Talking about Harvested
Vol #11 - October 16th, 2020
Most weeks I spend a lot of time talking about Harvested Financial. But this week in particular, a lot of that time was in front of someone else’s camera.
Partnering with Tradier has been fantastic from an operational and execution standpoint, but there have also been fun perks like working with Lex on OptionsBrew. In addition to our weekly podcast segment, on Wednesday we did a long form interview highlighting how important it is to systematically execute options strategies, and focusing on a few interesting trading opportunities.
This week was also the first in a series of conversations with Jill Malandrino of Nasdaq’s Trade Talks. This digital series looks at the market from a number of different perspectives, and we specifically discussed Harvested’s Election Scenarios product and how that could be used to for both speculation and protection.
The last big conversation was an interview with Anthony Pompliano - “Pomp” to many - as we’ve partnered with them for an early advertising campaign. This was a fascinating opportunity to get quizzed on why our business is interesting, and hear the questions that active investors are asking about our products.
I walk away from these conversations energized for two reasons. Not only do I get to talk about my second favorite thing (I am a new father after all), but I’m always astounded by the different insights that these conversations bring.
Opening yourself up to an interview has turned the tables on me- I used to think the one asking the questions was the one finding out information. But now, listening to the questions that people ask has become one of the most valuable pieces of data we can get.
Good feedback about our product is my number one priority. It’s how we’re able to grow Harvested Financial, and deliver increasingly powerful products to individuals. Whether that comes from comments as simple as “increase your font size” or the look on someone's face when you think you’ve explained options and they’re still confused, we crave this feedback.
I love hearing questions. Whether it’s in an interview, an e-mail, or a phone call, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thanks for joining us,
Mark Phillips
CEO
What clients are asking us:
Do model ports work for individual stocks?
Model Portfolios have only been live for a little over a week and we’re already getting more questions on these than any other product release. Currently the Model Portfolios are targeted only at broadly diversified underlyings, but we’re big fans of customization, and expect to include more options there shortly. We also like puns.
Amplify. Diversify. Protect.
What’s your favorite book?
There is a long list of great books about trading, the options industry and finance in general. We’re going to be posting a book list to our in development resource center later this fall, but for now we’ll leave you with one nugget.
This is a classic tale of market ups and downs, and the gumption of a speculator willing to bet it all, win it all, lose it all, and do it all again. It was also the answer to a trivia question a few weeks ago!
Happy Friday!
Around the virtual office at Harvested, Friday means Hawaiian shirts.
We’ve taken to donning aloha shirts every Friday to get ready for our biggest day of the week. The trend started organically here, and has had an impact on all of our closets since it took off. Whether you prefer the large traditional flower prints, or more contemporary pink flamingos, buttoning up that patterned shirt sets the tone for the day.
The style of shirt had been around since the 1930s, but it picked up in popularity after World War II as servicemen and women came back from the Pacific Islands with their splashy new gear.
The idea of Aloha Friday’s came out during the 1960s. The Hawaiian Fashion Guild successfully petitioned employers to allow their employees to wear aloha style shirts as a way to decompress at the end of the week, and encourage solidarity. No surprise, workers loved this, and the trend spread. It wasn’t until the 1990s that this trend jumped over to the mainland US in the form of casual fridays.
At Harvested Friday is particularly important for several different reasons. From a trading and advisory standpoint, it’s our most active trading day. We kick off new trading plans and roll strategies from week to week. As positions get close to expiry, we monitor them for opportunities to close and lock in gains.
It’s also the day we look at our “moonshot” projects, and clear space in a jam packed development queue to broadly think about our product in a little bit of a different way. This space is where the original Election Scenarios idea came from, and we’ve got a few more tricks up these flowered sleeves.
One wrinkle we haven't figured out, is that Chicago winters aren’t designed for this kind of gear. We’re going to have to get creative soon.