Ethic

Most direct indexing platforms require advisors to choose between personalization and tax efficiency. Ethic, founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, builds both into a single platform, allowing family offices and RIAs to construct equity portfolios that reflect a client’s specific sustainability preferences while actively managing tax outcomes in parallel.

The platform operates as a sub-advisory service: advisors and family offices contract with Ethic to manage client accounts, retaining the client relationship while Ethic handles portfolio construction and ongoing management. Key functions available through the platform include:

• Separately managed accounts with direct indexing built to client-level sustainability screens
• Unified managed accounts combining direct indexing, model portfolios, and listed funds
• Active tax management covering tax-loss harvesting, personalized transitions, and securities gifting
• Impact, financial, tax, and proxy voting reporting delivered through an advisor-facing portal
• Proxy voting execution, with over 83,000 proposals voted on behalf of clients to date

Ethic custodies with Fidelity, Charles Schwab/TD Ameritrade, U.S. Bank, Northern Trust, Morgan Stanley, and Pershing, which covers the major custody relationships most RIA-aligned family offices already maintain. The firm manages over $8 billion across 300+ advisory and institutional relationships, and is venture-backed by investors including UBS, Jordan Park Group, Oak HC/FT, and Fidelity.

Family offices that already have a defined sustainability mandate or client base asking for values-aligned equity exposure will find Ethic’s infrastructure ready to deploy without rebuilding internal processes. Offices seeking alternatives coverage, private markets, or fixed income-focused solutions will need to look elsewhere, as the platform centers on listed equities. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.