Frec vs Cache Direct Indexing Fee Comparison

If you want a plain long-only direct index, Frec vs Cache is not a close call: Frec sells one from $20,000 at 0.09% a year for the S&P 500, and Cache does not sell one at all. Cache's products are an exchange fund from $100,000, a long-short strategy with a $1,000,000 minimum that its own site says is currently onboarding only accounts of $10,000,000 or more, and a borrowing product. The two firms only compete head to head for investors with a large, low-basis stock position.

That is the short version. The rest of this page puts both firms' published fees next to each other at the account sizes people actually ask about, $50,000, $100,000 and $1,000,000, and quotes each firm's own pages as read in September 2026. Neither firm pays us anything, and this is not investment advice.

Frec vs Cache at a glance

I have 50k and want pure direct indexing, not blended ETFs. Should I use Frec or Cache?

Frec, because Cache has nothing for you at $50,000. Frec Classic holds the index as individual stocks, charges 0.09% for the S&P 500 and opens at $20,000, so $50,000 costs about $45 a year. Cache's smallest product is its exchange fund at $100,000, which takes a contribution of stock you already own, not cash.

If what bothers you is blending, check the replication method rather than the brand. Wealthfront S&P 500 Direct also charges 0.09% and opens at $5,000, while its older US Direct Indexing blends ETFs with stocks. We compared what each provider actually holds on our direct indexing fractional shares page. Before moving $50,000 anywhere, run it through the direct indexing calculator: on a balance that size with no realized gains, the fee gap is small but so is the benefit, which is capped at $3,000 of losses against ordinary income a year.

Frec direct indexing vs Cache for a 100k portfolio

At $100,000 the two firms offer three genuinely different products, and only one of them is a direct index in the ordinary sense.

Cache's long-short product is not on this list because its published minimum is $1,000,000. So the real question at $100,000 is whether you are investing cash or unwinding a single stock. With cash, Frec Classic is the only one of the three built for you. With a concentrated position, you are choosing between Frec's leveraged approach and Cache's exchange fund, which we compared line by line in Frec Diversify vs Cache exchange fund.

Does Cache or Frec have lower tracking error for S&P 500 direct indexing?

Neither firm publishes a long-only S&P 500 tracking error you can compare directly, and Cache does not offer a long-only S&P 500 direct index at all. Frec publishes a tracking error of plus or minus 1.52% for its 140/40 long-short strategy. Cache markets its S&P 500 exchange fund on correlation to the index rather than on a tracking error figure.

For a long-only account the bigger driver of tracking error is usually you, not the provider. Every stock you exclude and every sector you cut pulls the portfolio away from the benchmark. Wealthfront's own whitepaper recommends not excluding more than 10% of the index weight. If you plan to customize, build that exact portfolio in our studio and backtest it against the S&P 500 first. The index studio at the top of this page does exactly that, and our direct indexing exclusions page lists how many names each provider lets you restrict.

Frec vs Cache long-short fees

This is where the two firms really do compete, and it is also where most online comparisons are written by one of the two vendors. Both price financing at roughly 0.95% of the short extension, so the difference comes down to the advisory fee, the minimum and who runs the account.

At 200/100 the two are identical on fee and financing: 1.00% plus 0.95%. Frec gets you there with one sixth of Cache's minimum. Cache's advantages are elsewhere: custody at Schwab, a human-overseen strategy run by a Nuveen subsidiary, twelve benchmark options and the ability to fund with a mix of stock, ETFs, mutual funds and cash. Cache's own comparison page says that "for many, fees are likely close enough that they wouldn't be the deciding factor", which is a fair reading of the table.

The practical catch in September 2026 is access. A banner on Cache's long-short page reads: "Cache Long/Short is currently open to $10M+ accounts only. We expect to resume onboarding at $1M+ later this year." The same page requires an $800,000 ongoing balance to stay eligible. If you have $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 and want to start this year, Frec is the self-serve option that is open. Every published tier from both firms, plus the adviser-channel managers, is on our long short direct indexing comparison.

Which is better for a concentrated stock position?

It depends on how long you can wait and how much you want to keep control. Cache's exchange fund defers the gain entirely, but you hold pooled units for seven years before you can take out a diversified basket, and redemptions before then come back as your original stock. Frec's long-short and Diversify accounts keep every position in your own name with no lock-up, and they work by harvesting losses to offset the gains as you sell the stock down, at a higher annual cost.

The people who do best with Cache have a large, very low-basis position, no need for the money for seven years, and ideally a plan to hold until death or donate the units. The people who do best with Frec want to diversify over two to five years, keep liquidity, and are comfortable running a self-directed account. If you are still deciding whether to keep part of the position at all, it can help to back-test a sell-down rule on the stock itself before choosing the vehicle. Our Cache exchange fund review covers the fee ladder and the seven-year mechanics in detail.

What it costs to leave each one

Exit cost is a real part of the comparison. Frec's fee schedule charges $75 for an outgoing ACATS transfer. Cache's long-short accounts are held at Schwab, whose April 2026 pricing guide charges $50 for a full transfer out and nothing for a partial one. An exchange fund is different in kind: before the seventh anniversary you get back your original stock, and after it you receive a diversified basket that you can then transfer. Every provider's exit fee is compared on our ACATS transfer fees page.

The verdict

• Cash to invest, $20,000 to $1,000,000: Frec Classic. Cache has no long-only account you can open.
• Large realized gains, $100,000 to $1,000,000: Frec long-short is the only one of the two open to you.
• $3,000,000 and up, want a managed account at Schwab: Cache long-short, once it reopens below $10,000,000, or now if you are above it.
• Single low-basis stock, seven years is fine: Cache Exchange Fund from $100,000.

Whichever you choose, the index you end up holding is the thing you live with for years. Build it first, with your exclusions and weights, and backtest it against the S&P 500 so you know what tracking gap you are signing up for before you pay anyone a fee.

Fees, minimums and access conditions from frec.com/pricing, Frec's fee schedule at docs.frec.com, usecache.com/product/long-short, Cache's Frec comparison page, schwab.com's April 2026 pricing guide and Wealthfront's S&P 500 Direct whitepaper, read in September 2026. Fees change; verify before you open an account.