Mike Shell

President & Chief Investment Officer  |  Founder of Shell Capital Management, LLC | Engineer of ASYMMETRY^®

Mike Shell is the founder, president, and chief investment officer of Shell Capital Management, LLC, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based registered investment adviser, which he founded in 2004. For over two decades, he has specialized in engineering and managing unconstrained, go-anywhere portfolios using his proprietary ASYMMETRY^® investment framework—a trademarked process for structuring trades and managing portfolios with defined downside risk and exponential upside potential.

Mike manages wealth for high-net-worth individuals, business owners, medical professionals, and family offices nationwide. His clients rely on him to actively manage their portfolios with the precision, adaptability, and discipline more often associated with institutional hedge fund managers. He specializes in alternative investments, providing advice and access across a broad range of strategies—including private equity, real assets, hedge fund strategies, and other non-traditional investments—to complement traditional portfolios and enhance diversification.

As a self-taught mathematician and programmer focused on probability and statistics, Mike has developed proprietary quantitative trading systems—including tactical rotation, trend following, and countertrend strategies—applied to equities, ETFs, and options. He blends quantitative research, market regime detection, and global macro analysis to pursue positive expectancy and repeatable asymmetric payoffs.

His ASYMMETRY^®  systems combine:

• Position-level asymmetry — trades with capped downside, uncapped or exponential upside, and statistical edge.
• Portfolio-level asymmetry — disciplined total portfolio risk exposure limits, dynamic capital rotation, and asymmetric hedging to control drawdowns and optimize long-term compounding.

Mike’s track record and decision-making strategies have been featured in major financial media, including Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily (full front-page profile: “How Mike Shell Uses Relative Strength to Trade ETFs,” 2011), and Pensions & Investments Magazine, which ranked him a “Top Performing Investment Manager” in the “World” category after his 2008 performance. He has been interviewed on global investment platforms such as Top Traders Unplugged (Switzerland) and Trend Following Radio (Singapore).

Before founding Shell Capital in 2004 to manage alternative investment funds and family office assets, Mike served as a Registered Principal and Registered Options Principal with the Investment Management Division of Raymond James and began his career as an investment adviser at two other firms.

Mike is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran whose tour was cut short by a traumatic injury. A Service-Connected Disabled Veteran determined to turn adversity into opportunity, he used the VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation program to earn his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting & Finance from Tennessee Wesleyan University while working full-time as a Sheriff’s Officer. He holds multiple industry licenses and certifications and completed executive training from Harvard Business School. 

As the author of hundreds of articles and market commentaries on ASYMMETRY^® Observations, Mike shares observations and insights on asymmetric risk/reward, convexity, volatility, momentum, trend following, and tactical trading. He is also the author of Asymmetric Investing and Portfolio Management, his forthcoming book detailing how to apply the ASYMMETRY^® framework to trading, investing, and portfolio management.

A guiding principle throughout Mike’s career has been the belief that “you can have everything you want in life if you help others get what they want.” This philosophy underpins his client relationships, shaping an approach that prioritizes each client’s unique goals and long-term success above all else.

Mike's Mission: To pursue asymmetric investment returns by structuring positions with asymmetric risk/reward, managing total portfolio risk exposure for drawdown control, and dynamically adapting to evolving markets—helping clients survive and thrive over full market cycles. 

Christi Shell, CWS^®, AAMS^®, BFA^®

Managing Director | Certified Wealth Strategist® | Accredited Asset Management Specialist® | Behavioral Financial Advisor™

With over 26 years of experience, Christi is a Certified Wealth Strategist® who is passionate about helping high-net-worth families develop wealth strategies in order to help solve complex issues and their overall management of assets. She is well-versed in the key issues that affluent families often face and has the ability to identify issues and assume the lead role when working alongside attorneys and accountants, as needed. 

Christi works directly with the firm’s clients and regularly manages business operations. She enjoys developing relationships with families and addressing their wealth management issues, including estate and gift planning, philanthropy, family governance and multi-generational planning. Always striving to provide ideas, suggestions and alternatives for addressing specific issues, Christi utilizes appropriate resources including family office services, estate counsel or trustees to assist her clients.

A graduate of Tusculum College, Christi earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational management and also holds a Certificate in Alternative Investments from the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association. She is also an Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ and is dedicated to combining her education and registrations in order to better serve those she works with. 

After a 20 year career in bank management, Christi joined Shell Capital as Managing Director. Prior to Shell Capital, she gained extensive experience managing teams that provide a wide range of banking and financial services. Christi worked as the Vice President of Regions Financial for over six years and she also worked at First Tennessee Bank for over 13 years. 

Schedule a Meeting With Christi