TaxableLeave appreciated lots when we can
TraditionalPrefer this account for tax-heavy holdings
RothPrefer this account for growth
The household stays on the model. Each account still follows its own tax rules.
Investing methodology
Overnight the household stays on policy. You review what needs a person.
Every night Athena harvests losses, places assets in the right accounts, rebalances when risk has drifted, and puts leftover cash to work as one household investment policy. You open Mission Control in the morning and work exceptions, not a trading checklist. Custody stays at Schwab. Advisors supervise the book. Athena runs the overnight jobs so you are not the rebalance desk.
Book a demoMission ControlDaily household run
Active · Tax timing
Harvest
Sell material losses and buy a same-class substitute so the household stays invested. The tax timing happens without parking the money in cash.
TaxableTraditionalRoth
How a night runs
Four jobs share one policy while you are away.
If a job has nothing to do, it holds. When it fires, it shares the same household rules as the rest of the run.
Harvest a material taxable loss and buy a same-class substitute so the household stays invested. Place holdings where the tax treatment helps: tax-heavy assets prefer Traditional, growth prefers Roth, and appreciated taxable lots are left alone when they can be. Rebalance only when household risk has drifted through a band. Put leftover cash into underweights after harvest, location, and risk work are done, so residual cash is real and a trade is not immediately undone.
Chen householdOvernight run
- 1HarvestHeld. No material loss in taxable.
- 2LocateHeld. Holdings are already in the right accounts.
- 3RebalanceFired. Equity band breach, sold in tax order.
- 4ReinvestFired. Residual cash into the underweight.
-
01Holds if nothing to do
Harvest a material loss
Harvest a material taxable loss and buy a same-class substitute so the household stays invested.
-
02Holds if nothing to do
Place assets in the right account
Place holdings where the tax treatment helps: tax-heavy assets prefer Traditional, growth prefers Roth, and appreciated taxable lots are left alone when they can be.
-
03Holds if nothing to do
Rebalance when risk has drifted
Rebalance only when household risk has drifted through a band.
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04Holds if nothing to do
Put leftover cash to work
Put leftover cash into underweights after harvest, location, and risk work are done.
The household, not each account
Taxable, Traditional, and Roth are measured together.
Athena does not force every account to look like the model on its own. Risk is measured across the taxable brokerage, the Traditional IRA, and the Roth as one household, then assets move where the tax treatment helps. You set the investment policy. Athena carries it out overnight. The household stays on the model. Each account still follows its own tax rules.
Overnight policy
The same four jobs share one household investment policy.
Harvest, locate, rebalance, and reinvest fire as one overnight run. Detail lives in How a night runs above. You supervise exceptions in Mission Control, not a second restatement of the checklist.
ETF rotation
Harvest the loss. Keep the exposure.
Athena runs a long-only, 13-bucket ETF strategy. When a taxable loss is worth harvesting, the engine sells the specific lot and buys a dollar-matched eligible peer in the same asset-class bucket. Rotation stays weight-neutral inside the bucket. Harvesting manages tax lots; it does not quietly change household allocation. Wash controls cover the whole household, so a sold name cannot be repurchased in another taxable, Traditional, or Roth account during the lock. If one peer is unavailable, dollars move to the next eligible peer instead of abandoning the exposure. Future cash follows the active replacement rather than automatically undoing the harvest.
US equity bucketHousehold coordinated
Specific lot soldDollar matched
TaxableHarvest sleeve
TraditionalWash checked
RothWash checked
The replacement becomes the active ETF. Future cash follows it instead of rotating back automatically.
Rotation stays weight-neutral
The trade stays inside the bucket. Harvesting manages tax lots; it does not quietly change household allocation.
Wash controls cover the whole household
A sold name cannot be repurchased in another taxable, Traditional, or Roth account during the lock.
The replacement stays in the asset class
If one peer is unavailable, dollars move to the next eligible peer instead of abandoning the exposure.
Cash follows the active ETF
Top-ups reinforce the current replacement. The engine does not automatically undo the harvest.
ETF substitutions are pre-approved within each asset class. Tax outcomes vary; clients should consult their tax professional.
