HarborLight: About

Jason started out with a love for math and science and spent his academic years learning how to think analytically and solve problems. In graduate school he realized he was actually more passionate about financial markets than physics, so after graduating from Harvard in 2004 he pursued a career in quantitative finance. He moved to Berkeley and started working for a financial software company (MSCI) as a derivatives specialist and financial engineer. He then moved to a position in risk management at BlackRock in San Francisco in 2007. While at BlackRock he transitioned to a portfolio management role on a team that constructs model portfolios for investment advisers. This opened his eyes to a segment of the financial industry where he could use his analytical skills and market knowledge to help individuals with their specific goals. After a decade of working in the financial industry, he decided that he wanted to take his expertise and use it to help individuals navigate the challenges of investing and planning for their financial future. In 2014 Jason left BlackRock to join a registered investment adviser (RIA) based in Santa Cruz where he met Christopher Sheehy. In 2016 they decided to start HarborLight Investments together.

Outside of work, Jason is very active in his community as a member of Berkeley Rotary and a member of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. He met his wife after moving to Berkeley and they got married in 2007. They moved ever so slightly north to El Cerrito that year and now have two young children. He loves to run, whether it's a short jog with friends, a fast interval workout, a trail race, or a marathon (he's completed 12 and counting). Each year since 2016 Jason has completed the Boston Marathon, but with a twist. He raised money for a charity, Many Hopes, that he cares deeply about. While running is currently his main outlet for physical activity, he was a competitive swimmer in college and has played ultimate frisbee for more than 20 years including participating at the world championships in Prague in 2010 where his team won the master's division.

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Chris got his introduction to the markets while pursuing a degree in finance at the University of Vermont. After graduation he booked a one-way flight West and quickly landed a job on the NYSE Equity Options trading floor in San Francisco. He flourished and spent 10 years executing orders for the largest institutional broker on the floor. His firm served demanding local clientele as well as trading desks in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Europe. After leaving the floor to travel internationally for a year Chris took a position with a firm that invested in and helped startups grow their talent in Cambridge, MA which gave him insight into the intriguing inner workings of pre-ipo companies. Like Jason, Chris made the decision to use the skills he developed serving institutional investors as an adviser serving individuals and families. His next role was as an adviser and COO of a RIA in Santa Cruz, CA where he and Jason met. HarborLight is the perfect setting for Chris to employ the expertise he developed in both his academic studies and professional career to help individuals reach their financial goals.

Chris joined the board of directors of CASA of Santa Cruz County and currently serves as the board Vice President and as a member of the finance committee. CASA is a child's voice in dependency court, providing advocacy, stability, and hope to children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned.

Chris spends most of his free time with his wife chasing their young sons and enjoying an active lifestyle in Santa Cruz. You can find them exploring the many coastal and mountain hiking trails in Santa Cruz county after work and on the weekends. His family loves the ocean and are members of both the Santa Cruz Yacht Club and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Before kids took over the household, they were avid travelers and checked off quite a few bucket list items during a year-long trip in 2013. In addition to the many family activities he enjoys, Chris surfs when time and tide allow.

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our story

Our founders, Dr. Jason Draut, CFP®, and Christopher Sheehy CFP®, spent more than a decade each after their academic studies gaining extensive real-world experience in the financial markets before deciding to focus on wealth management.

After earning his Ph.D. from Harvard in applied physics Jason embarked on a career in quantitative finance that led first to MSCI then Blackrock. Chris worked as an institutional equity derivatives broker on the NYSE trading floor in San Francisco for 10 years after earning a finance degree from the University of Vermont. Later they both worked in wealth management, where they met.

They wanted to apply their financial knowledge in a more meaningful way, by helping individuals and families build, preserve and protect their wealth. And they wanted to do it in a better, more personal manner, since even small wealth management firms were outsourcing more and more core client services.

So together, they founded HarborLight to provide truly personalized wealth management. Now they use their unique expertise to help you navigate the challenges of investing and planning for your financial future.

our team

Dr. Jason Draut, CFP®

Chris Sheehy, CFP®

our partners

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

HarborLight Investments has selected Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab") as primary custodian for our clients’ accounts. Having Schwab act as custodian for client assets provides us access to a wide range of services that help us serve our clients.

With a custodian, you get an account with that company. You always own the account, but you can nominate HarborLight to help manage your holdings within the account. That way we can provide full-service to you to save your time, but we never take possession of anything. This also gives you an extra layer of security as you will get statements from both HarborLight and the custodian.

By using Schwab as primary custodian, HarborLight Investments has access to a wide range of products and services that help us serve our clients, including:

Wide array of investment account types including retirement accounts, charitable giving, and education accounts

Full range of investment options such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, exchange traded funds, CDs and other investments.

Technology and service support so investors can access all their accounts online and view positions, balances and account histories in one place.

Your CPAs and Attorneys

For best results, your financial plan should always take taxes into consideration. In fact, incorporating tax considerations into your financial and estate planning is one of the ways you can get additional return without taking on more risk. So at HarborLight, we’re always ready to collaborate with your tax provider and/or attorneys to help you get the best results, whether it’s on an investment strategy, estate planning or any other need.

Or if you don’t have someone you like already, we’re happy to recommend a local professional that we’ve vetted.

our fees

At HarborLight, we are committed to providing you with a more personalized client experience. So that extends to our fees.

At many firms, the fee structure is confusing and even hard to quantify. We don’t believe that’s best for you, so we’ve designed our fee structure to be simple and transparent.

Full-Service for One Simple Fee

We provide full-service help for your entire financial life, not just your investments. So that means we want you to feel free to call or email us when anything changes or when faced with a big financial decision (such as refinancing, buying a second home, etc.). However, you may think twice if each call generates an extra bill.

So we provide all financial planning and investment services for one simple, all-inclusive fee*. That way you can call or email us anytime you need help without fear of getting a surprise bill.

Transparent Performance Reporting

Surveys show that many financial advisor clients have no idea how much they pay their advisor. That’s usually due to hidden fees and confusing fee schedules. We don’t agree with that approach. You need to know what your performance is after fees to evaluate your progress.

To help make that easy, we provide performance reporting to you that is net of all our fees and trading costs. So you can see exactly how you are doing with our help, at all times.

FEE-ONLY FINANCIAL
PLANNING AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, DIRECT FROM YOUR OWN WEALTH MANAGER

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our story