Stance Capital for Financial Advisors

Most advisors reach a point where the off-the-shelf solution stops being enough. A client wants a portfolio that reflects their values in a way that goes beyond a screened index fund. Another has a taxable account full of appreciated securities that cannot be meaningfully rebalanced without a painful tax bill. A third wants active management with a differentiated process with return drivers that go beyond standard factor exposures. And across all of them, the advisor is trying to scale a practice without adding the operational complexity that comes with managing dozens of bespoke separately custodied accounts by hand.

Stance Capital works with financial advisors as an investment management partner. We bring the strategies, the research, and the infrastructure. You keep the client relationship.

What Stance Offers Financial Advisors

Managed Accounts for Complex Taxable Clients. For high-net-worth clients with significant unrealized gains, individual security exclusions, or concentrated positions requiring careful management, Stance serves as a separately managed account partner. We have trading authority over the account, manage tax-loss harvesting and gain coordination throughout the year, and handle in-kind funded transitions for clients whose existing holdings carry embedded gains. For clients with no material tax constraints, we can simply invest them into the appropriate Stance strategy. Available on Fidelity, Schwab, LPL, First Affirmative, Adhesion, SMArtX, and more, with no custodian change required. Learn about managed accounts.

Model Delivery for Scalable Practice Management. For advisors deploying a consistent strategy across a client base, Stance's model portfolios are available through the major platforms as full model adoption or as signals-based research inputs. No minimum account size. One model update reaches every client account simultaneously. Stance models can serve as a sleeve within a Unified Managed Account alongside other managers. Learn about model delivery.

Understanding Section 351 for Locked Appreciated Portfolios. For clients whose taxable portfolios have been fully harvested and who need to rebalance but cannot afford the capital gains consequence of doing so, the Section 351 exchange may allow appreciated securities to be contributed to a newly formed ETF with capital gains recognition deferred at the time of transfer, depending on a range of factors specific to each investor's circumstances. A formal tax opinion from qualified counsel is required. Stance has experience on the investment management side of ETF structures seeded through Section 351 exchanges. For advisors whose clients are locked in deeply appreciated portfolios, it is worth understanding what the path involves. Read the Section 351 primer.

ETF Launch Support. For advisors who have developed a distinct investment process and want to bring it to market in an ETF structure, Stance can support the launch. We can assist with investment management, research, and portfolio construction, and help you think through the structure of the fund. Learn about ETF capabilities.

Quantitative Research and Consulting. For advisors with their own investment committees who want outside quantitative research or sustainable investing analysis without delegating portfolio construction, Stance's team works directly with you. That can mean sharing research, building out factor models together, integrating alternative data, or collaborating on portfolio construction in a way that fits your process. This is a research and consulting relationship, not model delivery. Learn about consulting.

What Makes Stance Different for Advisors

Platform flexibility without lock-in. Stance operates across the platforms most advisors already use. Bringing Stance strategies to a client does not require a custodian change or a new technology relationship. The strategy fits into the infrastructure you already have.

Both model delivery and direct SMA in the same relationship. Many investment managers require advisors to choose one access model. Stance supports both. Whether you prefer model delivery for some clients and direct SMA management for others, or want to mix approaches based on client needs, both are available within the same Stance relationship. The right access model depends on what your clients need and how you prefer to work, not on account size.

Experience on the investment management side of Section 351-seeded ETF structures. Few investment managers have worked on ETFs structured through Section 351 exchanges. Stance has, in the role of investment manager on such funds. For advisors whose clients are locked in deeply appreciated, fully harvested taxable portfolios, and who want to understand what the Section 351 path involves from an investment management perspective, that experience is relevant context for the conversation.

Sustainable investing built on independent verification. Stance builds its sustainable strategies around independently verified company criteria. The screening methodology varies by strategy. Stance Sustainable Beta is constructed using Corporate Knights' 125-factor framework, evaluating companies on sustainable revenue, capital allocation, and governance practices. Stance ESG US Large Cap Core applies 25 material risk factors, with the portfolio actively managed to reduce exposure to companies with meaningful risk across those dimensions. Stance Sustainable Beta goes further: it is certified carbon neutral each year through Ethos, an independent third-party certifier, with offsets sourced from Holganix's regenerative agriculture program, which pays American farmers for verified soil carbon sequestration. For advisors whose clients want to know their portfolio has been independently assessed, this is the difference that matters.

Starting the Conversation

A first conversation is typically 30 minutes. We cover your client base, the challenges you are trying to solve, and whether Stance's capabilities fit the situations you are navigating. We are direct about cases where a different solution is better for your clients, and we are willing to refer you elsewhere regardless of whether an engagement results.

Schedule a conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does working with Stance require a custodian change?

No. Stance operates across the platforms most advisors already use, including Fidelity, Schwab, LPL, First Affirmative, Adhesion, and SMArtX. If you are on a platform not listed here, reach out and we can tell you whether access is possible without a custodian change.

Can I use both model delivery and a direct SMA in the same advisor relationship?

Yes. Stance supports both and the choice between them depends on your clients' needs and your preference as an advisor, not on account size. Some clients in your book may be better served by model delivery; others by a directly managed SMA. Both are available within the same relationship with Stance.

What is the minimum account size for a Stance SMA?

There is no universal minimum across all strategies. Minimums vary by strategy and account type. Reach out and we can tell you whether a specific client situation meets the threshold for the strategy you have in mind.

How does Stance approach tax management in client accounts?

Stance strategies rebalance throughout the year and on a per-client basis. For clients with tax sensitivities, we can manage around gain events, coordinate harvesting with other events in the client's financial picture, and handle transitions with tax efficiency in mind. For clients with no material tax constraints, we invest them into the strategy and manage ongoing rebalancing in the normal course.

What is the Section 351 exchange and which clients does it apply to?

The Section 351 exchange may allow appreciated securities to be contributed to a newly formed ETF with capital gains recognition deferred at the time of transfer, depending on a range of factors specific to each investor's circumstances. It is most relevant for clients with large taxable portfolios that have been fully harvested and cannot be meaningfully rebalanced without an unacceptable tax cost. A formal tax opinion from qualified counsel is required. See the Section 351 Primer for a full explanation.

Will my clients know they are invested with Stance?

That is up to you. Some advisors present Stance strategies to clients directly. Others prefer to keep the investment management relationship in the background. Both approaches work and we are comfortable operating either way.