incomestead

The governance engine for serious personal capital

Run your wealth like the business it already is.

Incomestead is a deterministic governance engine for self-directed investors running serious capital. Every week it checks your real portfolio against your own policy — allocation bands, margin zones, income coverage — and surfaces the decisions only you can make. It never trades. It recommends; you decide.

Live on the yield. Keep the corpus.

Join the founding cohort See a sample report

Early access + the Weekly Governance Dispatch · no card · it never trades or touches your money.

The gap

Right now, your governance system is you.

Managing serious money is an operations problem, not a picking problem. You have the rules — bands, margin limits, income targets. What you don't have is anything but yourself enforcing them, byte-for-byte, every single week.

The single point of failure

At working leverage, a skipped week is the expensive one. Your broker shows a raw margin number — not your zones, not whether a breach has persisted long enough to act, and no allocation drift at all.

  • Discipline decays. Rules you don't enforce on a cadence aren't rules — they're intentions.
  • Margin creeps silently. No calm instrument tells you how close to the edge you actually are.
  • The spreadsheet goes stale. It inherits your fatigue and your biases, and never says so.
  • The weeks you skip are exactly the volatile ones where variance costs the most.

The category

There's a layer above strategy. It's called governance.

Strategy is the target you set. Governance is the discipline that holds you to it — measured against your real book, on a cadence, forever. It's what a family office runs every Monday and what a solo investor skips.

Incomestead lives in that layer. It doesn't pick your holdings, set your targets, or trade. It governs the plan you already wrote. See what a governed week looks like ↓

How a governed week works

Three steps. You make every decision.

01

Bring your numbers.

Your positions and balances, from your own broker and data. Designed to be source-agnostic — no switching, no lock-in, read-only.

02

The engine governs.

Same rules, same math, every week. It checks your book against your written policy — margin zones, allocation drift, income coverage — and never skips.

03

You read the rooms and decide.

Your week arrives as the rooms of the estate — what's OK, what to authorise, what to watch. It recommends. You act. It never does.

Who it's built for

For the operator running a leveraged, multi-strategy book who wants institutional governance without surrendering control — not a robo-advisor, not another dashboard. Bring your own numbers; Incomestead reads them and reports.

Is this me?

A governed week, shown

This is Standing — the front door of your estate.

Every week opens on one question: Am I OK — what moved, and what must I do? Here's a sample.

Standing

As of 21 Aug 2026 · This run
Record: PASS · 2 warnings
REVIEWSTATUS · AMBER
Margin is in the HARVEST zone. Harvest only / pause Covered Calls
ACTION REQUIRED — margin is addressed first; it is the only existential breach.
5 breaches → 4 need action → top 3 below
30.85% HARVEST Margin utilisation · $1,135,226 loan
CLEAR
HARVEST
FREEZE
FORCED
0%30%35%40%
CLEARHARVESTFREEZEFORCED
2 weeks in Harvest
Not to scale — the action zones are magnified about 2× so the range where decisions happen stays legible.
Harvest only / pause Covered Calls. Full plan in Resolutions.
Margin loan
$1.14M
−$94K since last week
Coverage (MCR)
1.22
Acceptable · DRIP off
Income Core + Bonds
6.3%
Under · tgt 27.0% · 2+ wks
Alternatives
24.2%
Over · tgt 12.5% · 2+ wks
Incomestead recommends. You decide.
Ranked by impact, presented as independent decisions. You choose what and when — nothing executes on its own. Open any action for the full plan.
CRITICAL
Increase Cash from 1.2% toward 2.6%
ALLOCATION · CASH
›
Current1.2%  ·  band 2.1%–3.9%
Target3.0%
RecommendationIncrease Cash from 1.2% toward 2.6%
Cash: 1.2% (target 3.0%, band 2.1–3.9%). Independent recommendation — you choose what and when; nothing executes on its own.
HIGH
Increase Income Core + Bonds from 6.3% toward 23.0%
ALLOCATION · INCOME CORE + BONDS
›
Current6.3%  ·  band 22.0%–28.0%
Target27.0%
HIGH
Reduce Alternatives from 24.2% toward 15.2%
ALLOCATION · ALTERNATIVES
›
Current24.2%  ·  band 12.5%–17.5%
Target12.5%
MEDIUM
Pause new Cash Secured Put writing until capacity clears
OPTIONS · ALTERNATIVES
›
ReasonCap breached 2+ consecutive weeks
Your Governance ScoreThis week
Example Governance Score Signature for this week — a synthetic book4 of 4 components measured: band Governed, about 80 to the nearest 5. C1 82; C2 52; C3 100; C4 100.C1C2C3C4Governed80 · nearest 5
THIS WEEK
4 of 4 components measured
Policy on file: a written target Stack — banded, versioned, summing to the whole book
C1 Margin Safety82.035.0%
C2 Allocation Discipline52.030.0%
C3 Cadence & Consistency100.020.0%
C4 Policy & Structure100.015.0%
shaded bands are the scale · the ring marks this week
REBALANCEBANDS · AMBER
5 of 12 allocation bands are out of band. Rebalance the widest first.
Widest drift — Alternatives, +6.7pp above its ceiling. Bucket bands are governed; drill a breach to the position responsible.
12 bands → 5 out of band → 2 over · 3 under
Performance · since inception
cost basis · ex-div Expand Buckets
›
Equitiesbucket · policy band · $2,054,293
41.9%77.8%
55.4% / 60.0%
in band
⌄
Bondsbucket · policy band · $122,890
8.5%15.8%
3.3% / 12.0%
−5.2pp under
Bondsbonds · coupon-bearing, held for income
▲ +4.5%†+$5,235
OUT OF BAND$122,890
Increase to 10.3% — buy +$259,934 to the band midpoint. Independent · no execution sequence.
›
Alternativesbucket · policy band · $1,475,375
12.5%37.5%
39.8% / 25.0%
+2.3pp over
›
Cashbucket · policy band · $45,000
2.1%3.9%
1.2% / 3.0%
−0.9pp under
Increase to 2.5% — buy +$49,524 to the band midpoint. Independent · no execution sequence.
policy band target out of band † since cost · unrealised
TRIMBANDS · AMBER
Alternatives is 3.3× its cap — trim to cap.
Alternatives is $415,006 beyond its cap. Margin is covered (MCR 1.22×, 8.8× with premium), so this is a positioning trim — not a margin event.
4 engines → 1 over band · margin covered 1.22×
INCOME · THIS WEEK · REALISED, CASH BASIS
+$10,851 4 of 4 engines · this week 13.23× the interest
Covered Calls
+$6.0K
avg $2.4K/wk
Cash Secured Puts
+$3.8K
avg $3.0K/wk
Dividends
+$0
avg $961/wk
Coupons
+$1.0K
avg $792/wk
Each box is an engine you can switch off. The figure is its realised cash this week; the small line is its typical weekly run-rate. The bronze foot below is the week's margin interest — the green on top is what the engines kept after covering it.
HOW MUCH OF THE WEEK'S INTEREST THESE ENGINES COVERED · WEEKLY · 52 WK
Interest +$820 Kept on top Below the line — week didn't clear Cleared 47 / 52 wk
This week covered interest — income +$10,851 − interest $820 = net +$10,031 13.23× cover

