Before you invest more, stop paying more tax than you need to.
If you feel you have no extra money to invest, taxes are the safest place to start. Keeping more of what you already earn is money you don't have to find.
Taxable investment accounts
They're only taxable if you sell. So the real question is: why sell? Why not borrow instead?
When used the right way, these accounts give you real flexibility, real liquidity, and real control. You invest on your timeline. You keep access to your money. And you dramatically reduce the tax drag that quietly eats away at long-term returns.
See one of Mark's real portfolios
Mark shares one of his personal M1 portfolios so you can see how he puts these ideas into practice.
View Mark's M1 portfolioNot investment advice. This is one of Mark's personal investment portfolios shown for educational and example purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Your situation, goals, and risk tolerance may be different.
Borrowing against investments carries risk. If the value of your investments falls, a lender can ask you to repay or sell. The course spends as much time on the safety margins as on the strategy.
The S.M.A.R.T. system
Mark's book teaches the S.M.A.R.T. system: Strategies to Maximize Assets and Reduce Taxes. It includes:
- Building your own “Perfect Portfolio”
- “The Five Pillars” of investing: stocks, real estate, life insurance, cryptocurrency, and precious metals
- The “Buy, Borrow, Die” strategy for growing and protecting wealth
- The “Borrow Button”: borrowing against your investments instead of selling your assets
The free tax guide: a calm first step
The Perfect Portfolio Tax Guide is Mark Quann’s free, 15-page guide to the tax ideas he teaches, in plain English. Enter your name and email and we’ll send it straight to your inbox.
What’s inside
- The 4 types of taxes: earn it, save it, spend it, die, and where each one touches your money.
- If you never sell, you never pay: capital gains, step-up in basis, and “dead money”.
- The Borrow Button: Buy, Borrow, Die, and Mark’s four margin rules for students.
- The retirement account trap: why tax-deferred is not tax-free, and how 401(k) withdrawals can make up to 85% of Social Security taxable.
- Your tax-free family bank: how an IUL works, including the floor, the cap and the costs.
- Real estate, the most powerful tax asset: the home sale exclusion, depreciation, REPS and the Augusta Rule.
- A one-page checklist to take to your CPA.
Who it’s for
- People in or near retirement who want to understand how their income is taxed.
- Cautious investors who want to learn before they act.
- Anyone who feels they have no spare money to invest and wants to start by keeping more of what they already earn.
Education only, not tax, legal or investment advice.
We'll email you the guide right away, plus Live Course dates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Proof from a student
Mastermind student turns a $30,000 tax bill into a $12,000 refund.
A swing of more than $42,000 in his first year.
“With your advice about [my wife's work being paid as] an LLC and the help of the accountant you put us in touch with we got $12,000 back in taxes!! I've paid no less than $25,000-$30,000 every previous year with the same income. Thank you!”
Education only, not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other customers and are not a guarantee of future performance or success.