Degas A. Wright, an investment analyst, was born in Lithonia, Georgia, in April 1963. Wright graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He graduated from West Point in 1985 and served as a Captain in the United States Army while earning a B.S. in Economics in 1989 from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Wright was inducted into the Omicron Delta Epsilon Society, the International Honor Society for Economics, while pursuing this degree.
Wright began working as the Corporate Treasurer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in 1991. He oversaw the company’s reserve funds and was a member of the MARTA pension committee. He also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and began developing his own investment philosophy for his own company.
In 2000, Wright founded and became CEO of Decatur Capital Management (DCM), an asset management firm in Decatur, Georgia. The company focuses on risk management and stock management in both domestic and international markets. Decatur Capital has served individuals, families, and institutions since its inception.
Wright also established a student intern program in 2002 and was appointed to the Georgia Department of Education’s Business Advisory Board in 2003. He also served in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Our House, a non-profit that provides childcare to homeless families, is one example. Wright has held the positions of Chair and Board Member.
Wright has also served on the board of the Atlanta Society of Financial and Investment Professionals Foundation, an organization that promotes financial literacy, particularly among black families with moderate incomes and those living in poverty. He is an Adjunct Professor at DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management.
Wright has also been a Boy Scouts of America volunteer for over 20 years, serving on the Atlanta Area Council Board of the Boy Scouts of America as well as the Philmont Ranch Committee.
Wright testified to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee during its hearings on developing a more sustainable financial system globally on July 10, 2019, as a result of DMC’s position as a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI). Wright is currently a CNBC contributor and appears on CNBC’s Fast Money Half Time Report.