Firing on all engines
Vol #2 - August 14th, 2020
Harvested Financial is on a mission to bring the power of derivatives to everyone. That everyone is inclusive - we strongly believe in the potential for financial literacy to empower individuals and communities. The tools and knowledge to make sound financial decisions should be within reach of everyone. The whole team wanted a way to firmly plant this ethos in our culture, and thus was born Community Yield.
We’ve partnered with Darlene Pereda - a Chicago native and non-profit development professional - to form a partner organization dedicated to providing programming and education around financial literacy. Our inaugural board meeting took place yesterday August 13th. While we wait for 501(c)(3) status, we’ll be building out a curriculum focused not just on understanding compound interest, but facing real world problems. Topics will include managing student loans, understanding mortgage points, and grappling with the psychology of money. This is an exciting complement to our work, and we look forward to sharing more.
We’re firing on all engines this week as we pull together the final pieces for our beta group. The funding and execution automation is being tested with our brokerage partner Tradier, and our portal will be completed shortly. With these last pieces in place, we’ll soon be able to deliver a working product to our initial client group. We still have a few more slots, so please reach out for more information.
There’s a new blog post on the website called “Automated Options”. Here I explore why Harvested Financial believes that digital advisory and options strategies are the perfect combination. Software powers solutions that meet clients no matter where they are. We leverage it to present investment opportunities in a simple and intuitive format. Technology allows us to deliver a customized experience for each portfolio, with precision and scale.
Thanks for joining us,
Mark Phillips
CEO
What clients are asking us:
What does “DAFE” mean?
You might have noticed the end of our Twitter handle has “_dafe”. DAFE is short for “Derivatives are for Everyone”. We like to keep that reminder to ourselves as a guiding principle for the products we build and the investments we offer.
Where’s a good place to start?
Options can be intimidating. From the pricing math to the vastness of different offerings, it’s hard to find the right strategy. To get a feel for how options behave as the market moves, the Fifty/Fifty strategy is a great start - it caps your risk and defines the range of outcomes. Overlay strategies like Converted Income or Balanced Protection are interesting for longer term goals, and can grow from a small allocation or cover your entire portfolio.
How can I get some swag?
Don’t worry, we love seeing our logo everywhere too. If you’re interested in scoring a sticker, a hat, or maybe even a t-shirt, be sure to participate in our weekly trivia contest.
Check out our Twitter @harvested_dafe for more up to date news.
Happy Friday
August means summer vacation. Hunter Motte, a Senior Software Engineer at Harvested Financial, just got back from his own adventure.
Tell us about your most recent vacation.
I just got back from North Myrtle Beach, SC. We originally planned to go to Ocean Isle in NC but Hurricane Isaias had other plans! The storm did a good bit of damage in Ocean Isle so we had to scramble at the last minute to find a place to accommodate my large family. All in all it was a blast seeing my family, relaxing outside, and cooling off in the ocean for a bit. My four nieces kept me busy but being an uncle isn't so bad with a beer in your hand on the beach.
What was your favorite vacation growing up?
My favorite vacation growing up involved going to, you guessed it, the beach. Growing up we used to rent the same house every year in Garden City, SC. It had a dock that extended out to a marsh where you could fish, swim, or just have a few drinks and relax. One of my favorite memories was catching a few flounder, some Spanish mackerel, and a blacktip shark and cooking it fresh from the ocean right after. It was always good hanging with the family and doesn't hurt if you can add some fresh seafood to the equation.
On a plane, do you take the window or aisle seat?
I’d say this one depends on the airports I’m flying too or from. When I know something has an awesome view in the surrounding area, I’m all about the window seat. When I lived in Boston and flew into BOS, I could see the house I lived at in Southie from the plane! The Boston Harbor and surrounding islands were always so interesting to look at, especially around sunset or sunrise.
Describe your ideal vacation as an options strategy.
My ideal vacation as an options strategy would have to be a long straddle. I like my vacations to have an element of excitement, and since I’m long calls and puts, I profit if something big happens - positive or negative! Whether that story involves catching 18 fish in one trip or slicing your foot on a mussel while piercing your pinky with a fish hook (that actually happened), I like to profit off of high volatility and a good story to tell later.