Ryan Andreas Harder

Rydex Advisors offers institutional investors and financial intermediaries a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional investment products across 5 five distinct disciplines: (1) actively managed specialty fixed-income (2) value (3) growth (4) global equity and (5) quantitative. The firm employs a rigorous investment strategy in managing all of their funds. PADCO Advisors' benchmark funds seek to provide investment returns that correspond to the performance of a specific benchmark. Their sector funds are managed by teams who employ a quantitative model to select stocks and strive to be fully invested in their respective sectors. The firm's quantitative model involves screening stocks based on market-cap, liquidity and correlation relative to the entire industry sector. PADCO Advisors' quantitative strategy ranks stocks by market-cap and liquidity. For sector funds, the firm also considers the stock's correlation to the sector. The firm also utilizes long/short hedging methods and leveraging in some of their mutual funds. Though not limited by sector, PADCO Advisors tends to invest in the stocks of mid-cap and large-cap US companies in the electronic technology, technology services, healthcare technology, finance and non-energy minerals sectors.

Security Investors seeks to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns through investments in domestic equities, global equities, fixed-income securities and alternative investments. The firm's domestic equity strategy follows a value-oriented approach and target companies where the stock price does not reflect their internal assessment of intrinsic value, based on their assessment of long-term fundamental expectations and/or risk profile. Their global equity strategy employs a bottom-up stock selection process in a global context. Security Investors fixed-income strategy focuses on the selection of issues based on both structure and credit. They employ top-down decision-making, fundamental analysis and rigorous management of credit risk.

Provides banking, investment, brokerage, and private equity services

Functions as a College/University

Functions as a College/University

Sierra is an active manager for all their strategies and does not employ a passive buy and hold strategy. When the firm’s risk-management discipline gives a Sell signal, they will move all or a part of the client’s assets temporarily into a money market or similar safe-haven fund. When their discipline gives a Buy signal, they move assets back into the same fund unless, in the interim, the Portfolio Managers have identified a more attractive fund.

OPAM aims to produce total, long-term return while focusing on managing downside risk, as measured by drawdowns. The Sierra Mutual Funds focuses on risk management and disciplined “rules-based” investment style. The firm will sell a security when their quantitative decision rules identify a downtrend in the price of a security.