Will Hepburn

A Proactive Approach Forged Over Four Decades

With over four decades navigating the investment industry’s ebbs and flows, I’ve experienced every cycle imaginable – from euphoric market booms to gut-wrenching busts. Through periods of irrational exuberance and stretches of pervasive despair, one constant has defined my career: a proactive, adaptive approach to managing portfolios across changing market conditions.

This hard-earned experience has allowed me to accumulate a wealth of knowledge and hone an innate ability for strategic thinking. Now, as Vice President of Investment Research at Shadowridge, I leverage these assets cultivated over 40 years to guide the firm’s investment strategies and help clients achieve their financial goals, no matter the environment.

My investment philosophy was forged during my time developing war plans in the Command Operations Center in the U.S. Army, where I learned that even the best-laid plans must adapt when circumstances shift. “Regardless of how good the plan, everything changes when the shooting starts,” I often say. This principle guides my belief that investors must be prepared to pivot strategies as markets evolve.

After leaving the military in 1974, I began helping clients make smart investment decisions in 1987. I spent over a decade as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional before focusing exclusively on investment management and developing innovative strategies that “Adapt to Changing Markets®.” My proactive methods are designed to keep clients’ money invested in strengthening markets while defensively reducing exposure during periods of weakness.

I’ve shared my investment expertise as an instructor at Yavapai College since 1990. I’m the author of “Why Bad Things Happen to Good Investments” and have served as president of the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) and as manager of two mutual funds.

Now working alongside Shadowridge’s Chief Investment Officer Ryan Redfern, I continue to create alternative paths forward based on shifting market patterns and issues. My decades of experience have shown that an adaptive, proactive approach to investing can help clients navigate even the most turbulent market cycles.

If you have questions on how our proactive strategies of buying and selling might help you succeed as an investor, please reach out to us to schedule a portfolio review. We’d love to see how we can help you.

Will’s Top Strength (CliftonStrengths®): Strategic – “People exceptionally talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.”