Our Three Strategies

Formative offers a variety of investment strategies to align with each client's particular investment needs.

Values-Aligned Direct Index Solution (VADIS)

Values-aligned direct index portfolios comprised of equities and fixed income funds and ETFs that reflect the individual client’s values and financial objectives.

Stocks and fixed income securities are evaluated based on Formative's values-aligned investing research. Clients may include or exclude any individual sector or security from their portfolio. Custom portfolios are constructed using Formative's proprietary quantitative model.

Customization

Tax Efficiency

Manager

Formative

Multi-Manager Account

Carefully chosen investment model managers that integrate values-aligned criteria into the investment analysis and selection process.

The model managers we choose incorporate generally recognized values-based screening policies, combined with their proprietary values-aligned research. Clients may also choose to exclude fossil fuels from their multi-manager portfolios.

Customization

Tax Efficiency

Manager

Formative/External

Managed Mutual Fund/ETF

A portfolio of fully vetted mutual funds and/or ETFs that integrate values-aligned criteria into the investment analysis and selection process.

The managers we choose incorporate generally recognized values-based screening policies, combined with their proprietary values-aligned investing research.

Customization

Tax Efficiency

Manager

Formative/External

Spotlight on VADIS

Personalized Direct Indexing

What is VADIS?

VADIS is Formative's Values-Aligned Direct Indexing Solution, a personalized portfolio strategy that delivers market-tracking returns, tax efficiency, and deep values customization in a single managed account. It has tripled to $330M in AUM over the past two years because it solves a real problem for advisors: giving clients genuine portfolio personalization without adding operational complexity to your practice.

How Does VADIS Work?

Your client selects a benchmark that fits their risk profile. From there, VADIS builds a portfolio of approximately 230 individual stocks, optimized to track the benchmark while reflecting their specific values preferences across 150+ data points. Tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing, and gains-budget management are handled on an ongoing basis. You define the strategy with your client. We handle the execution.

What Differentiates VADIS?

Most direct indexing solutions offer tax management or basic ESG screens. VADIS does both and goes further. Values personalization uses transparent, comparable data across five major issue areas rather than opaque ratings, so you and your client always know exactly what's driving portfolio decisions.

We conduct active shareholder advocacy on behalf of your clients' assets and offer custom proxy voting.

And the entire workflow, from values discovery through reporting, lives on one tech-forward platform to make the process seamless.

Embracing Our Role as a Trusted Fiduciary

Placing Our Clients’ Interests Above Our Own, With Privacy and Discretion

Our fiduciary responsibility to our clients requires of us a duty of care and loyalty. We acknowledge our fiduciary responsibility to care for the assets entrusted to us, and we place our clients' interests above our own.

We are committed to the clear disclosure of relevant information, including investment fees, advisor compensation, investment risks, potential conflicts of interest, and other material matters, to our clients in a wholly transparent and timely manner. As trusted caretakers, privacy and confidentiality are of utmost importance at Formative. We do not disclose or share confidential information with others, except as authorized or when otherwise legally obligated to do so. We do not use confidential information for personal advantage.