John Wright, CFA and Chief Investment Officer of Stellar Assets, was recently featured on the Influential Entrepreneurs podcast on the Business Innovators Radio Network, where he discussed the challenge of beating the market while minimizing downside risk.
Listen to the interview: Interview with John Wright, CFA Chief Investment Officer of Stellar Assets Discussing Beating the Market
In this insightful conversation, Wright explores the perceived trade-off between growth and capital preservation, and the intriguing prospect of capturing both. He notes that while a focus on minimizing risk is relatively easy, such approaches often sacrifice long-term growth—potentially putting investors at greater risk of outliving their money or failing their investment goals.
“Crash-protect assets without sacrificing performance!” Wright said. “Our actively managed equity and option portfolios aim for higher returns and lower downside risk.”
Key takeaways from the episode include:
- Data-Driven Decision Making
Wright leverages regression models to identify stock attributes correlated with outperformance in different market environments, including both risk-off and momentum-driven markets. He recognizes that markets can change unpredictably, and therefore blends these models to focus on a subset of stocks which can thrive in both fair and foul financial conditions. - Diversification & Robust Stock Selection
“Always have something you can sell”, Wright emphasized, rather than only focusing on either risk avoidance or performance. Both environments will happen, but investors can only rebalance effectively with the opportunity to take profits during difficult times. Balancing risk and reward requires always holding both risk-on and risk-off assets. - Options Trading Can Be For Everyone
A cornerstone of Wright’s strategy is using both put and call options on individual stocks to accelerate profits during both rising and falling markets. His goal is to make money in down markets, not just to limit portfolio loses, and then to reinvest those funds in preparation for the next ‘up’ leg. His options portfolios saw strong performance when markets struggled, including in 2022 and more recently during the 2025 tariff tantrum. Wright emphasized that options, when added to any portfolio in small amounts, can both reduce risk and dramatically increase performance. - Emotional Discipline Through Rule-Based Investing
By setting strict investment rules—such as taking profits at predefined points and balancing directional exposure—Wright helps reduce emotional decision-making, a common pitfall for investors. The number one rule from his book, “You Know Nothing About Picking Stocks.. And That’s OK”, is to always recognize your ignorance in knowing where the market is going next.
Wright also addressed the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in investing. While he acknowledges AI’s potential for enhancing data analysis, he cautions that market behavior is still driven by basic human emotions, and therefore existing techniques designed to counter those emotions will continue to be impactful.
During the market downturn of 2022, when the S&P500 lost -20%, Wright’s systematic approach helped his equity portfolios decline only -5%. More recently, his option portfolios generated ‘embarrassing’ positive returns while the market dropped -12%.
This episode provides valuable insight for investors seeking to build resilient portfolios that balance growth with downside protection.
About John Wright
John holds an MBA from Stanford University (’95), but unlike many in finance, his experience isn’t rooted on Wall Street. Instead, he spent decades helping Fortune 500 companies solve high-stakes challenges—growing sales, improving margins, and driving stock performance.
His career spans consulting (McKinsey), tech (HP), energy (Exxon), retail (AutoZone), and industrials (GM). Today, he brings that strategic mindset to managing client portfolios through Stellar Assets.
On a personal note, John is the seventh of nine siblings raised in a tight-knit family with strong values. He served a two-year mission in the Netherlands and Belgium and now lives with his wife and three children. His deep-rooted belief in community and service continues to shape both his personal and professional life.
Learn more about John Wright and Stellar Assets at: www.stellar-assets.com
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