About Us

Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

A Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Social Media

Bluesky • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • YouTube

Meet the Laser Focus World Team

Editorial

Sales

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology
My Watchlist
Indicators
Industrial Laser Index
Markets
Stocks
ETFs
Tools
Markets:
Overview
News
Currencies
International
Treasuries

John Wright, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Stellar Assets, Featured on Influential Entrepreneurs Podcast

By: Authority Press Wire

John Wright, CFA and Chief Investment Officer of Stellar Assets, was recently featured on the Influential Entrepreneurs podcast on the Business Innovators Radio Network, where he discussed the challenge of beating the market while minimizing downside risk.

Listen to the interview: Interview with John Wright, CFA Chief Investment Officer of Stellar Assets Discussing Beating the Market

In this insightful conversation, Wright explores the perceived trade-off between growth and capital preservation, and the intriguing prospect of capturing both. He notes that while a focus on minimizing risk is relatively easy, such approaches often sacrifice long-term growth—potentially putting investors at greater risk of outliving their money or failing their investment goals.

 “Crash-protect assets without sacrificing performance!” Wright said. “Our actively managed equity and option portfolios aim for higher returns and lower downside risk.”

Key takeaways from the episode include:

  1. Data-Driven Decision Making
    Wright leverages regression models to identify stock attributes correlated with outperformance in different market environments, including both risk-off and momentum-driven markets. He recognizes that markets can change unpredictably, and therefore blends these models to focus on a subset of stocks which can thrive in both fair and foul financial conditions.
  2. Diversification & Robust Stock Selection
    “Always have something you can sell”, Wright emphasized, rather than only focusing on either risk avoidance or performance. Both environments will happen, but investors can only rebalance effectively with the opportunity to take profits during difficult times. Balancing risk and reward requires always holding both risk-on and risk-off assets.
  3. Options Trading Can Be For Everyone
    A cornerstone of Wright’s strategy is using both put and call options on individual stocks to accelerate profits during both rising and falling markets. His goal is to make money in down markets, not just to limit portfolio loses, and then to reinvest those funds in preparation for the next ‘up’ leg. His options portfolios saw strong performance when markets struggled, including in 2022 and more recently during the 2025 tariff tantrum. Wright emphasized that options, when added to any portfolio in small amounts, can both reduce risk and dramatically increase performance.
  4. Emotional Discipline Through Rule-Based Investing
    By setting strict investment rules—such as taking profits at predefined points and balancing directional exposure—Wright helps reduce emotional decision-making, a common pitfall for investors. The number one rule from his book, “You Know Nothing About Picking Stocks.. And That’s OK”, is to always recognize your ignorance in knowing where the market is going next.

Wright also addressed the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in investing. While he acknowledges AI’s potential for enhancing data analysis, he cautions that market behavior is still driven by basic human emotions, and therefore existing techniques designed to counter those emotions will continue to be impactful.

During the market downturn of 2022, when the S&P500 lost -20%, Wright’s systematic approach helped his equity portfolios decline only -5%. More recently, his option portfolios generated ‘embarrassing’ positive returns while the market dropped -12%.

This episode provides valuable insight for investors seeking to build resilient portfolios that balance growth with downside protection.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/WUFGOfi6SCg

 

About John Wright

John holds an MBA from Stanford University (’95), but unlike many in finance, his experience isn’t rooted on Wall Street. Instead, he spent decades helping Fortune 500 companies solve high-stakes challenges—growing sales, improving margins, and driving stock performance.

His career spans consulting (McKinsey), tech (HP), energy (Exxon), retail (AutoZone), and industrials (GM). Today, he brings that strategic mindset to managing client portfolios through Stellar Assets.

On a personal note, John is the seventh of nine siblings raised in a tight-knit family with strong values. He served a two-year mission in the Netherlands and Belgium and now lives with his wife and three children. His deep-rooted belief in community and service continues to shape both his personal and professional life.

Learn more about John Wright and Stellar Assets at: www.stellar-assets.com

Recent news and interviews:

Disclosures:
Investments may be volatile and involve significant risk of loss. Option strategies can result in large monthly variations and are suitable for risk-tolerant investors. Performance results are unaudited, represent unweighted averages over a limited number of accounts, and are shown net of fees but before taxes. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Individual performance will vary. Equity-only strategies are available for investors with lower risk tolerance.

More News

View More
These 3 Mega-Cap Giants Just Increased Dividends by 7% or More
Via MarketBeat
Tickers AAPL BTI JPM MO MSFT PM
3 Quantum Computing ETFs to Know—And Why 2 Don't Hold D-Wave
Via MarketBeat
Topics ETFs
Tickers ARQQ IONQ PTF QBTS QTUM RGTI
Forget Tariffs, Landstar and West Fraser Can Still Rally
Via MarketBeat
Topics World Trade
Tickers LSTR WFG
Is Super Micro Next in Line for a Big AI Takeover?
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Tickers INTC NVDA SMCI
Tesla: 3 Reasons October’s Earnings Will Make or Break the Stock
Via MarketBeat
Tickers TSLA
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.