Skip links
A global investment platform focused on absolute return strategies and disciplined risk management across public and private markets.
DGA Core Plus Absolute Return ETF
Ticker Symbol: HF
Exchange: NYSE
Days Global Advisors | DGA Absolute Return | HF ETF

Our Story

Days Global Advisors was founded on the belief that enduring investment platforms are built through disciplined risk management, long duration thinking, and multigenerational stewardship across market cycles.

The firm’s perspective has been shaped by a multigenerational background spanning engineering, healthcare, real estate, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and global industrial development across the United States and Asia. These experiences, influenced by families who rebuilt across Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the United States during periods of significant geopolitical and economic transition, instilled an appreciation for resilience, adaptability, institutional discipline, and pragmatic long horizon capital allocation.

Combined with deep Texas entrepreneurial roots and experience working alongside multigenerational family offices and institutional minded investors, this foundation continues to shape DGA’s approach to absolute return investing, risk management, and scalable investment platform development, with a focus on expanding access to institutional quality investment strategies across evolving global markets.

Today, DGA seeks to build a durable investment platform grounded in disciplined portfolio construction, institutional governance, and long term alignment with investors across market environments.

Our Principles

Institutionally Designed Investment Architecture

Accessibility of Timeless Strategies

Disciplined Risk Management and Capital Preservation

Research, Transparency, and Portfolio Discipline

Leadership

Christopher J. Day

Founder & CEO

Read More

Jeff Ballard

President

Read More

Rhonda Parmiter

Chief Operating Officer

Read More

Investment & Research

Hao Sun, Ph.D.

Chief Economist & Policy Advisor

Read More

Charles Ragauss, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Read More

Qiao Duan, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Read More

Governance & Oversight

John McDevitt, CFA

Chief Compliance Officer

Read More

Operations & Administration

Rick Parmiter

Director of Investment Relations

Read More

Kevin Passaro

Investment Fund Accountant

Read More

Christopher J. Day

Founder & CEO

Christopher J. Day is the Founder & CEO of Days Global Advisors and serves as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Doliver Advisors, LP (“Doliver”).
Mr. Day is the architect and portfolio manager behind DGA’s absolute return investment and futures strategies, with experience spanning family office portfolio management, portfolio hedging, global macro strategies, and quantitative research and development.

He began his career as a proprietary trader for a prominent multigenerational family office in Palm Beach, Florida, where he refined his expertise in risk management, closed end funds, and classical absolute return portfolio construction alongside veteran traders and investment professionals.

Mr. Day comes from a multigenerational family background shaped by engineering, healthcare, infrastructure, and global industrial development, reflecting both the Chinese diaspora that rebuilt across Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the United States during periods of significant geopolitical transition, and longstanding American Texas roots that fostered entrepreneurship, stewardship, and pragmatic long horizon thinking.

This combination of global perspective, technical rigor, and Texas entrepreneurial culture continues to influence DGA’s long duration approach to capital allocation, risk management, and scalable investment platform development.

Over the past two decades, Mr. Day has focused on serving generational families and institutional minded investors seeking to preserve and compound capital through disciplined absolute return strategies across market cycles.

Mr. Day is a native Houstonian and earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance and Management Information Systems from Northeastern University.

Jeff Ballard

President

Mr. Ballard serves as President, leading all private investment operational aspects of Days Global Advisors through the DGA Ballard Absolute Return strategy.

Mr. Ballard was chosen as President for his deep industry experience and shared vision of leadership to scale access for individuals and institutions to absolute return strategies.

Mr. Ballard has over 20 years of experience as an asset manager and over 20 years of experience as a real estate developer.

Mr. Ballard has intimate knowledge of all facets of land and housing acquisition, entitlement, development, sales, leasing, and management, and currently manages residential real estate assets in excess of $800 million.

Mr. Ballard previously served as Director of Acquisitions for a private equity firm in Houston, Texas after he successfully negotiated the purchase and merger of a national mall chain. Shortly thereafter, he started developing real estate and pursuing debt financing full-time.

Mr. Ballard graduated from Howard Payne University with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree with a special focus in Finance.

Rhonda Parmiter

Chief Operating Officer

Mrs. Parmiter serves as Chief Operating Officer for the DGA Ballard Absolute Return strategy.

Mrs. Parmiter oversees the private strategy day-to-day operations, drives strategic initiatives, and ensures operational excellence.

Mrs. Parmiter possesses over 15 years of experience as a COO.

Mrs. Parmiter has a proven track record of optimizing processes, leading high-performing teams, and achieving sustainable growth.

Mrs. Parmiter held senior executive roles at a Seattle tech company where she successfully led projects that enhanced efficiency and expanded market presence.

Mrs. Parmiter is dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement with a strong focus on delivering an outstanding experience to investors.

Hao Sun, Ph.D.

Chief Economist & Policy Advisor

Dr. Hao Sun serves as Chief Economist & Policy Advisor (Non-Resident) at the Days Global Advisors. 

