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Sierra Investment Management
Sierra Investment Management was founded in 1987 by David C. Wright and Kenneth L. Sleeper, who set out to build a wealth-management practice anchored in...
Sierra Investment Management
Sierra Investment Management was founded in 1987 by David C. Wright and Kenneth L. Sleeper, who set out to build a wealth-management practice anchored in systematic, rules-based discipline rather than advisor intuition. The firm operates from Santa Monica, California, and has served clients through multiple market dislocations, including the 2008 Financial Crisis and the 2022 bond sell-off. The firm employs a tactical, global multi-asset strategy that can span equity, fixed-income, and cash exposures, with a mandate allowing up to 100% cash weight during periods of market turbulence. The investment management team — led by CIO James St. Aubin and Chief Investment Strategist Ryan Harder — convenes daily to review buy and sell signals generated by the founders' quantitative framework. The process is explicitly designed to avoid drawdowns rather than chase relative outperformance, with the first priority stated as “keeping our clients out of trouble.” The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth households, estates, trusts, and charitable organizations. Sierra’s leadership reflects a deliberate generational handoff: co-founders Wright and Sleeper remain as senior advisors and Sleeper retains a portfolio-manager role, while Skip Schweiss serves as CEO and Kristine Stromeyer as COO. The firm’s daily investment-committee rhythm and multi-person portfolio-management structure distribute decision-making across a team rather than a single star manager. Sierra’s structural differentiator is the commitment to a fully systematic tactical asset-allocation mandate — where sell signals can reduce risk-asset exposure to zero — operating within a traditional wealth-management wrapper. This architecture is uncommon among retail-focused RIAs, which typically maintain permanent strategic allocations. The firm’s 35-year tenure under the same founding principles provides an unusually long track record for a tactical manager, though no AUM or deployment figures are publicly disclosed.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
1987
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Santa Monica
Corporate office
Santa Monica, CA, United States
Principals
David C. Wright
Co-Founder, Senior Advisor
Kenneth L. Sleeper
Co-Founder, Senior Advisor, Portfolio Manager
James St. Aubin
Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager
Skip Schweiss
Chief Executive Officer
Ryan Harder
Chief Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Sierra Investment Management?
The investment management team is led by CIO James St. Aubin and Chief Investment Strategist Ryan Harder, both portfolio managers. They are supported by Lead Portfolio Analyst Marshall Quan, Senior Research & Data Analyst Yanni Dalkos, and the rest of the team. The full investment management team convenes every day to review systematic buy and sell signals.
What is Sierra’s investment philosophy and how does the process work?
Sierra runs a tactical, rules-based, multi-asset strategy that can allocate globally across equities, fixed income, and cash. The process follows quantitative buy-and-sell disciplines established by the founders in 1987. The goal is not to beat a static benchmark but to limit drawdowns — in periods of market turbulence, the strategies can go up to 100% in cash.
How does Sierra Investment Management differ from a typical RIA?
Most registered investment advisors construct diversified portfolios and hold them through cycles. Sierra integrates a daily tactical overlay that can shift risk exposure materially, including raising cash to 100%, based on systematic signals rather than economic forecasts. The discipline has been applied consistently since 1987, which is unusually long for a tactical manager.
What types of clients does Sierra serve?
Sierra provides investment advisory services to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, estates, trusts, charitable organizations, and foundations. The firm’s tactical, drawdown-focused approach is intended for clients who prioritize capital preservation through volatile markets.
How is the firm’s leadership structured, and who are the founders currently involved?
Co-founders David C. Wright and Kenneth L. Sleeper remain active as senior advisors, with Sleeper also continuing as a portfolio manager. Day-to-day management is led by CEO Skip Schweiss and CIO James St. Aubin. The executive team also includes a COO, CFO, CMO, and Chief Compliance Officer.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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