There are levels to this game.

Most people think “tax-efficient” means buying some ETFs and holding for a long time.

That’s Level 1.

Here’s how I think about the progression:

Level 1 – Basic tax awareness

• Asset location (what goes in taxable vs IRA)
• Tax‑efficient stock investing (ETFs, basic TLH)

Level 2 – Real tax‑aware investing

• Intentional tax‑loss harvesting (not just once a year in December)
• Using real estate and depreciation to shelter income

Level 3 – Portfolio‑level tax design

• Looking at each sleeve’s tax characteristics
• Pairing things that work well together (direct indexing + tax-aware real estate, ordinary deductions + Roth conversions, etc.)

Level 4 – Advanced assets, done correctly

• Private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure, private credit
• Deciding where they belong (taxable vs IRA vs Roth) and how they interact with the rest of the portfolio

Level 5 – Multigenerational planning

• Estate tax minimization and liquidity planning
• Making sure wealth actually transfers, not just compounds on paper

In my latest video, I break down:

• How to figure out which level you’re really at today
• The biggest mistakes I see at each level
• And how to “level up” your tax game