Calm — normal conditions

Risk appetite normal (VIX 15.4). Rate volatility normal (MOVE 73). Worst equity week −2.4%. Nothing here demands action — it sets the backdrop for the decisions in Resolutions.
Macro note
NARRATIVE
MID-CYCLE / mixed — no decisive cross-asset signal. Risk-ON — VIX 15.4 (calm). FX: EUR neutral (1.10–1.18). BTC: Greed. All reads are data-derived from this week's market snapshot.
REGIME
MID-CYCLE / mixed — no decisive cross-asset signal.
RISK APPETITE
Risk-ON — VIX 15.4 (calm).
FX OUTLOOK
EUR/USD 1.1664 — EUR neutral (1.10–1.18). DXY 98.9 (weakening, 1M −2.5%).
BTC FEAR & GREED ⓘ
Greed (F&G 65)
Full macro read Fed · ECB · FX · risk · positioning ›
WHAT'S MOVING
Gold (GLD)
423.36
+12.9% today · +11.7% 1M
CBOE VIX
15.13
−11.3% today · −11.3% 1M
MOVE Index
73.4
−1.7% today · −3.8% 1M
DXY
98.9
−2.5% 1M · weakening
How the estate has moved. Rolling metrics feed Key Changes only — they never enter a governance decision.
MARGIN UTILISATION · 4-WEEK TREND
Week −3
26.1%
Clear
Week −2
28.7%
Clear
Week −1
30.2%
Harvest
This week
30.85%
Harvest · 2 wks
Rolling 4-week average
28.9%
margin utilisation
New positions this week
1
allocated on upload
Positions closed
2
1 call-away · 1 manual

Illustrative only · synthetic data · not a live portfolio. Switch rooms to look around.

The proof

Three things you have to be able to trust.

01

It never trades or touches your money.

Not a policy — an architecture. The engine has no ability to place an order, and the connection to your broker is read-only.

  • Read-only broker access
  • No write / execution credentials
  • Holdings encrypted; nothing leaves for a market
  • Every action is yours, by hand
02

The numbers are correct — and reproducible.

A deterministic engine: same inputs, same report, forever. Re-run any past week and get the identical numbers — reconstruct exactly why you acted, years later.

re-run week 14, two years on
→ byte-identical report ✓
your spreadsheet can't promise that.
03

It respects your intelligence.

A rigorous, unemotional counsel — not a robo-advisor for novices, not a boss. It reads your leverage back as zones and the distance to the edge. You make the call.

