Theodore T.S. Wong
For over three decades, Ted has developed a true passion for unlocking the secrets of the financial markets. As an innovator, Ted rejects the status quo and is perpetually optimizing everything around him - including his financial quant models and his relationship with his wife. 2008 was a year of confusion and despair for everyone on Wall Street. After 30 years of carefully studying the markets and seeking better ways to manage risk as a private investor, Ted created TTSW Advisory in hopes that his accumulated knowledge and research will be helpful to investors around the world.
A technologist by training and by trade, Ted approaches the markets from an engineering perspective. He uses similar engineering design tools and algorithms he developed for satellite and military remote sensing to systematize investment decision-making processes. Conventional portfolio management approaches are susceptible to what engineers call single-points-of-failure risk. A single black swan event can wipe out our entire nest eggs. By identifying key market driving forces and designing multiple safety valves around each of these drivers, Ted is able to help his clients objectively minimize risk in bad times and capture profits in good times.
Ted has served in senior executive and general management roles at Fortune-500 companies including Teledyne, Perkin Elmer, EG&G, N.V. Philips, and Honeywell. In 2000, he spun out a high-tech company via an LBO in partnership with a private equity firm. In addition to general day-to-day management and P/L responsibilities, Ted was actively engaged in mergers and acquisitions to build strategic portfolio companies for his private equity partners. In 2008, Ted sold his company at a premium reflecting many of the enterprise value enhancement processes he implemented. After selling his company, Ted served as the Interim General Manager of an optical systems design firm and then as the CEO of an asset management startup.
In 2009, Ted started taking on clients under TTSW Advisory, a research and consulting firm that offers comprehensive financial market research and investment quant models to help guide clients' investment decisions. Up until 2013, new clients approached Ted strictly through word-of-mouth. His clients include registered investment advisors, hedge funds and investment institutions. His publications have been featured in various channels including the Nasdaq, AAII, and Advisor Perspectives. His research has also been cited in several investment books.
Ted received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Finance from Temple University. He served as a Board Member of the Technology Advisory Board of Ben Franklin Technology Center, an incubator funding startups and entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania. Ted is an accomplished technologist. He published over 20 technical papers and has been invited to speak at several international technology conferences on infrared sensors. He holds multiple US Patents (US4118857, US4081819, US4128338, US4634493) and was granted a security clearance by the Department of Defense. Ted and his wife reside in Philadelphia and have two adult children.
Ron Zheng
Ron is on a mission to make sense of the world. Born on the far-east coast, imported to the near-east coast and operating out of New York City for the last 8 years, his life has been defined by a mélange of diverse languages, people and cultures. Surrounded by entrepreneurs, he regularly helps friends figure out how to create structure and value out of chaos.
In the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, Ron was told by his professor "disregard the next three chapters of your investment banking textbook... the principles no longer apply...we don't know what to replace it with yet". That's encouraging news as he headed straight for a conventional Wall Street career - up until then, the obvious holy grail to the truths of the world. Instead of going to Wall Street, he looked for answers elsewhere.
In 2008, Ron started a company to invest in distressed real estate. He was able to acquire, redevelop and stabilize both commercial and residential properties. Several of his tenants have signed 10 year leases and his holdings today continue to produce double-digit returns. In 2010, Ron went into institutional sales at a Fortune 250 insurer. He led his own financial protection and employee benefits practice structuring solutions for law firms, hedge funds and various other employer groups. He outperformed his peers in this role and was offered an expanded book of business but respectfully declined and joined a fledgling technology startup.
In 2012, Ron joined two founders in a mobile and enterprise software startup and helped the company grow to 25+ employees within 18 months through two rounds of venture backed financing. During this time, Ron worked with clients including mayors, city managers and city leaders of Philadelphia, Palo Alto and Greenwich among others to improve municipal government. He has advised delegations from the Singaporean, Danish and British consulates on the topic of governance through technology.
With degrees in Finance and Management and a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the New York University Stern School of Business, Ron is passionate about the fundamentals of how businesses and financial markets work. Ron is in charge of outreach, operations, and general administration of TTSW Advisory.