Tax Aware
The Tax Benefits of Pre-Tax Alpha
March 18, 2026
Topics - Tax Aware
We present new evidence that pre-tax alpha materially enhances the tax benefits of tax-aware long-short beta-one equity strategies. The positive effect of pre-tax alpha on tax benefits strengthens with leverage and investment horizon. Two mechanisms drive this result. First, pre-tax alpha accelerates the growth of net asset value (NAV), which leads to higher dollar tax benefits as the asset base over which these benefits are realized grows. Second, pre-tax alpha leads to creation of new positions, acting similarly to recurring capital contributions. Position creation also lowers the cost of transitioning a long-short strategy to a long-only portfolio. In combination, greater tax benefits, faster NAV growth, and reduced transition costs stemming from higher pre-tax alpha translate into significantly higher after-tax post-transition wealth created by tax-aware long-short strategies.
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