Contact Randy Swan at
970.382.8901 x 103
Founder, President and Lead Portfolio Manager of Swan Global Investments
Randy Swan is the founder, CEO and Lead Portfolio Manager of Swan Global Investments and the creator of the proprietary Defined Risk Strategy (DRS).
In 1997, recognizing the limitations of Modern Portfolio Theory and the difficulty of market timing and picking stocks, Randy developed several options strategies, including the Swan Defined Risk Strategy (DRS), to help investors redefine the risk/return dynamic of long-term investing, seeking to achieve capital appreciation while seeking protection from large losses.
As Lead Portfolio Manager, Randy oversees and manages the DRS across numerous product portfolios and asset classes such as U.S. large cap and small cap stocks, emerging market stocks, foreign developed stocks, long-term bonds, gold, and more. Across each product/portfolio, the DRS strategy seeks to define the risk, reduce volatility, limit large losses and match or exceed the long-term performance of the stock market over an entire investment cycle (peak to trough). This is all from the perspective of helping investors to achieve a more consistent and smoother longer-term investment experience.
Before founding Swan, Randy was a senior manager for KPMG’s Financial Services Group, primarily working with risk managers and insurance providers as a tax consultant. His experience at KPMG helped him in designing the Defined Risk Strategy, as he was able to see firsthand how insurance and risk managers structured and diminished risk.
The options markets are similar to the insurance and reinsurance markets whereby investors can structure various risk/reward market payoffs based on specific objectives and risk tolerance.
What followed was Randy’s discovery and pursuit of effectively using options strategies with buy-and-hold positions in an equity index ETF to define, or limit, large losses in economic downturns. Randy’s main goal was to help investors redefine the risk/return dynamic of long-term equity investing in a tax-friendly investing approach. The DRS has proved successful in doing just that since 1997.
Randy has been featured in publications by Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Morningstar, Investors Business Daily, and more. He has also been a frequent speaker at industry conferences including the Options Industry Council’s Wealth Summit and the Alternative Investment Summit. Additionally, he serves on the Advisory Leadership Council of the Options Industry Council (OIC), an initiative designed to support education within the financial advisor channel, specifically focused on advancing the awareness and use of options in building a superior portfolio.
The foundational investment philosophy behind the Defined Risk Strategy, and the market analysis supporting its efficacy, are articulated in his book, Investing Redefined: A Proven Investment Approach for a Changing World.
Published in 2019, and crafted for individual investors and financial professionals alike, the book provides compelling reasons for the use of options-based strategies to address the ever-complex and evolving investment environment.
Randy is a 1990 graduate of the University of Texas with a master’s degree in professional accounting.
Investment Management