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Vol. 01 · Issue 03Pricing · What you pay, in dollarsHeld stable · 90-day notice on changes
What you pay. Plainly.

Three tiers.
Two of them are below the industry standard.

Fees are shown in dollars on every screen of the product — not as basis points, not in a settings menu three clicks deep. We benchmark our 0.40% Core fee against the 1.0–1.5% standard of competing RIAs. We do not earn payment for order flow. We do not sell your data. We change pricing rarely and announce changes ninety days in advance.

0.40% Core annual$0 Free, forever0% Payment for order flow90 day notice
01
Chapter 01 · The three tiers
What you pay. What you get. What you don't get charged for.
What · how much
Test it out
Free
$0forever
Recommended
Most users
Core
$8/mo or 0.40% AUM
Per SEC 205-3
Qualified Client
0.25%+ 15% perf > 8%
Mode
Advisory only
Managed + Advisory
Managed + Advisory
Curated picks
Up to 5
Unlimited
Unlimited
Full thesis cards
—
Yes
Yes
Goals
1 goal
Unlimited
Unlimited
Paper trading
—
Yes
Yes
Tax-loss harvesting
—
Yes
Yes
DCA automation
—
Yes
Yes
Weekly digest
Lite
Full
Full + named-analyst notes
Analyst chat
—
—
1 BD SLA
Quarterly video review
—
—
30 min on request
Custom sleeves
—
—
Yes
Education tab
Full access
Full access
Full access
Research & Theses page
Full access
Full access
Full access
02
Chapter 02 · Free
No card. No trial period. Free, forever.

Free is meant for testing the platform — taking the questionnaire, browsing the Research & Theses page, reading the Education tab, and watching how a small number of curated picks behave. We've capped it where the cap is, because beyond five curated picks and one goal the platform becomes a meaningful service for which we should be paid.

You can stay on Free forever. We will not throttle the experience or send growth-team nudges to upgrade. If Free is right for you, Free is right for you.

What "advisory mode only" means
You see the recommended portfolio. You act manually. The engine doesn't trade for you. When a thesis breaks we tell you and walk you through the exit — but you click the buttons.

Free

No card required
$0/month · forever
  • Advisory modeYou act manually
  • Curated picksUp to 5
  • Goals1 goal
  • NotificationsBuy & broken-thesis (lite)
  • Education tabFull access
  • Research & ThesesFull access
  • User-added picksUnlimited
  • Paper trading—
  • Managed mode—
Start free →
03
Chapter 03 · Core · Featured
The recommendation for most people. The fee, in plain dollars.

Core is what we recommend for almost everyone. It unlocks Managed mode — auto-execution within an authority matrix you control — full thesis cards with their scenarios and break criteria, unlimited goals and curated picks, paper trading, tax-loss harvesting, and DCA automation. The fee is eight dollars a month or 0.40% AUM annualized, whichever is greater. The crossover is at roughly $24,000.

Why 0.40%? It is roughly a third of the typical RIA fee for personalized advice, and it is what's required for us to sustain a research desk that signs every thesis, archives every break, and answers in plain English. We're not racing competitors to zero. We're racing them to honest.

The eight-dollar floor, explained
The dollar floor exists so small balances stay attractive to us — if we only earned 0.40% on a $1,000 account, we'd earn $4 a year and pay attention accordingly. Eight dollars a month, on small accounts, lets us treat you as a real customer. Once your balance grows past the crossover, 0.40% AUM applies and the dollar floor disappears.
Recommended
Most users

Core

$8/month, or 0.40%/yr AUM
Whichever is greater. Crossover ≈ $24,000. Billed monthly. Shown in dollars on the dashboard.
  • ModeManaged + Advisory
  • Curated picksUnlimited
  • GoalsUnlimited
  • Thesis cardsFull · scenarios, targets, breaks
  • Paper tradingYes
  • Tax-loss harvestYes
  • DCA automationYes
  • NotificationsWeekly digest + event alerts
  • EducationFull access · inline + tab
Open a Core account →
04
Chapter 04 · Qualified Client
Performance fees only where the SEC allows them.

SEC Rule 205-3 prohibits performance-based fees for retail investors. It permits them for "qualified clients" — individuals with at least $1.1M under management with the advisor, or a net worth above $2.2M excluding primary residence. Tarn's Qualified Client tier exists for this group and only this group. Everyone else pays a simple flat advisory fee.

The QC structure is 0.25% AUM plus a 15% performance fee on returns above an 8% hurdle, with a persistent high-water mark. Performance fees only apply once the previous high has been exceeded — losses must be earned back before any performance fee is charged again.

