Based on a recent case study performed by Morningstar, tax-managed model portfolios exhibited a significant boost in after-tax returns. The fund research firm reported that 275 models list tax management as an objective in their database, with 46 tax-managed models launched last year, the most in the past five years. These models typically use Muni bond funds for most of their fixed-income exposure. The models also don’t trade as often as their taxable counterparts. This is to reduce capital gains. For the case study, the firm examined the performance of both types of model portfolios before and after taxes from January 2019 through June 2022. Before taxes were accounted for, the 20% equity/80% fixed income tax-efficient portfolio outperformed the tax-agnostic portfolio by $22,261. However, once taxes were factored in, the tax-managed model portfolio saw a huge boost in performance, outperforming the tax-agnostic model by $38,382, a 72% increase.

Finsum: A recent case study by Morningstar affirmed that tax-managed model portfolios outperformed tax-agnostic portfolios when taxes are accounted for.