Two Concentrated Positions in One Household: How Gagan Approached Diversification

Gagan Hastir spent fourteen years at Netflix (NFLX), rising to VP of Engineering. His wife, a senior director at Meta (META), built a concentrated position of her own. Together, their household balance sheet carried exposure to two of the largest technology companies in the world.

It wasn't one person weighing risk tolerance. It was a family looking at structural concentration across two careers.

"Earlier this year," Gagan says, "my wife and I decided diversification is a good thing and we should absolutely do that."

How it built up

Gagan's concentration happened the way it usually does in tech. Options as compensation. Belief in the company. Holding instead of selling.

"I always had Netflix options as part of my compensation," he says. "I was quite bullish on Netflix right from the beginning. I still am."

That belief shaped behavior.

"And as I continued to exercise and hold options," he says, "I ended up with more and more Netflix stock that kept appreciating in value. That's how I ended up with a concentrated position."

He understood the risk intellectually. Acting on it took longer.

"I always knew I was building a concentrated position," he says. "But I was also so bullish about the company itself that it mitigated my fear of concentration."

As the family's wealth grew, conversations with financial advisors grew more direct.

"They made extremely strong recommendations," he says, "that irrespective of how bullish I am about Netflix, some amount of diversification is still a very, very smart idea."

Finding Cache

Gagan discovered Cache while researching exchange funds independently. He didn't stop at marketing material.

"I just cold-called Srikanth," he says. "And he was like, yeah, let's talk."

What mattered to him was less about projections and more about people.

"What I was blown away by was his humility, his honesty, his integrity," he says. "That made me feel really good."

He also verified the structural protections. What happens if the company disappears?

"The funds invested are actually managed by another entity," Gagan says, "one that manages funds for many companies, with levels of protection and insurance."

He looked them up. Confirmed it independently.

"Even in the absence of Cache, our investments would continue to be protected and we would have mechanisms to access them directly."

Why logistics mattered

Gagan evaluated multiple exchange fund options. The differentiator came down to execution.

Traditional funds operated with infrequent subscription windows. Some had concentration limits that blocked certain stocks. For employees of public companies, those windows had to align with internal trading restrictions.

"With that particular fund," he says, "I was only able to access it every few months. And sometimes certain stock positions were allowed and some were not."

That created friction with Netflix's trading policies.

"There were times the fund would open, but my Netflix trading window would be closed," he explains. "And Netflix wouldn't allow exchange fund participation in a closed window unless it was pre-planned."

Cache's more frequent closing schedule made it easier to act within corporate constraints.

"At least at that time, there was a closing every two weeks," he says. "It was easier to get in. There weren't constraints about which stocks were allowed or not."

Six months in

Gagan invested, and then watched his diversified holdings outperform his Netflix position over a six-month period. His concentrated stock temporarily stagnated while the fund climbed 25 to 30 percent.

He's careful not to overgeneralize from a short window. His belief in Netflix hasn't changed. But the experience made diversification feel concrete.

"This six months showed me that your concentrated position can go down," he says. "And when it does, it can be a deep loss. An exchange fund can provide protection."

What he tells others

"If a friend of mine were sitting on a big concentrated single stock position," Gagan says, "I would start by sharing my experience and how the portfolio has already helped me."

Then he adds: "I would absolutely encourage them to look at exchange fund options. And even make an introduction so they can experience what I experienced."