Skip Schweiss Lands a CEO Gig

Sierra Investment Management said Tuesday that it has named Skip Schweiss CEO of the Sierra Group of Companies, a newly created role.

Schweiss, who became president of the Financial Planning Association on Jan. 1, is the former president of TD Ameritrade Trust Co. and managing director of advisor advocacy for TD Ameritrade Institutional.

He will start his new role at Sierra effective Oct. 1, and will focus, according to the firm, on its continued growth as well as “demonstrating the value of Sierra’s investment strategies designed for individual investors, mutual funds and turnkey asset management platform (TAMP) models.”

“I’m joining Sierra at a time when the firm is experiencing significant growth, especially within the financial advisor community with the Sierra Mutual Fund and Ocean Park Asset Management investment offerings,” Schweiss said in a statement. “Sierra is trusted by advisors and seeks to keep investors out of trouble through challenging market cycles. I’m honored to be the firm’s first CEO and look forward to playing a role in its continued growth.”

Sierra bills itself as a firm focused on mitigating downside risk through its tactical investment disciplines. Its co-founders, David Wright and Kenneth Sleeper, will remain focused on the investment management side of the business, working with clients and other duties, the firm said.

Schweiss told ThinkAdvisor in a previous interview that while the new year will include serving as FPA’s president, a volunteer role, he was getting “a bit more active” in pursuing another professional position since leaving his former job at TD Ameritrade in late August.