About Me

Hi, I'm Adrian.

I’m a software engineer, systems thinker, and the writer behind SWE Investment.

For over a decade, I’ve spent my professional life designing, building, and analyzing complex technical architectures. My career in tech—including my time as a software developer at Microsoft and my background in empirical software engineering research (completing my PhD at the University of Victoria)—has trained me to look at the world through the lens of systems, scalability, and risk management.

When I first began navigating personal finance, asset allocation, and retirement planning, I noticed something missing in mainstream financial advice. Most resources focus on emotional habits or general rules of thumb. Very few address the unique financial landscape of tech professionals: decoupled compensation pipelines, base salaries vs. RSUs, stock vesting schedules, tax-advantaged account structures, and the ultimate goal of building a sustainable, recurring wealth engine.

I realized that building wealth is fundamentally a system-design problem.

My Philosophy: Financial System Architecture

I started SWE Investment to document my personal financial journey and to analyze wealth building the same way we design software:

  • The Capital Engine: Treating your primary tech career and total compensation (Base + RSUs + Bonuses) as the primary engine that generates high-throughput capital.

  • Redundancy & Fail-Safes: Designing emergency funds, risk-mitigation strategies (inspired by everything from Nassim Taleb’s The Black Swan to core engineering principles), and asset diversification to withstand unexpected "runtime" anomalies.

  • Recurring Cash Flow: Focusing on compounding passive income to build a "sustainable runway" that eventually outworks your W-2 labor.

  • Modeling & Data: Replacing market-chasing emotion with cold, hard spreadsheets and custom tracking models that keep us honest.

When my own portfolio crossed the $1M milestone, it cemented my belief that systematic capital allocation works. This blog is my public log of the lessons I’ve learned, the models I build, and the strategies I use to quietly optimize my financial runway.

Connect With Me

  • Professional Background: Learn more about my software engineering career and research on my LinkedIn Profile.

  • Reach Out: Have a question about financial modeling for tech pros or want to discuss systems-based investing? Head over to my [Contact Page] to drop me a line.

Disclaimer: I am a software developer, not a certified financial planner, licensed accountant, or registered investment advisor. The content on SWE Investment represents my personal journey, opinions, and custom-built models. It is shared for educational and informational purposes only. Please do your own research or consult with a professional advisor before making any financial decisions.

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