Ron joined Ashton Thomas Private Wealth in 2023 as Director, Head of Investment Research. In this role, he is focused on portfolio risk modeling, custom portfolio design, and assessment of alternative investments, including options and derivatives.

Ron brings an extensive background in risk analytics, portfolio theory and model development, and quantitative research to Ashton Thomas. He studied the 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management and subsequently wrote a graduate dissertation on heavy-tailed distributions using neural networks. Ron has applied the knowledge and experience gained through his quantitative research to risk management systems and processes at a number of well-known financial firms.

Before to joining Ashton Thomas, Ron was part of a portfolio management team that launched new ETFs to the advisory marketplace. Previously, he helped a national wealth management firm develop a program to assess structured notes as a tool for generating client conversations. He also built portfolio margin systems for TD Ameritrade and other firms. Ron was co-founder of a cloud-based risk analytics company which was subsequently acquired by a Covisum, a software entity which serves RIAs. He started his financial services career with First National Bank of Omaha, where he developed Economic Capital and Treasury risk models.

Ron received a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska and a Maîtrise (Master’s degree) from Strasbourg University in France.

He is passionate about creating tailormade portfolio strategies to help advisors and their clients better navigate financial markets and investment risk. “I’ve always believed there are better ways to understand and measure risk,” states Ron. “Advisors and asset managers should be able to put together portfolios with appropriate levels of risk that have a fighting chance to outperform their peers over long periods of time. I’ve learned through experience and research that, while investment vehicle selection is important, the more determining factor in outcomes over time is the allocation percentage to each investment, since this is what controls the impact of risk on a portfolio strategy.”

In his free time, Ron enjoys golf, fencing, and scuba diving. He remains an avid student and researcher in the areas of high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and the cognitive sciences.