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Ethic

Personalized, values-aligned, and tax-smart investing for advisors and institutions.

SaaS
$8 billionAssets on platform / AUM
300+Clients
01 — Overview

What Ethic does

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.

The assessment

Strengths. Sustainability research and resources; Sustainability diagnostic on existing assets; Tax optimisation and harvesting; Bankable or Financial Assets & Funds.

Our personalized approach, which allows people to create portfolios that reflect their own unique definitions of sustainability, has helped facilitate our rapid growth with intermediaries and their clients.

On Ethic, from a family-office user
02 — Product & capabilities

What it covers

Core tasks
  • Construct personalized direct index equity portfolios aligned to client sustainability values
  • Deliver active tax management including tax-loss harvesting and securities gifting
  • Provide impact, financial, tax, and proxy voting reporting to advisors and clients
  • Execute proxy voting on behalf of clients
  • Create and deliver personalized investment proposals through an advisor portal
  • Manage unified managed accounts combining multiple strategies
Notable features
  • Separately managed accounts with direct indexing
  • Unified managed accounts
  • Model portfolios of listed funds
  • Tax-loss harvesting
  • Personalized portfolio transitions
  • Securities gifting
  • Proprietary sustainability research and screening tools
  • Impact reporting
  • Proxy voting execution and reporting
  • Advisor-facing client proposal and reporting portal
Assets supported
Public EquitiesListed FundsETFs
Platform & technology
Custom ReportingBenchmarking
03 — Company

The firm behind it

Ownership
Venture-backed
Software type
SaaS
Headquarters / markets
United States
Offices
New York
Key people
DDoug ScottCo-founder and CEO
JJay LipmanCo-founder
Recognition
  • Model Wealth Manager 2022 Award - Celent
  • InvestmentNews Innovation Award 2021
  • Best Place to Work in Financial Technology 2022 - FinTech
04 — Clients & fit

Who it’s for

Built for Single Family Office (SFO), Multi Family Office (MFO), Advisors / Wealth Advisors (RIA), Investment Teams.

Portfolios and associated reporting tools can be customized for personal sustainability preferences