Investing with Taxes in Mind: A Conversation with Kacie Walsh of Dimensional

In this episode of Money & Meaning, host Jeff Bernier speaks with Kacie Walsh, Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors. They explore Dimensional’s evolving toolkit of tax-focused investment solutions designed to help clients keep more of what they earn. The conversation spans mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs, exchange funds, and 351 ETFs, explaining how each tool fits into a broader tax management strategy. Kacie also outlines how Dimensional’s daily, data-driven approach supports personalized portfolios and long-term efficiency for investors.

Topics covered:

• Kacie Walsh’s professional background and current role at Dimensional Fund Advisors
• Why Dimensional’s evidence-based, data-driven approach matters in tax-focused investing
• Overview of tax loss harvesting and why fund and ETF lineup depth supports it
• Differences in tax efficiency between ETFs and mutual funds—and how Dimensional narrows the gap
• Update on Dimensional’s ETF share class application and what it means for investors
• SMA (separately managed account) use cases, especially for high net worth individuals
• How Dimensional’s SMAs differ from traditional direct indexing solutions
• Behavioral and operational considerations of owning hundreds of individual securities
• Understanding portfolio lock-up and how to plan for long-term SMA use
• Exchange funds as tools for diversifying out of concentrated stock positions
• 351 ETFs as a strategy to consolidate appreciated securities tax efficiently
• Overview of long/short SMAs and how they attempt to generate more tax alpha
• How advisors and clients can assess the trade-offs in these advanced strategies

Useful Links:

• Jeff Bernier on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jeffberniercfp_the-money-and-meaning-show-activity-7202103509700227072-h0Qn/
• TandemGrowth Financial Advisors: https://www.tandemgrowth.com/
• Kacie Walsh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacie-walsh-5787a297