Former navy seal’s new mission is to improve the financial status of active-duty military and veterans

Military Matters interview with Kaj Larsen

Kaj Larsen enlisted in the military immediately after the September 11 attacks. He served for six years as a Navy Seal.

Larsen transitioned to the reserves in 2007 and earned a master’s in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a degree in political science from the University of Southern California.

Larsen is currently the Head of Investing for Siebert Financial, an investment management firm headquartered in Miami with $17 billion in assets.

His focus these days is to help improve the financial position of active-duty military and veterans.

He spoke with Military Matters about his mission, how he came to it, and the challenges it presents.

Military Matters (MM): You have said that it was your time at Harvard University that gave you the idea to help military members improve their financial literacy. What happened at Harvard to give you this idea?

Kaj Larsen: I found there was a dearth of military representation at Harvard. In fact, I found that was true of all academia as well as in the financial community.

And from my time in the military, I know there is a knowledge gap when it comes to financial planning.

MM: So what did you do?

Larsen: After I joined Siebert Financial, we put a focus on helping increase the wealth of active-duty military, veterans, first responders, members of law enforcement and their families. We want to help close the wealth gap that exists between these communities and the civilian world.

To do this, we created the Siebert Valor Plan.

This plan creates specifically tailored investment portfolios for these communities because sometimes traditional investment paths may not always be right for them.

Also, these portfolios represent military values in terms of the companies we invest in.

We like to say we put our money where the military is.

MM: How do you fix the knowledge gap about finances you mentioned?

Larsen: We start by building a commodity of trust because we believe money works at the speed of trust. We are a veteran-operated division at Siebert Financial, so we can earn the trust of active-duty and veterans.

Then we chip away at the knowledge gap by first teaching some of the basics – like understanding that you cannot invest until you save but also learning the difference between saving and investing. We help them understand how the market works and some of its most important facets, like compound interest – the eighth wonder of the world.

MM: You say that those in the military have some advantages when it comes to investing. What are they? 

Larsen: Usually, military families have more disposable income than other families because the military pays for their healthcare and provides housing allowances. Also, many enter the military at 18 or 19 or 20, so they can start investing at an early age and build a strong financial portfolio. 

MM: There must also be unique challenges for military families as well? 

Larsen: Yes. Military life is difficult. Base salaries can be competitively lower than those in similar socio-economic positions; and military families have to deal with the challenges of frequent moves from station to station and overseas deployments.

MM: Did you focus on your financial situation when you served? 

Larsen: I was 23 years old when I enlisted following 9/11. My focus was on being a war fighter and to be the best I could be, to the detriment of my financial health looking back on it.

MM: What do you tell military members in your seminars? 

Larsen: That it is never too early to start investing and that time in the market is more important than timing in the market. 

When we visit military bases, we like to do a workout with the active-duty members serving there. We get them fired up and we tell them health care uses the same principles as financial health. 

MM: When you say traditional investing may not be right for military members, what do you mean? 

Larsen: Take retirement plans. The military system used to have a fully defined benefit system in which if you did twenty years of service, you were in.  

Now it is a blended retirement system which combines a traditional pension with a defined contribution system. It is called a Thrift Savings Plan. 

The Thrift System Plan is the largest retirement system in the country. It is the one federal employee use. It is almost identical to a 401K with all the tax advantages and shields. 

The Thrift Savings Plan is completely portable. Military members can take it with them to their next jobs. That is a big change.  

If and when military members do transition to the civilian world, we help them make sure their leadership skills and the expertise they develop in the service translates to the private sector.  

Sometimes that can be a challenge. Not all skills are immediately transferrable. In my case as a Navy Seal, there was not a large market demand for underwater demolition.


For information about the Siebert Valor Program, click here.