Hi, I’m Casey Schorr 👋
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to become wealthy.
In 2021, at age 37, I sold my tech company and finally tasted freedom. It wasn’t the kind of sale that made headlines, but it gave me a moment to pause and reconsider my path. Yet with that freedom came a new set of questions—how to invest a substantial sum, how much I could safely spend given my young age, and, most unsettling of all: what do I do now? The worries hadn’t disappeared; they’d simply changed shape.
It felt disorienting. For 15 years, I was content working hard to build a high-growth tech company. But a few years before my exit, something inside me started to shift. The constant pursuit of “more” began to lose its appeal, replaced by a deeper desire I couldn’t fully name.
Burned out and realizing that my current path was draining me, I felt on the edge of what I’d eventually call “Life 2.0.”
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”
I’d climbed high, but the path I was on wouldn’t take me where I truly wanted to go. Having more money hadn’t changed who I was at my core; what I truly sought was a life filled with purpose, connection, and inner peace.
Embracing this new chapter required two things: a shift in how I approached life and the financial security to sustain it.
I looked for others in a similar position but felt caught between worlds. Mainstream personal finance advice fell short, yet I wasn’t in ultra-high-net-worth circles either.
"So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life."
On the money front, I needed to go beyond simple indexing and develop the expertise to manage my own portfolio—someone capable of navigating the complexities of long-term withdrawals and finding alternatives to conventional advice.
I started with low-fee index funds, but as I planned for 50+ years of withdrawals, the usual advice fell short.
The standard stock/bond index portfolio had served me well during my working years, but for post-FI withdrawals, it looked increasingly risky. The widely accepted 3-4% “safe withdrawal rate” highlighted this hidden risk. Even at the high end, I realized it would be challenging to maintain my lifestyle.
I didn’t want to compromise and kept asking: Was there a smarter way? Did the world’s best money managers really rely on vanilla index portfolios and a modest 3 to 4%?
I knew investing legends like Ray Dalio and Warren Buffet trusted their fortunes to the same simple, proven, passive investing philosophy I already knew and loved.
But they layer on sophisticated strategies to balance risk, which also happens to dramatically boost the safe withdrawal rate. I researched the hell out of this approach, called Risk Parity (or sometimes All Weather), and determined I could take out maybe 6 to 8% annually without burning through my nest egg.
Achieving FI in half the time suddenly seemed within reach.
Yet, as an individual investor, the complexity of this institutional-level strategy was daunting. I realized that if I could adapt it for myself as a DIY investor, others might benefit too.
That’s how Hedgian was born—a community for affluent entrepreneurs and executives aiming to reach financial independence faster, with less risk, and "retire" into a more meaningful Life 2.0. If this resonates, join us.
“Not retirement at sixty-five years old, sitting in a nursing home collecting a check retirement—it’s a different definition: Retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow. When today is complete, in and of itself, you’re retired.”
What’s the story behind the name Hedgian?
The "hedge" in Hedgian reflects a balanced approach to investing and life.
In finance, a hedge is a way to reduce risk—like an insurance policy. Contrary to popular belief, hedging isn’t about quick profits. It’s about playing the long game with a sophisticated, balanced strategy.
In life, "hedge" is inspired by the Hedgehog Concept popularized by Jim Collins. It’s the intersection of three things: your deepest passion, what you can be the best in the world at, and what you can make a living doing.
The “-ian” in Hedgian reflects identity. Words with this ending describe people who follow certain paths or beliefs: Musician. Australian. Vegetarian… Hedgian.
And, of course, hedgehogs are cute—especially in a graduation cap! 🦔 🎓
How to Contact Me
Email me [first name] @ this domain, or connect on LinkedIn.