AI Direct Indexing Agent

Direct indexing lets a client own the index as individual stocks, unlocking tax management an ETF cannot. A Direct Indexing Agent builds and maintains each custom index, harvests at the position level, and prepares the trades. It manages the sleeve; the adviser approves.

Tecla builds and operates it in your environment, on your portfolio and custodial data, under the controls your firm already answers to.

The shift underway

Direct indexing has moved from an ultra-high-net-worth niche to a mainstream tax and personalization tool, and adviser adoption is climbing fast. The numbers show how quickly.

12%

projected annual growth of direct indexing, outpacing ETFs and mutual funds.

Source: Cerulli Associates

1–2%

in added after-tax return a year from position-level harvesting in a direct-indexed portfolio.

Source: Morningstar research

$100k

the account size where direct indexing now becomes practical, down from millions.

Source:

industry reporting, 2026

How it works

What runs inside

A direct-indexed account is hundreds of positions that must track a benchmark, honor client screens, and harvest losses at once. That is more than a person can manage by hand, so the agent runs it and holds each trade for approval.

01

Index Builder

Constructs each client's custom index from the benchmark, buying the individual positions that replicate it within a set tracking-error tolerance.

Builds the sleeve
02

Screen Applier

Applies each client's personal preferences, excluded sectors, values-based screens, concentrated-position rules, while keeping the portfolio close to the benchmark.

Personalizes it
03

Harvest Engine

Harvests losses at the individual-stock level, far deeper than an ETF allows, and screens each against wash-sale rules across the household.

Captures the losses
04

Tracking Guard

Keeps sector and factor weights aligned to the benchmark as positions are harvested and reweighted, so personalization never quietly becomes a bet.

Holds the benchmark
05

Trade Builder

Prepares the buy, sell, and reweight trades within tolerance, ready for the adviser to review and approve before anything executes.

Builds the action

Human in the loop

The agent builds and maintains the sleeve, but a person approves the trades before they execute. It keeps the firm on the suggestion-based side, where the adviser controls what trades in a client account, rather than running fully autonomously.

Scoped to you

This is a typical direct indexing build. The exact parts are scoped to how your firm runs: which benchmarks and screens you offer, your tracking-error tolerances, and how the sleeves fit your existing models and custodians.

See what this would look like built around your portfolio operation.
How it reaches production

Built, run, and owned, one phase at a time

A direct indexing tool that tracks cleanly in a demo can still drift on a real, screened, harvested account. A scoped brief, a named team, and someone accountable at each stage are what keep this one on benchmark in production.

Sprint

Scope, fixed price

We map the benchmarks and screens you offer, your tracking-error tolerances, and the custodians in scope, then return a plan and a price before you commit.

AI Solutions Lead
Build

Built into your environment

Senior engineers build the agent inside your environment, wired into the portfolio and custodial systems it builds sleeves and prepares trades against.

AI Systems Lead
Run

Monitored and improved

The agent adapts as benchmarks and tax rules change, and we report against the metrics set at scope: sleeves managed, tracking error held, tax alpha captured.

Systems Lead + Engineers
Own

Yours, improving

The system is yours to keep, and it makes direct indexing practical to offer at scale instead of reserving it for your largest accounts.

Your team

It starts with a fixed-price Tecla Sprint that scopes and prices the build before you commit.

‍ Book a scoping call
How it holds up

Reliable enough to run real client sleeves

A sleeve that drifts from its benchmark quietly turns a tracking strategy into an unintended bet. What makes this one safe to run is the structure around it: the tolerances it holds, the trades it prepares for review, and the adviser who approves each one.

Reviewed by trajectory

Every trade shows the tracking

Each rebalance shows its effect on tracking error, the harvest captured, and the screens applied, so an adviser can confirm it holds the benchmark before approving.

Human in the loop

It builds, the adviser approves

The agent builds and maintains the sleeve but executes nothing on its own. A person approves the trades, keeping execution on the suggestion-based side.

Tuned over time

It keeps the sleeve on benchmark

As benchmarks reconstitute and tax rules change, the agent is kept current, so sleeves keep tracking instead of drifting on stale data.

Start the build

Offer direct indexing beyond your biggest accounts

A scoping call maps your benchmarks, screens, and custodians, returns what the agent would manage, and prices the fixed-price Sprint to build it.

Fixed-price AI Systems Sprint. No commitment until scope is confirmed.

What advisers ask about direct indexing

What is an AI direct indexing agent?

It builds and maintains each client's custom index as individual stocks, applies their personal screens, harvests losses at the position level, and keeps the sleeve tracking the benchmark. Tecla builds and operates it inside your environment, so direct indexing runs at scale with the adviser approving the trades.

How is it different from a direct indexing platform like Parametric or a custodian's tool?

Those give your firm an engine or an SMA to allocate to; the agent runs the ongoing management across your own models and custodians. It builds the sleeves, applies screens, harvests, and holds tracking error, rather than outsourcing the account to a single vendor's platform. It fits the stack you already run.

Does it trade on its own?

No. It builds and maintains the sleeve but executes nothing on its own. A person approves the trades, keeping the firm on the suggestion-based side where the adviser controls what trades in a client account, rather than running fully autonomously.

How does it keep the portfolio tracking the benchmark?

It holds sector and factor weights aligned to the benchmark as positions are harvested and reweighted, so personalization and tax management never quietly turn into an unintended bet. Each proposed trade shows its effect on tracking error before an adviser approves it.

What does Tecla's direct indexing build cover?

Tecla scopes the build to your firm: which benchmarks and screens you offer, your tracking-error tolerances, and how the sleeves fit your existing models and custodians. It runs inside your environment and Tecla operates it, keeping it current as benchmarks and rules change.

How much tax benefit does position-level harvesting add?

Position-level harvesting in a direct-indexed portfolio can add roughly 1 to 2 percent of after-tax return a year, deeper than an ETF allows because losses can be captured stock by stock. The exact benefit depends on the account and market, which is why the agent surfaces the real number per trade.

How is client data kept secure?

The agent runs in your environment, integrated with your systems, under your own access rules. Portfolio and custodial data stays within the boundaries your firm already answers to, and you own and control the system Tecla operates.

How long does a build take?

It starts with a fixed-price Tecla Sprint that scopes and prices the build before you commit. The Sprint maps your benchmarks, screens, and custodial routing, so the agent that follows fits how your firm runs direct indexing.

Does this let us offer direct indexing to smaller accounts?

That is much of the point. By automating the sleeve management that made direct indexing labor-intensive, the agent makes it practical to offer well below the account sizes it used to require. Tecla builds and operates it so the economics work across your book.

How do we get started?

A scoping call maps your benchmarks, screens, and custodians, returns what the agent would manage, and prices the fixed-price Sprint to build it. Book a scoping call with Tecla to start.

Have any questions?
Schedule a call to discuss in more detail.
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