About Us

EmeraldSpark Investments, LLC is a location-independent registered investment adviser founded in 2015 by Ryan Layton, CFA. Our investment process blends the foundations of Modern Portfolio Theory with the latest research in the field of behavioral finance. We specialize in asset allocation and investment due diligence to help provide our clients with investment strategies personalized to match their specific goals and risk comfort zone.

Ryan Layton, CFA

Ryan Layton is a wealth strategist and the founder of EmeraldSpark Investments. He specializes in developing asset allocation strategies and incorporating behavioral finance into the client profiling and investment decision-making process. Mr. Layton has been a frequent speaker at trust and wealth management conferences across the country, covering a number of topics including behavioral finance, alternative investments, investment management outsourcing, and the Prudent Investor Rule.

Mr. Layton has 19 years of investment management experience. Prior to founding EmeraldSpark in 2015, Ryan worked for MainStreet Advisors in Chicago, Illinois for three years as a portfolio manager and as the Director of Asset Allocation. He spent the first seven years of his career as an Assistant Vice President and Investment Manager with Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he was actively involved in the firm’s asset allocation and investment selection processes.

Ryan has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation and regularly volunteers for the CFA Institute. He holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Michigan Technological University and serves as a board member for the Michigan Tech Applied Portfolio Management Program. He enjoys hiking and adventure travel and is also a certified scuba divemaster.