Dr. Sun is an Associate Professor of Business, Finance, and Public Affairs at Gallaudet University’s School of Civic Leadership, Business, and Social Change. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs and as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Langston University Center for Rehabilitation Research and Training. He is the corresponding author of the Springer Nature book project Waste Management for Global Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of China-US Policies and Practices.

Dr. Sun’s professional experience includes serving as a Senior Research Analyst at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation and the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative (RPI), as well as work with the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and major media organizations including Cable News Network (CNN) and China Central Television (CCTV).

Dr. Sun has published academic work in journals such as Public Management Review, The World Economy, and Global Economy Journal. His research has received support from organizations including Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation. His scholarly and policy work has been cited by institutions and publications including the World Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law, and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, among others.

Dr. Sun earned his Ph.D. in Public Budgeting and Financial Management from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York, master’s degrees in Economics and Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and Central Michigan University, respectively, and an LL.B. in International Politics from Beijing University of International Relations.

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Mr. Ragauss serves as Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, having joined the Adviser in September 2020.

Mr. Ragauss previously served as Chief Operating Officer and held other roles at CSat Investment Advisory, L.P.

Mr. Ragauss was Assistant Vice President at Huntington National Bank (“Huntington”), where he was Product Manager for the Huntington Funds and Huntington Strategy Shares ETFs, a combined fund complex of almost $4 billion in assets under management.

At Huntington, he led ETF development bringing to market some of the first actively managed ETFs.

Mr. Ragauss was chosen to be the portfolio manager for his extensive industry experience and senior-level portfolio management of actively managed fund operations.

Mr. Ragauss attended Grand Valley State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business, as well as a minor in French.

Mr. Ragauss is a member of both the National and West Michigan CFA societies and holds the CFA designation.

Qiao Duan, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Qiao Duan serves as Portfolio Manager at the Adviser, having joined the firm in October 2020.

Ms. Duan is an exceptional portfolio manager fit for Days Global Advisors.

Ms. Duan is experienced and previously served as an execution Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where she managed research and analysis relating to all Exponential ETF strategies.

Ms. Duan was chosen as a portfolio manager because of her knowledge in successfully executing advanced quantitative strategies.

Ms. Duan received a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Xiamen University.

Ms. Duan holds the CFA designation.

John McDevitt, CFA

Chief Compliance Officer

Mr. McDevitt serves as CCO for Days Global Advisors and is a veteran control professional.

Mr. McDevitt has deep experience developing and implementing regulatory compliance and credit risk management controls.

Mr. McDevitt has a rich control pedigree with demonstrated team leadership, and a proven industry track record.

Mr. McDevitt is known for his ability to successfully communicate technical, regulatory, and legal requirements in a clear, understandable framework that is actionable at the C-Suite and Board of Director Levels.

Mr. McDevitt is further empowered with the vast fund compliance guidance and legal resources of Tidal Financial Group.

Mr. McDevitt was chosen as CCO of Days Global Advisors to oversee the DGA culture of compliance and further align compliance programs by optimizing communication and operational transparency of DGA’s Sub-Advisory role to our Advisor Tidal Investments (18B AUM).

Mr. McDevitt has an MBA from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and his Bachelor of Science in Finance from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. McDevitt holds the CFA designation.

Rick Parmiter

Director of Investment Relations

Mr. Parmiter serves as the Director of Investor Relations on the DGA Ballard Absolute Return strategy.

Mr. Parmiter oversees private capital-raising efforts, as well as the development and structuring of private equity and private credit funds.

Mr. Parmiter has founded and led multiple businesses, ranging from a successful consulting agency to a real estate development and residential construction company.

Mr. Parmiter has over 30 years of executive leadership experience in finance, sales, and marketing; his leadership focuses on driving innovation and business growth.

Kevin Passaro

Investment Fund Accountant

Kevin serves as an Investment Fund Accountant on the DGA Ballard Absolute Return strategy.

Mr. Passaro previously served as a Fund Accountant at WM Partners, LP, a health and wellness-focused PE firm based in Miami with about $1.1 billion in AUM.

Mr. Passaro was in a similar role while working for Trident Trust, a worldwide fund administrator stationed in Miami.

Mr. Passaro possesses an excellent understanding of fund accounting, making him a valued resource to the DGA Absolute Return strategy.

Mr. Passaro attended Rutgers University, where he received his degree in Finance with a minor in Accounting.

Andrew Berman, CAIA

Associate Fund Manager

Andrew serves as the Associate Fund Manager on the DGA Ballard Absolute Return Strategy, tasked with investment management and strategy. Before joining the private investment team, he worked as an analyst at HBE Ventures, a global macro advisory led by Andrew Krieger (formerly of Soros Fund Management), and at Hunt Equity Group, a Naples-based single-family office.

A Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and CFA Candidate, Andrew employs a comprehensive, top-down approach to investment analysis, leveraging his research experience in rates & currencies. He holds a B.A. in English Literature with a concentration in Greco-Roman Classics from Tufts University in Massachusetts.

A lifelong athlete, Andrew is a former Florida state champion swimmer and a conference finalist at Tufts, where he was awarded the Ted Appel Award for leadership and excellence.