Synth Equity Investing: Unlimited Upside With a 15% Downside Floor (SNTH ETF)

In this episode of *Investing to Win*, host **Garret Wong** sits down with Larry Kriesmer and Bernard Surovsky to dive into:

- Defined-risk investing using Synth Equity® (options + Treasuries) to limit downside while keeping equity upside.

- Why Measured Risk Portfolios launched the MRP SynthEquity ETF (SNTH) and how it differs from their SMA strategy.

- Risk psychology, sequence of returns, and how limiting drawdowns changes long-term outcomes for investors and retirees.

…and the powerful lessons entrepreneurs, investors, and operators can use to level up their business, leadership, and thinking.

🎥 **Prefer watching the conversation? The full video is available on YouTube:**

https://youtu.be/DgEZu6J-ck4&list=UULFRs3SSmwVFbR2QEjIDqU0Ug

This creates a richer experience with facial expressions, visuals, and deeper engagement.

Whether you're a business owner, investor, operator, or someone exploring new pathways to financial freedom, this episode delivers practical, no-fluff insights you can take action on immediately.

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## 🔥 Episode Summary

In this episode, Garret sits down with Larry Kriesmer and Bernard Surovsky, the long-time business partners behind Measured Risk Portfolios, to unpack a simple but rare idea in investing: define the downside first, then let the upside take care of itself. They explain how their Synth Equity® approach uses a foundation of short-duration U.S. Treasuries paired with an options engine designed to maintain exposure to the S&P 500’s long-run growth—while targeting a maximum loss of roughly 15% over a rolling one-year period.

Larry and Bernard walk through why most investors underestimate how damaging large drawdowns are (and how long recovery actually takes), and why they believe “diversification” often fails investors at the exact moment it’s supposed to protect them. Instead of trying to predict the next crisis—or chasing the next shiny asset class—they focus on a structure that’s intended to be resilient across market regimes. The conversation highlights the math behind loss mitigation, the behavioral side of staying invested, and why confidence and survivability matter more than being “right” about the next headline.

They also share the story behind launching their publicly traded ETF - MRP SynthEquity ETF (Ticker: SNTH) - including the distribution advantages versus separately managed accounts, the real costs and compliance demands of running a fund, and why they believe an ETF format makes defined-risk investing accessible to a much broader audience.

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## 🎯 Key Takeaways

• Define your maximum tolerable drawdown first—then build the portfolio around survivability

• Use sequence-of-returns thinking: avoiding big losses can shorten recovery time dramatically

• Don’t confuse “diversified” with “protected”—correlations often rise during real crises

• Separate “structure” from “forecasting”: you don’t need a crystal ball if your downside is engineered

• Match risk to real-life needs: retirees and near-retirees can’t afford multi-year recovery cycles

• Consider accessibility: ETFs can remove onboarding friction and lower minimums versus SMAs

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## 🧠 Topics Covered

• Synth Equity® strategy overview: options + Treasuries for defined-risk equity exposure

• Why the firm chose a ~15% rolling one-year downside target

• SMA vs ETF: customization, onboarding paperwork, and investor access

• SNTH ETF launch economics: cost to launch, scale requirements, and ongoing compliance

• Options as an “engine”: asymmetric payoff and portfolio rebalancing logic

• Sequence of returns and why drawdown control matters near retirement

• Remote culture and building trust in a service business

• Why market timing and hindsight “backtests” mislead investors

• How credibility shifts with a NYSE bell-ringing / public fund structure

• Defining success: investor protection, trust, and purpose-driven impact

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## 🔍 Keywords

Synth Equity, SNTH ETF, MRP SynthEquity ETF, Measured Risk Portfolios, downside risk management, defined risk investing, options strategy, S&P 500 exposure, sequence of returns, drawdown control, capital preservation, wealth management, retirement risk, market volatility, Treasuries strategy, separately managed account, SMA vs ETF, modern portfolio theory, investor psychology, risk-adjusted returns

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## ⏱️ Timestamps

[00:00:00] – Welcome + two guests on one episode: why this conversation matters for investors

[00:00:29] – Bernard’s origin story: South Africa to U.S. financial services and partnering with Larry

[00:01:10] – Larry’s background: growing up in Saudi Arabia, boarding school, and an unusual career pivot

[00:03:04] – From “good at math” to creative problem-solver: how Larry’s mindset shaped the strategy

[00:05:57] – Bernard’s pivot from construction to finance—and the early days that built the partnership

[00:07:08] – The partnership playbook: respect, veto rights, and “nothing happens unless we both agree”

[00:10:12] – What Measured Risk Portfolios looks like today: team structure, growth, and remote hiring

[00:12:06] – Remote work done right: expectations, culture, and the weekly “around the water cooler” call

[00:17:40] – The big shift: why they launched a publicly traded ETF and what problem it solved (SNTH)

[00:19:38] – What it really costs to launch an ETF: upfront expense, monthly carry, and hitting scale

[00:22:27] – SMA vs ETF: customization vs accessibility—and why “accredited” isn’t the gate here

[00:26:16] – The core promise: engineered downside limits (about 15%) with uncapped upside potential

[00:28:12] – 2008 “trial by fire”: why limiting losses changes the recovery timeline

[00:30:05] – The math investors ignore: how losses compound and why time is the one thing you can’t get back

[00:33:10] – How the options sleeve works: asymmetry, rebalancing, and building a safer “ballast” over time

[00:35:34] – Staying invested through volatility: why market timing fails real people in real life

[00:39:33] – The danger of hindsight models: building “solutions” only after the crisis already happened

[00:45:01] – Trust and credibility: what the ETF and NYSE visibility changed for the firm

[00:49:08] – Bricks-and-mortar vs remote: professionalism, client confidence, and service-business perception

[00:54:07] – Advice for business owners after an exit: protect capital without getting crushed by inflation

[00:56:23] – Crystal ball question: why they’re agnostic about the next big trend—and how that shapes decisions

[01:00:06] – Custom risk levels in the SMA: dialing risk up or down based on capacity, not headlines

[01:04:05] – “Winning” defined: Larry’s personal story about trust, prevention, and protecting families

[01:07:15] – Bernard’s definition of success: using education to break cycles of poverty

[01:07:59] – Closing remarks + where listeners can learn more

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## 👤 About Larry Kriesmer and Bernard Surovsky

Larry Kriesmer (CLU, ChFC) is the Chairman and Chief Compliance Officer of Measured Risk Portfolios, a fee-only registered investment advisor founded in 2007 and known for its proprietary Synth Equity® approach to risk-managed equity exposure. Bernard Surovsky (CFS) is the firm’s Chief Investment Officer and co-founder. Together, they bring decades of experience in financial services and options-based strategies, and they oversee the publicly traded MRP SynthEquity ETF (SNTH) - built to seek long-term capital appreciation while targeting defined downside risk over a rolling one-year period.

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## 🔗 Episode Links & Resources

• 🎥 **Watch the YouTube version:** https://youtu.be/DgEZu6J-ck4&list=UULFRs3SSmwVFbR2QEjIDqU0Ug

• Guest Website: https://www.measuredriskportfolios.com/

• LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-kriesmer/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernard-surovsky-24ab413/

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## 📘 Recommended by Garret

**Get Garret’s bestselling book *The Property Playbook*: https://a.co/d/3Ww0si0**

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