JD Gardner, CFA CMT | CIO & Founder

Background & Education

JD holds an undergrad degree in Finance and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Wright State University. He holds both the CFA Charter and Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designations. He spent time at UBS, Morgan Stanley, and as a research analyst before starting Aptus. With experience in developing systematic strategies, he saw the opportunity to help navigate the current environment with efficiencies found in the ETF structure.

Outside of the Office

He lives in L.A. (of course that means Lower Alabama) in Fairhope with his wife Mallory and their 4 kids (JJ, Luke, Mims, & Silas).

Why Aptus?

“I founded Aptus in 2013 to attack the behavior gap. An investor’s return is more important than an investment’s return, and Aptus delivers solutions designed to minimize behavioral inefficiencies and enhance outcomes.

Aptus is family. The culture we’ve created and the people involved…I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by anybody else (that goes directly to all team members and indirectly to our spouses who make it all possible). There’s an opportunity to impact the advisory space through our services and strategies. I’m thankful for our team and the chance to compete daily and work to earn trust with them by my side.”