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Rick Smyth
College of Business and Economics
College of Business and Economics
Director of the Ron Blue Center & Adjunct Professor at the College of Business and Economics
rsmyth@andersonuniversity.edu
864-221-8664
Student Center
Academic Background
Rick has over 30 years experience in investment management and advisory starting his career at Franklin Templeton Investments working in equities, fixed income, private markets, and corporate strategy. He is Founder of Aionios Capital Partners, a wealth manager. Rick has been an adjunct professor and visiting lecturer at five universities. Rick serves on the Board of the Anderson Rotary Club & is the President, Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, and Anderson University Board of Visitors. He is the Faculty Advisor to the Rotaract Club.
University of Southern California, BA, History, focused on US politics, economics, & international relations, emphasis WWII and southern politics
Stanford Law School, Executive Education- Directors’ College in Corporate Governance
University of California at Los Angeles, Certified Financial Planner Program
Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder (CFA), investment and portfolio management
University of Chicago, MBA, General Management, concentrations in Finance, Investments, Economics, Strategy, Leadership, and International Business
Fast Facts
My approach will combine theoretical foundations with significant practical experiences to prepare students with skills, knowledge, and confidence to contribute in their post academic careers immediately, with impact, influence, effectiveness, and ultimately achieving success.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, I do believe that there are “bad” questions if they can be answered independently with effort. Self reliance, initiative, and resourcefulness will be recognized and rewarded, hopefully in life, definitely in my classroom. Paradoxically, your success will be driven by your ability to collaborate, work effectively with others, and lead yourselves with humility. Interweaving with this apparent contradiction, is that you have to learn how to fail correctly – not repeating mistakes- to become successful with resiliency, grit, and perseverance.
My goal is not to teach students what to think, but how to think, ask the right questions, and develop a fierce, fearless curiosity that helps them grow into excellent leaders.
Finally, a person can calculate- and know- the price of everything, but know the value of nothing. My approach is to help students develop critical analytical skills to understand the value of investments, assets, and life.
The proposition of teaching in a setting that encourages students to lead with conviction from Christian principles, values, and perspectives resonates on every level when our world- and culture that seems so abjectly void of a grounded moral compass- can help prepare and teach leaders of corporations, government, organizations, and society that we desperately need. Where else in this world will there be a business school housed in the same building as the school of divinity & theology department? It is a perfect combination and model for shaping leaders of the next generation.
Sir John Templeton famously summed up investing by stating that “bull markets are born on pessimism, grown on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The point of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the moment of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”
Extrapolating Templeton’s maxim to life, love and career, when things feel like they will continue on an unending, uninterrupted ever increasing upward positive trend, or the corollary, of feeling like things will never get better when times are tough, the true leader will block out the noise, stay grounded, maintain focus, and make unemotional decisions. Rely on empirical data to drive decision making. When you have less than optimal information, resist emotionally untethered decision making based on fear or greed. Decisions without data is just guessing.
I have been blessed with extraordinary experiences throughout my career. The largest portion of that journey was spent at a Fortune 500 global investment firm managing more than $1.6 trillion for clients in 160 countries. There, I worked alongside colleagues from a wide spectrum of cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives—an experience that shaped both my professional and personal growth. In addition, I have served as an adjunct professor and visiting lecturer at five universities nationwide, teaching students across the full range of engagement—from deeply invested to seemingly indifferent.
Through it all, what I have found most enduring at Anderson University is something profoundly different. Here, students, families, faculty, and staff are united by a higher calling. We are guided by our mission in Christ, bound together in faith, and committed to glorifying God in everything we do, every day. Anderson’s strength lies not only in academic excellence but in its spiritual foundation—a confident humility rooted in knowing whom we serve, perseverance in pursuing our purpose, and steadfastness in living out our beliefs.
It is this unique combination of faith, mission, and community that makes Anderson the most remarkable places I have ever called home—for work, for service, and for life.
For me, this is more than a workplace; it is a calling. My role at Anderson is deeply rewarding because it allows me to walk alongside students as they discover purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in serving God.
Leadership, Strategy, Behavioral Economics, Decision Sciences, Macro Economics, Capital Markets, Investments, Private Markets, Corporate Governance / Boards