Dr. John Schmitz PhD, CFA

Dr. John Schmitz is the founder and CEO of SciVest Capital Management Inc., a London, Ontario-based investment manager that brings the rigour and discipline of the scientific method to the art of investment management.

Dr. Schmitz adeptly combines sophisticated quantitative models with traditional fundamental methods. His proficiency shines in asset allocation and portfolio formation.

As an AlphaDelta sub-advisor, SciVest leads a unique investment strategy focusing on global, common equity and growth of dividends, complemented by an options-writing, income-generating overlay.

Dr. Schmitz brings over two decades of experience managing institutional-grade global equity and equity derivative investment portfolios. His career began as a consultant to investment management firms and funds, and grew to successfully managing a range of investment portfolios, from long-only mutual funds to complex strategies in market-neutral equity, net short equity, and long-short equity hedge funds. His proficiency extends to managing portable alpha strategies and executing intricate arbitrage-based and event-driven hedge strategies.

His exceptional talents have been recognized with awards:

• Global Alternative Investment Management (GAIM) award for Best Early and Best Mid-Stage Market Neutral Equity Manager (2003)
• Canadian Investment Awards for the Best Relative Value Hedge Fund (2004)
• The top-performing Global Equity fund manager in Canada in 2016 among 747 unique funds

His professional journey includes senior roles at Financial Concept Group (a subsidiary of Midland Walwyn Inc., and later Merrill Lynch Canada) and Maxxum Fund Management (later Mackenzie Financial). John’s expertise extends internationally, with significant experience managing investment entities in The Bahamas and Canada.

Dr. Schmitz holds a PhD in finance from The Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. Today, he continues teaching graduate-level portfolio management and financial economics at that institution and has also taught at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.

His PhD builds on an extensive academic background, including a BESc in Mechanical Engineering, a BA and DHS in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, a MA in Economics from the University of Toronto. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).