
Is more leverage better?+
Not by itself. Larger extensions can generate more losses, and they carry more tracking error and higher financing costs at the same time. The configuration should match the investor's gains, risk tolerance, and time horizon rather than default to the largest available.
Why does this page exclude performance figures?+
Performance presentations in this category are mostly hypothetical or simulated, and each firm's figures rest on its own assumptions. Placing them side by side would imply a precision the underlying numbers do not carry. None of the six providers publishes live performance for its tax-aware long/short accounts on its public website. Frec and BlackRock publish hypothetical backtests, and Cache publishes hypothetical loss estimates. NinePointTwo does not publish performance for Prism, its tax-aware long/short strategy, consistent with its compliance policies. Prospective clients and their advisors can request that performance information from NinePointTwo directly. Each provider shares its own materials and assumptions with prospective clients.