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Meir Statman, PhD 

Meir Statman is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara 
University. His research focuses on behavioral finance, including how investors and managers make financial decisions and how these decisions are reflected in financial markets. His research has been published in The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Financial Economics, Financial Analysts Journal, and The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, among others. 

Dr. Statman’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Research Foundation of the CFA Institute, and the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). Dr. Statman is a recipient of a Batterymarch Fellowship, a William F. Sharpe Best Paper Award, a Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Outstanding Article Award, a Davis Ethics Award, a Moskowitz Prize for best paper on socially responsible investing, two Baker IMCA Journal Awards, and two Graham and Dodd Awards of Excellence. Dr. Statman received his PhD from Columbia University and his Bachelor’s Degree and MBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Loring Ward 
Investment Committee

John T. Scruggs, PhD

Vice President of Research
Loring Ward

John Scruggs is the Vice President of Research at Loring Ward.  He is responsible for conducting original research and employing insights from financial research to serve Loring Ward advisors and clients.
Prior to joining Loring Ward, Dr. Scruggs served as a Research Officer in the quantitative equity and index 
businesses at BlackRock (formerly Barclays Global Investors).  Previously, he was a finance professor at the University of Georgia and Washington University in St. Louis. His areas of expertise include Quantitative portfolio construction, empirical asset pricing, risk modeling and financial econometrics.  Dr. Scruggs has published scholarly articles in top-tier academic journals including the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Dr. Scruggs received his PhD and MBA from the University of Washington, and his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy.

Sheldon P. McFarland

Vice President, Portfolio Strategy & Research
Loring Ward

Sheldon P. McFarland serves as Vice President of Portfolio Strategy & Research at Loring Ward. His responsibilities include management of the Portfolio Strategy Group, oversight of the Loring Ward 
Investment Planning Center and development of tools and services to support Advisors. McFarland also authors articles for publications, presents at events and serves on Loring Ward’s SA Fund Pricing Committee.  Sheldon earned a Masters of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, from Santa Clara University. He also earned a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from Brigham Young University. He is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of San Francisco. He holds the FINRA Series 7, 63, 65 and 24 securities licenses.

Harry M. Markowitz, PhD

Harry M. Markowitz is best known for winning the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990 for his work on portfolio selection. In his distinguished career, Dr. Markowitz has served in various academic posts at many universities, including Baruch College, London School of Economics, London Business School, University of Tokyo, Rutgers University, Hebrew University, the Wharton School and UCLA. He is also a board member (and former president) of the American Finance Association and was a fellow of the Econometric Society. Recognized as the father of Modern Portfolio Theory and one of the nation’s best known minds in finance, Dr. Markowitz is a professor of finance in the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. He is also president of the Harry Markowitz Company and has also worked or companies such as IBM and the Rand Corporation. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.​

Please contact Schmidt Wealth at your convenience. We’ll work with you one on one to determine a roadmap to success. We look forward to working with you soon.

​Call Today: (701) 478-8787

One of the most important functions Loring Ward performs in the prudent management of our clients’ portfolios is the selection of appropriate investment strategies and opportunities in keeping with our investment philosophy. Integral to that purpose, the Investment Committee defines investment objectives, determines investment strategies and monitors our investment solutions to help meet both the current and future needs of investors. ​

Alex Potts

President & Chief Executive Officer
Loring Ward

Alex Potts is the President and CEO of Loring Ward Group Inc. as well as President and CEO of the SA Funds – Investment Trust.
Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of LWI Financial Inc. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer of RNP Advisory Services, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm.

Potts started the SA Funds – Investment Trust. He also founded Loring Ward Securities Inc. (formerly 
Assante Capital Management Inc.). In addition, he also served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of LWI Financial Inc. (formerly Assante Asset Management, Inc.) Potts earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Santa Clara University. He also holds General Securities (Series 7), State Law (Series 63) and General Securities Principal (Series 24) licenses.