For index & factor investors
Before you switch,
know the hurdle.
Selling a fund with gains in a taxable account costs you money on day one. ChurnAlpha shows exactly how much, and the annual return your new investment must earn just to break even.
- Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
- Your assumptions, our math. No predictions, no picks.
- No account, no brokerage login.
Free switch-cost check
Updates as you typeSimplified: flat tax rate, both paths fully sold at the end, no loss offsets or step-up. Illustrative only, not tax or investment advice.
How the hurdle works
Switching isn't free. The tax you pay today shrinks the money that compounds from here on, so the new investment has to outperform just to catch up.
Price the friction
Tax on the gain you realize today, and the smaller balance you reinvest.
Compare like for like
Both paths are sold and taxed at the end, so you compare spendable dollars, not paper values.
Solve for break-even
The hurdle is the return where both paths end equal. It's a threshold, not a forecast.
Case studies
Real decisions, worked through with the full math.
Index fund → factor tilt
The real cost of switching from an index fund to a factor tilt
$200,000 with an $80,000 gain in a taxable account. What does selling cost, and how much does small-cap value have to beat the index by to make it worth it?
Read the case study →The full engine
The free check uses one flat rate and one lot. Real portfolios have dozens of lots, losses to harvest and heirs to think about.
Launching soon
One-time purchase. License key by email, no account to create.
Tax-lot import
Load a brokerage CSV and price every lot. Parsed locally, never uploaded.
Losses, offsets and carryforwards
Model harvested losses against gains and ordinary income.
Sensitivity matrix
See outcomes across a range of returns and horizons, not one guess.
Legacy mode
Compare against holding for heirs with a step-up in basis.
Questions
Is this investment advice?
No. ChurnAlpha never tells you to buy or sell anything. You supply every assumption; it calculates the cost of the decision you're weighing.
Where does my data go?
Nowhere. All math runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent to a server.
What does the free check leave out?
Multiple lots, short-term gains, loss offsets, state-specific rules and step-up in basis. Always confirm tax details with a professional.
Does it work for retirement accounts?
Switching inside an IRA or 401(k) usually triggers no tax, so the hurdle is simply the return difference. ChurnAlpha is built for taxable accounts.