Mission Control
Exceptions open with the household beside the decision.
Routine harvests and band trades do not need a human. Cash shortfalls, constrained lots, and investment-policy edge cases open in Mission Control with household context beside the decision. Nothing that needs judgment clears without you.
See it in Mission ControlThe book is quietNothing in last night’s run needs a person
One exceptionWaiting for the advisor to decide
Client cash requests
Cash goes out without rebuilding the allocation by hand.
A client asks for cash. Athena finds the best way to raise it across the household, places the trades, and keeps allocation, tax, wash-sale, and restriction rules intact. Available cash is used first, then sales in tax-aware order. Requests under the firm threshold can flow automatically. Advisors can flag or approve requests above a defined amount.
- Use available cash first, then sell in tax-aware order
- Respect model bands, restricted lots, gains budgets, and wash-sale windows
- Firm-threshold automation with advisor review above the line
Client cash requestPolicy run
RequestedAbove thresholdAdvisor approval required
- 1Use available cash$7,400 ready
- 2Build tax-aware sellsLosses before gains · restrictions checked
- 3Advisor approvalInvestment policy and household context attached
- 4Trade and settleCash delivered to the client
Automated billing
Fee cash is ready before the bill, under the same rules.
Athena calculates the fee, forecasts the cash required, and places the trades before billing. Taxable and tax-inefficient accounts are used first so tax-efficient assets stay compounding. Roth and other tax-efficient accounts stay protected. The fee terms come from the signed advisory agreement on the household. Those trades follow the same optimizer as harvest, location, and rebalance. Funding priority for fee cash: taxable brokerage first, Traditional IRA if needed, Roth protected. Cash is ready before the billing file goes out. See Billing.
- Taxable brokerage first, Traditional IRA if needed, Roth protected
- Forecast cash and raise only what the bill requires
- Same optimizer as harvest, location, and rebalance
- Fee terms from the signed advisory agreement on the household
Quarterly billing runCash ready
Funding priority
1 Taxable brokerageUse first
2 Traditional IRAIf needed
3 Roth IRAProtected
Fee cash availableReady before billing
Investing questions advisors ask first
Built to run the book, not to become another tool you operate.
Clear answers on supervision, custody, and the work that still needs an advisor.
Is this another rebalancer I have to operate?
No. Allocation, location, tax timing, and cash deployment operate as one household investment policy. Advisors supervise policy and exceptions in Mission Control. Athena executes the approved household policy.
How does ETF rotation work?
Each asset-class bucket has a primary ETF and pre-approved eligible peers. When a taxable loss is worth harvesting, Athena sells the specific lot and buys a dollar-matched peer in the same bucket, preserving the intended exposure.
Does a harvest change the household allocation?
No. Rotation is weight-neutral inside the bucket. It manages tax lots without using the harvest as a stealth rebalance.
Does Athena automatically rotate back to the primary ETF?
No. The replacement becomes the active ETF for that bucket. Future cash follows the active holding instead of automatically undoing the harvest.
How are wash sales coordinated across accounts?
Household controls look across taxable, Traditional, and Roth accounts. A harvested name cannot be repurchased during the applicable lock, and the engine can use the next eligible peer to keep the household invested.
How is this different from direct indexing?
Athena uses transparent ETF substitutions within 13 asset-class buckets, not stock-level sampling. That means fewer independent harvesting opportunities than direct indexing, but simpler oversight, no single-stock sampling problem, and coordinated implementation across the household.
How does the engine manage risk across accounts?
Risk is managed at the household level rather than forcing every account to resemble the model. Tax-advantaged accounts provide rebalancing and location capacity; taxable gains are used last, and taxable floors protect appreciated holdings.
When is idle cash invested?
After harvesting, location, and risk work are complete. That sequencing lets the engine see the true residual cash and avoids immediately undoing a trade.
Does Athena replace my custodian?
No. Custody stays at Schwab. The investing engine executes policy next to custodial infrastructure.
What do advisors actually review?
Household drift, tax activity, wash constraints, cash, and exceptions, with the household context beside the decision. Routine policy execution does not become a daily checklist.