How the high-water mark works
If your account peaks at $1.5M and then falls to $1.3M, no performance fee is charged on recovery up to $1.5M. Only growth above the previous peak — and above the 8% hurdle — generates a performance fee. We do not earn a fee twice for the same dollar.
Eligibility verified at signup. Form ADV Part 2A and Part 2B are available before any QC engagement begins.
Per SEC Rule 205-3

Qualified Client

0.25%
annual AUM fee
+15%
perf above 8% hurdle
  • Eligibility$1.1M AUM or $2.2M net worth (excl. residence)
  • IncludesEverything in Core
  • Analyst chatNamed, 1 business day SLA
  • Quarterly review30-minute video on request
  • Custom sleevesYes, by consultation
  • High-water markPersistent, per account
  • Hurdle8% annualized, before performance fee
  • LockupNone — withdraw at any time
Verify eligibility →
05
Chapter 05 · Real dollars
What it actually costs, by account size.

Percentages are how the industry hides things. So here it is in dollars and cents, at a range of account sizes. The Core tier's $8 floor is intentionally a "high" percentage on small balances — it's there so we can afford to give every small account the same level of attention as a large one. As soon as your balance grows past the crossover, the floor goes away and the 0.40% AUM rate applies.

Net of returns, on the dashboard
Your Core dashboard shows fees-net-of-returns on the same line as your balance. On a 7% year, on a $50,000 account: $3,500 gross, −$200 fee, +$3,300 net. No basis points. No "annualized." Just the number.
BalanceTier/month/year% of balNote
$1,000Free———Free covers it. No card.
$1,000Core$8.00$969.6%Floor binds. Small account, fixed-cost relationship.
$5,000Core$8.00$961.92%Floor still binds.
$12,000Core$8.00$960.80%Floor still binds.
$24,000Core$8.00$960.40%Crossover — floor and AUM equal.
$50,000Core$16.67$2000.40%AUM applies.
$250,000Core$83.33$1,0000.40%AUM applies.
$1,200,000QC$250.00$3,0000.25%Plus 15% perf above 8% hurdle.
06
Chapter 06 · What we won't charge
The things you'd expect to be billed for. Aren't.
✕
Payment for order flow
We do not earn rebates from market makers. Your fills are best-execution.
✕
Spread markup
No internal spread on trades. The price you see is the price you get.
✕
Account opening fee
Free to open, free to fund, free to close.
✕
Inactivity fee
Leave your account alone for years. Nothing happens to it.
✕
Outbound transfer fee
Move your assets to a different broker for free. We won't penalize a leaving customer.
✕
Selling your data
We do not sell, rent, or otherwise share customer data with third parties for marketing.
·
Standard regulatory fees
Pass-through fees set by the SEC and FINRA. Fractions of a cent per share. Shown on every confirmation.
·
ETF expense ratios
Set by the ETF issuer, not us. We choose low-cost vehicles wherever possible. Shown in the holding card.
✕ We don't charge this· Pass-through, not ours
07
Chapter 07 · Questions
On fees, plans, and the things you'd expect to be hidden.
When does Core actually become cheaper than the $8 floor?＋
At about $24,000 in account value. Below that, you pay $8/month; above it, you pay 0.40% AUM annualized, billed monthly. The transition is automatic — we don't make you switch plans.
Are fees deducted from my account or charged separately?＋
Fees are deducted from your Tarn account in cash. If your cash balance is too low, we sell the smallest tax-impact position from the index sleeve to cover them. We notify you before the sale.
What happens if I exceed the curated-picks cap on Free?＋
You'll see a soft block on the next pick attempt with the upgrade pathway. We do not silently downgrade existing picks or hide content you've already accessed.
Can I prepay for a year and get a discount?＋
No. Discounting creates the wrong incentives for both sides and complicates ADV disclosure. Pricing is consistent for everyone.
Does the QC tier require a lockup?＋
No. You can withdraw QC funds at any time. The high-water mark is per-account and persistent across withdrawals — withdrawing does not reset it.
Are there any hidden fees I should know about?＋
No. The only costs not listed on this page are regulatory pass-throughs (fractions of a cent per share, set by the SEC/FINRA, shown on every trade confirmation) and ETF expense ratios (set by the issuer, shown in the holding card).
Keep reading

Continue the issue.

Open a Core account →
01
Product
What Tarn is, in one page.
Read →
02
How it works
From quiz to portfolio in ten minutes.
Read →
04
Research & Theses
The desk that writes what you read.
Read →
05
Education
Inline. Always. Never gamified.
Read →