Incomestead recommends. You decide.
no discretionary authority · human-final on every action

Where it fits

You've weighed the alternatives. Here's the honest grid.

Your spreadsheet Robo-advisor Human RIA Incomestead
You keep full controlYesNo — it tradesNo — it advises & tradesYes
Never trades your moneyYesNoNoYes
Reproducible, byte-identicalNoOpaqueOpaqueYes
Enforced every week, never skipsOnly if you doYesVariesYes
Can be handed downNoNoNoYes
CostYour time & fatigue~0.25%/yr AUM~1%/yr AUMFlat — coming soon

The one number

Your Governance Score.

One 0–100 measure of how well you govern — not how good your picks are. A mediocre book run with discipline scores high; a brilliant one left ungoverned scores low.

Margin-first by design: a near-forced book can't score well no matter how tidy the allocation. Every deducted point is visible and fixable.

Margin 35% Allocation 30% Cadence 20% Policy 15%

Three of those four have a free instrument behind them: the Margin Zone Checker reads your leverage, the Allocation Reality Check reads your drift, the Charter writes the policy they measure against. Cadence is the one no point-in-time reading can see.

Run the six free tools →

Example · Provisional Score

Example Governance Score Signature — a synthetic book, not a real portfolioProvisional Score, 3 of 4 components measured, weights rescaled: band Governed, about 85 to the nearest 5. Margin 87; Allocation 78; Cadence not measured; Policy 100.Margin 87Allocation 78Cadencenot measuredPolicy 100Governed85 · nearest 5

3 of 4 measured · weights rescaled

The honest objection

You're exactly the type who would

I could just build this in a spreadsheet myself.

True. And here's why the operators who can build it still don't run it that way for a decade:

01

A spreadsheet is still you.

It inherits your fatigue and your biases, and goes silently stale the first week you're distracted. Your worst inputs arrive on your worst weeks.

02

A deterministic engine never flinches.

It never skips a week or fudges a threshold because you're attached to a position. Same rules, same math, every time.

03

A spreadsheet can't be handed down.

A byte-identical, documented process is the first asset in your book that could actually survive you. Your sheet dies with your diligence.

Join the founding cohort

Be governed from your very first week.

Incomestead is opening to a small founding cohort. Join now and start receiving the discipline before the app even opens.

Early access when the estate opens The Weekly Governance Dispatch — the report, in your inbox Founding-cohort pricing, locked

We never see your holdings · no card · unsubscribe anytime.

Coming soon · founding cohort now forming

Straight answers

Governance FAQ

Does Incomestead ever trade or move my money?
No — never. Incomestead is read-only. It has no ability to place an order and no execution credentials for your broker. It reads your positions, checks them against your policy, and reports. Every action stays in your hands. It recommends; you decide.
Is this a robo-advisor?
No. A robo-advisor takes the wheel and trades for you. Incomestead does the opposite — it governs the plan you set and hands you the decisions. It's an instrument panel, not an autopilot.
I could build this in a spreadsheet. Why wouldn't I?
You could — you're the type. But a spreadsheet inherits your fatigue and biases and goes silently stale the week you're distracted. A deterministic engine never skips a week or fudges a threshold, and unlike a sheet it produces a byte-identical, auditable record you could actually hand down.
What brokers and data does it work with?
Incomestead is designed to be data-source agnostic — you bring your own positions and balances, read-only. It reconciles multi-currency, leveraged, multi-strategy books rather than assuming a single platform.
Is my data safe?
Holdings are encrypted, the broker connection is read-only, and nothing is ever sent to a market. The engine can look, reconcile, and recommend — it cannot act.
What does it cost, and when can I start?
Incomestead is opening to a small founding cohort with locked founding pricing. Join the cohort above and you'll get early access plus the Weekly Governance Dispatch before launch.

From the writing

The thinking behind the engine.

Incomestead grew out of one argument: serious money is an operations problem, not a picking problem. The blog makes that case in full — start here.

Margin

How Many Open Positions Can Your Book Actually Carry?

Three to eight? Twenty to twenty-five? Every answer is somebody’s tolerance. Here is the calculation that returns yours.

Read → Allocation

The Receding Floor: How Much of Your Book You Won't Be Forced to Sell

The safe part of a book is two Layers counted as one: Bedrock plus Cash — and it is supposed to recede as what the money is for changes.

Read → Governance

What an IBKR Flex Query Actually Exports — and What It Leaves Out

Configure it for more than one section and it stops being a spreadsheet. Four of its fields will give you a wrong number without ever flagging one.

Read →

Read the field notes, or join the cohort and the Weekly Governance Dispatch brings each new one to you.

Who you become

From a lone operator with a margin balance to the steward of an estate that outlasts you.

anxious solo operator→ calm, governed steward→ a Portfolio CEO whose system survives him

Incomestead recommends. You decide.

Join the founding cohort