New Book Provides Evidence-Based, Active Investment Management Approach that Challenges Traditional Financial Advice and Academic Theories

Author advocates for a rules-based, multi-strategy philosophy to minimize the downside of market volatility and actively manage portfolios

CARY, N.C., Nov. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new guide about active investment management urges readers to question traditional financial advice. Author C. Theodore Hicks II has spent 25+ years in financial planning and management, and he emphasizes that the common advice of passively investing for the long term and relying on diversification may be insufficient in today's volatile market environments.

In "Evidence-Based Investing," Hicks guides the reader through the rationale of why a truly active investment approach is more appropriate today than in the past. He also challenges the investment community to end their reliance on academic theories that he suggests are null and void by highlighting historical periods of prolonged negative stock and bond market returns, asserting that investors must first survive the short-term to succeed over the long haul.

"My book challenges a lot of conventional wisdom in the financial services and retail money management industry," said Hicks. "The reality is that to invest well over the long term, you must survive today, tomorrow, and next week."

Hicks encourages both financial professionals and individuals managing their own wealth to adopt a more proactive and unemotional, rules-based framework for investment decision-making. The book challenges academic theories like Modern Portfolio Theory and standard asset allocation—arguing that diversification often fails precisely when it's needed most: during bear markets. Instead, Hicks outlines the rules-based, multi-strategy approach his firm uses to actively manage client portfolios, prioritizing risk mitigation. This strategy involves deploying multiple investment models and utilizing technical analysis to help determine when market conditions warrant a reduction in risk.

"We are not predicting that we are about to enter a prolonged negative period for the stock or bond markets," Hicks said. "We are merely acknowledging that such an environment is certainly possible—as it has happened numerous times in the past. We are simply saying we want to be ready, just in case; for that is our duty."

 All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to charities helping western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene.

"Evidence-Based Investing: To Invest Well Over a Long-Term, Sometimes You Have to First Survive the Short-Term"
By C. Theodore Hicks II CFP®, CKA®, CMT®
ISBN: 9798385049912 (softcover); 9798385049929 (hardcover); 9798385049905 (electronic)
Available at WestBow Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author
C. Theodore Hicks II received his BS in Business Management with a finance concentration from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, and then began his financial planning and asset management career in 1999 by joining one of the nation's largest financial planning and advice firms. In 2020, Hicks and his team broke away to join an independent Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm. Two years later, when other professional advisors started indicating interest in hiring Hicks to sub-advise for the assets under their care, Hicks launched Hicks & Associates Wealth Management, LLC.  Currently, Hicks serves at the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer where he oversees the firm's proprietary multi-strategy investment approach. Hicks & Associates Wealth Management is based in Cary, NC where Hicks resides with his wife and two children. Their oldest daughter, son-in-law and grandson also live nearby. To learn more, please visit TheodoreHicks.com.

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SOURCE WestBow Press