Mitchell D. Eichen

Mitchell D. Eichen is the founder and CEO of Acertus Capital Management and The MDE Group.

Early career

Eichen began his career practicing tax, trust, and estate law for Shanley & Fisher, P.C. (now Drinker Biddle & Reath), a law firm in Morristown, New Jersey. Following that he became a Senior Financial Counselor for the Bank of New York before founding The MDE Group in 1987.^[1]

Acertus Capital Management

Eichen led the launch of Risk 3.0 Asset Management in 2011, which became Acertus Capital Management due to a name change in May 2013.^[2] Acertus’s disciplined, rules-based investment process was designed to enable institutional and sophisticated individual investors to confidently select the balance of upside potential and downside protection that aligns directly with their investment needs, market expectations and risk tolerance. The structure of these strategies, which can serve as either core or satellite investments, eliminates counterparty risk and offers a risk-contained solution at lower fees.

Acertus offers three investment strategies that bend the risk and return curve of the S&P 500.

Planned Return Strategy® (PRS) is a low volatility investment strategy that can be used as either a core or satellite portfolio component. Using ETFs and options to create an attractive and stable risk-return pattern, it is designed to outperform both the S&P 500 and the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index on a risk-adjusted basis.

Accelerated Return StrategyTM (ARS) is a core equity strategy that is designed to outperform the S&P 500 to the upside by enhancing returns into the high teens to mid twenties without incurring any meaningful additional downside risk.

Third Rail StrategyTM (TRS) designed to protect against steep market declines while maintaining upside potential into the mid to high teens.

Acertus's investment strategies were subsequently covered in The Wall Street Journal in an article titled “A Focus on Preservation”,^[3] on CNBC in a segment titled "Risk First, Then Return.",^[4] and in a variety of other financial and business publications.^[5]

Eichen created Acertus as a provider of investment solutions for other wealth advisors and institutional investors.^[6] These solutions include use ETFs and options to deliver a consistent pattern of returns for investors.^[7] Reporting on the launch, Financial Advisor Magazine quoted Eichen as saying: "This idea is starting to gain traction among RIAs ... I think this is going to be the major area of growth for us and I think, within a year, it will be an accepted strategy throughout the industry."^[8] InvestmentNews and AdvisorOne have both also covered the launch of this platform of investment solutions.^[9][10] Eichen partnered with business strategist and former CBS and Fox News Channel executive Mark Pearlman to design and execute the launch of Risk 3.0 and Risk 3.0 Asset Management.^[11]

The MDE Group

The MDE Group logo

Since Eichen founded The MDE Group in 1987, the firm has grown in size and prestige. Specializing in both asset management and comprehensive wealth management, The MDE Group now has more than $1.5 billion in assets under management. MDE is consistently ranked on Barron’s list of Top Independent Financial Advisers.^[12] In 2009 Wealth Manager Magazine ranked MDE second in New Jersey by assets under management per client.^[13]

Authorship, Appearances and Other Activities

Eichen is frequently quoted in the financial media ^[14][15][16] and is a columnist on Forbes.com, where he writes about investment and wealth management topics with a special emphasis on risk.^[17] Eichen is also a regular guest on broadcast channels such as CNBC and Fox Business Network where he provides market and investment analysis and commentary.^[18][19][20]

In addition, Eichen has published several research articles in the Journal of Financial Planning, including “The Future of Hedge Funds: Five Emerging Trends”,^[21] and “Investor Mistakes 101.” He also lectures on a variety of financial topics for groups such as The American Association of Individual Investors,^[22] The Georgetown University Alumni Association^[23] and The Structured Products Americas Conference.^[24]

Eichen is also a member of the Board of Overseers for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.

Education

Eichen has an LL.M in taxation from the New York University School of Law Graduate Division and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in economics from Rutgers University.

References