Asset Location

Bonds → Pre-Tax accounts (Trad IRA, 401k). Bonds generate ordinary-income interest. In a taxable account, that interest is taxed every year at your full marginal rate. In a Trad IRA, the interest grows tax-deferred until withdrawal — and even then, only taxed on the way out. This is the single biggest asset-location move for most investors.

REITs → Roth (or Trad IRA). REITs are required to distribute 90% of taxable income to shareholders, much of it as ordinary-income dividends. Sheltering them in a Roth means those distributions compound tax-free forever. In a taxable account, REIT dividends create the highest annual tax drag of any common asset class.

Growth Stocks → Taxable Brokerage. Growth stocks pay little or no dividend; their value comes from unrealized capital appreciation. In a taxable account, you don't pay tax until you sell — and at long-term capital- gains rates (0%, 15%, or 20%, well below ordinary rates). Plus the step-up at death extinguishes any deferred gain. Putting growth stocks in a Trad IRA actually increases your tax bill because withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income.

Dividend stocks → mixed. Qualified dividends get preferential rates (same as long-term cap-gains) so they tolerate a taxable account fine. Non-qualified dividends are ordinary income and prefer a Trad IRA.

The dollar impact compounds: a $500K portfolio with bonds misplaced in taxable instead of Trad IRA at a 32% marginal rate is leaking ~$3,200/year to tax drag. Over 30 years at 7% return, that's ~$330K of foregone growth. Asset location is one of the highest-ROI moves a DIY investor can make.