Federal marginal rate at top brackets, with meaningful state tax exposure
The Tax-Sensitive High Earner.
A framework for advisors serving high-income professionals — physicians, executives, partners, founders — for whom the marginal tax rate is the dominant variable in any investment decision, and for whom private alternatives exist to do something public markets structurally cannot: shift after-tax outcomes.
Primary Objective
After-tax yield
Risk Posture
Moderate
Time Horizon
7–20 years
Tax Sensitivity
Very high
Clients for whom the marginal tax rate is the dominant variable in every investment decision.
The Tax-Sensitive High Earner is typically a physician, executive, partner, or founder whose W-2 or partnership income exceeds investment income, with a marginal federal tax rate near the top brackets. They need private alternatives where structure, tax benefits, pass-through treatment, depreciation, depletion allowances, IDC deductions, deferral, and after-tax outcomes shape the result.
Typical client profile
Why this allocation looks the way it does.
The same four structural forces drive every Aspen allocation. For the Tax-Sensitive High Earner, the question is which tax characteristics matter most: depreciation, depletion, deferral, and long-term capital-gains treatment.
Force 01
CRE credit dislocation
Private credit offers current income, while monthly distributions can support reinvestment into more tax-advantaged roles over time.
Read the full thesisForce 02
Tax-efficient multifamily
Depreciation pass-through can shield distributed income, while 1031 exchange treatment may defer recognition on exit.
Read the full thesisForce 03
Energy tax advantages
Depletion allowances and IDC deductions can materially improve after-tax yield from producing energy assets.
Read the full thesisForce 04
Industrial reshoring
Industrial development can convert investment capital into long-term capital-gains outcomes instead of ordinary income.
Read the full thesisThe framework, by role in portfolio.
This framework applies to the Tax-Sensitive High Earner’s private-alternatives sleeve. Total portfolio sizing remains advisor-led, based on balance sheet, qualified-plan exposure, and year-end tax positioning.
25%
Core private credit (CRE) — monthly distributions to fund tax-advantaged roles
15%
Short-duration private yield — supplementary income, shorter cycle exposure
25%
Core stabilized multifamily — depreciation pass-through, 1031 eligible
15%
Tax-advantaged energy income — depletion, IDC, weighted up here
10%
Opportunistic real assets — long-term capital-gains treatment on exit
10%
Reserve / dry powder — held for vehicle timing & tax-year flexibility
Allocations are framework targets for the private-alternatives sleeve of an Income-Focused Retiree's portfolio, not investment recommendations. Specific suitability, sizing, and timing decisions remain with the advisor.
Allocation by role
Private-alternatives sleeve, 100%
Why these weights?
Multifamily and energy carry 40%
because both produce tax benefits that compound with cash returns and improve after-tax outcomes for top-bracket earners.
Credit roles fund future tax-efficient vehicles.
Private credit distributions are ordinary income, but can support future multifamily and energy positions.
The opportunistic sleeve stays moderate at 10%
Exit gains receive long-term capital-gains treatment, which is meaningfully better than ordinary-income outcomes — but for this archetype the role is less central than for the Accumulator because current tax efficiency from multifamily and energy does most of the work.
Headline yield matters less than what survives the K-1. The structure of the return is the return.
Current Aspen vehicles for this archetype.
The vehicles below are the funds Aspen has open today to express each role in this archetype's allocation. The roles above are stable; the specific vehicles rotate as funds close, new vehicles launch, and the macro environment shifts.
Aspen Credit
Open
Aspen Income Fund
An open-ended residential mortgage fund acquiring discounted, real estate-secured loans across the U.S. Designed to deliver investors reliable current income at above-market returns.
Open
Aspen Private Credit Fund
An open-ended fund focused on providing credit and preferred equity to commercial real estate properties.
Aspen Multifamily
Open
Aspen Legacy Fund
An evergreen multifamily fund focused on long-term, tax-efficient compounding growth.
Aspen Energy
Closed
Upstream Energy Fund VII
This Fund will be focusing on investing in a combination of existing producing assets for current cash flow (PDP) along with acreage for new drilling for upside value (PUD). We’ll be targeting multiple basins.
Closed
Industrial Growth Fund
A closed-end fund designed to take advantage of a unique industrial opportunity in the Southwest market of Kansas City.
How to read this section:
The Current Vehicles list is the only part of this page that updates on a quarterly cadence. When a closed-end fund completes its raise, the corresponding role enters a standby state and the framework allocation remains unchanged. When Aspen launches a successor vehicle, it appears here. Roles, weights, and the underlying macro logic are stable; vehicles rotate.
How advisors use this framework.
Confirm the archetype fits
Match the client to the closest archetype based on objective, horizon, and risk posture. Not every client is a clean fit; many sit between two archetypes and warrant a blended allocation.
Size the private-alternatives sleeve
The framework allocates within the alternatives sleeve, not across the total portfolio. Sleeve sizing remains an advisor decision based on liquidity, suitability, and the rest of the client's balance sheet.
Map roles to current vehicles
Use the Current Vehicles section above to identify the specific Aspen funds expressing each role today. Where an opportunistic role has no active vehicle, hold that capital in reserve until one opens.
For RIAs, family offices, and accredited advisors evaluating Aspen for client portfolios.
Phone
(800) 940-1510Speak with our team
For current capacity, vehicle availability, and upcoming launch visibility, the most direct path is a conversation with Aspen’s IR team.
We’ll help you evaluate fit, answer archetype-specific questions, and identify the materials needed for client conversations.
We’ll help you evaluate fit, answer archetype-specific questions, and identify the materials needed for client conversations.
Q2 2026 Edition · 42 pages · PDF
The full framework, in one document.
Download the complete Aspen Allocation Framework — every archetype, every role, every current vehicle — designed for advisor reference and client-facing conversations.
Refreshed quarterly. No gating, no form.
Download PDFRefreshed quarterly. No gating, no form.
Different client, different allocation.
Each archetype reflects a distinct primary objective. The role-based structure is consistent; the weights and emphases change.
Growth-Oriented Accumulator
Clients in the accumulation phase prioritizing long-term capital appreciation, with appetite for opportunistic and development-stage allocations.
View AllocationTax-Sensitive High Earner
High-income professionals using private alternatives for after-tax yield, depreciation pass-through, and qualified-investor tax efficiency.
View AllocationDiversifier / Endowment-Style
Investors building an institutionally-modeled allocation across uncorrelated private market exposures, focused on portfolio-level resilience.
View AllocationBuilding an alternatives sleeve for a client?
Building an alternatives sleeve for a client? Our advisor team can walk you through enhanced share classes, due diligence packages, and platform availability.
