Architecture · 2026-06-20 · 6 min
Tax, fees, and the quiet erosion of outcomes
Two architectures with the same headline return can produce different family outcomes. Tax and fees are not footnotes. They are structural — and they are often the least visible layer.
This is not a tract against fees, nor a claim about any product. It is a plea for visibility. Layered vehicles, overlapping advice, transaction costs and tax lots can change the meaning of a return figure without anyone intending harm.
A wealth system that cannot show the drag cannot claim to be understood. Illustrative figures, where used in Cosmaeon tools, are labelled as such and are not performance.
Not investment advice. Illustrative structures are not performance.