How to think like a Tamarac super user

Two RIAs can use the same Tamarac platform and follow similar workflows – yet see very different results. The difference isn’t always access or features, but a different operating philosophy.

Super users don’t simply reach for Tamarac when a trade or report needs to get done. They treat Tamarac as a system that’s continuously working for them.

Trading and Rebalancing

At its core, Tamarac is a model-driven system. When it’s configured properly, the platform does most of the heavy lifting.

The first shift for advisors is moving away from manual decision-making and toward structured automation. To get started:

• Let models drive trades: target 75–85% of accounts to be model-driven accounts.

• Map every holding to a model, to avoid orphan securities sitting outside any model.

To execute efficiently at scale, the most effective teams:

• Rely on directed trades and bulk uploads rather than manual entry.

• Establish minimum trade thresholds to eliminate unnecessary activity and prevent small, low-impact trades that add noise without improving outcomes.

Rebalancing should get the same disciplined treatment:

• Turn on auto-reconciliation to eliminate manual trade matching and lower the risk of mismatches between intended and executed trades.

• Use per-rebalance gain limits to control the tax impact per account and gain another layer of precision without increasing manual oversight.

Super users don’t “trade better” – they design systems that trade for them.

“If you’re doing it manually more than once, you’re doing it wrong.”

Most teams default to min/max rebalancing because it keeps trading focused on accounts that actually need attention. Full rebalances are reserved for significant portfolio resets, not routine activity. But even the best trading workflows break down without disciplined cash management.

Super users:

• Default to min/max rebalancing and use full rebalance sparingly – only for major resets.

• Separate key workflows by purpose. For example, a cash need calls for a sell-only rebalance, while drift calls for a min/max rebalance.

• Always review trades in bulk views or summary reports before approving.

Super users control when and why trades happen – not just execute them.

"You shouldn’t be rebalancing everything. You should be solving for specific problems."

Cash management

If there's one area with the highest impact-to-effort ratio in Tamarac, it's cash. Start with a simple rule: cash should not be managed in models.

Instead, advisors should use cash reserves or security reserves to manage liquidity. This separation makes cash easier to track and  control. For most firms, this is where the majority of operational friction actually lives.

You’ll want to track two things daily:

• Which accounts have excess cash that should be invested

• Which accounts need liquidity for upcoming distributions or fees

You’ll also want to:

• Maintain buffers for expected outflows like client withdrawals, fees, and distributions.

• Maintain multiple reserves where needed.

• Set alerts such as high cash % thresholds to drive workflows automatically.

Most inefficiency in Tamarac comes from poor cash discipline.

"If your cash management isn’t dialed in, nothing else in the system works right.”

Modeling

Models are the foundation of everything in Tamarac. Super users treat them as the primary operating system for portfolios.

There are two intentional approaches to choose from:

• Goal based modeling, which prioritizes precision and fixed targets

• Rank-based modeling, which prioritizes flexibility and fewer trades

Whichever approach you choose, several principles hold true:

• Every security should be included in a model.

• Legacy positions that no longer fit the strategy should be marked as sell-only.

• Keep model structures simple.

Overengineering is one of the most common mistakes. Too many models, exceptions, or alternate security sets create complexity. A useful guardrail is to limit exceptions or custom strategies to roughly 10–20% at maximum.

If your models are clean, everything else becomes easy.

"The more you rely on the model, the less you have to touch each account.”

Tax management

Tax management works best when it's built into the workflow, not layered on afterward. Here are a few tips:

• Use tax loss harvesting filters set by both percentage and dollar amount.

• Use the max gain field as a hard stop rather than a soft guideline.

• One of the most important practices is separating tax loss harvesting from rebalancing workflows.

Super users design workflows that optimize tax outcomes – not just performance.

"Use gain limits and tax settings to control outcomes – not react to them."

Asset location and account setup

Asset location is one of the most underutilized – and highest impact – levers in Tamarac. The underlying account setup determines whether portfolios are being managed efficiently across the household.

• Label accounts clearly as taxable, tax-deferred, or tax-exempt. This classification tells Tamarac how to treat assets, and it’s essential for both tax efficiency and proper rebalancing behavior.

• Order accounts by restriction level. This hierarchy allows the system to make smarter decisions when allocating assets.

• Use model priorities + labels to drive asset placement. When this is configured correctly, Tamarac can automate asset location decisions across the household, reducing the need for manual intervention.

• Review labels, model assignments, and account setup consistency on a regular basis. Drift in any of these can quietly undermined the automation you’ve built everywhere else.

Asset location is a hidden lever for tax efficiency and performance.

"Asset location is where you really drive outcomes across households.”

Workflows and CRM integration

The most effective Tamarac implementations don’t operate in isolation. They’re tightly connected to CRM, utilizing best practices and automation to help streamline client management.

Super users:

• Initiate requests for deposits, withdrawals, and trades through Service Requests in CRM.

• Standardize the request submission and task output.

CRM workflows can cover a wide range of activity, from meeting prep and client outreach to updating task completion dates and flagging regular work that needs to get done. Requests for deposits, withdrawals, and trades are all part of that larger scope. When these workflows are standardized, the team operates more predictably, with fewer decisions needing to be made in real time. And regardless of how automated your setup is, overcommunicating across the team helps keep idle cash and missed trades from slipping through the cracks.

Ultimately, the best Tamarac setups are as much about the process as they are about the platform.

"Overcommunication prevents idle cash.”

Saved searches, views and dashboard

Saved searches, custom views, and the dashboard form the control layer of Tamarac. The goal is to use searches and other tools to turn Tamarac into a proactive system that flags issues before they become problems.

Here’s how:

• Build searches specifically to surface missing models, cash needs, cash excess, and drift violations.

• Use custom views to pull in the exact data points you need, like custodian cash balances, audit fields, or other key indicators that help validate portfolio health at a glance.

• Use active searches to pre-filter workflows.

Super users don’t click around – they operate from a curated dashboard.

"Saved searches are the backbone of efficient workflows.”

Risk and error prevention

The biggest risks tend to come from the same two sources: unassigned securities, which can lead to bad trades, and holdings that haven't been updated, which can lead to duplicate trades.

To avoid these risks:

• Let overnight sync handle updates.

• Use “do not trade” flags.

• Avoid fragmented/incremental trade uploads.

• Add guardrails via policies, alerts, and standard workflows.

Super users design systems so errors are hard to make.

"The biggest mistake is not updating holdings and triggering duplicate trades.”

Operating rhythm

None of the practices mentioned above stick without regular operating rhythm. That’s why you’ll want to build these into your calendar:

Daily practices:

• Review dashboard

• Run saved searches

• Check cash and trades

• Confirm no upload errors

Quarterly practices:

• Audit models, account settings, and labels

• Clean up saved searches, views, and data inconsistencies

"Consistency is what keeps the system clean and scalable.”

The super user mindset

Becoming a Tamarac super user is less about platform mechanics and more about a mindset shift. By letting Tamarac handle the trading, reporting, and CRM work you used to do manually, you can focus more on the clients and conversations that need your attention.

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Learn more about Tamarac and how it can make your practice more efficient.

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