Ed Butowsky

Edward "Ed" Wayne Butowsky (born February 12, 1962) is an American financial advisor, author, commentator and Managing Partner. In 2005, he founded Chapwood Investments, LLC, a private wealth management advisory firm. Butowsky was part of development of the now-retracted 2017 Fox News story alleging that the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was an inside job. He is currently a co-defendant in an ongoing lawsuit filed by Rich's family alleging that the report fueled conspiracy theories about Rich's death and caused the family emotional distress.
Early life and education.
Butowsky was born in 1962 and raised in Laurel, Maryland and Chappaqua, New York. His mother was Lois Butowsky and father was David Butowsky, chief enforcement officer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In the early 1980s, he graduated from the University of Texas.
Career.
Morgan Stanley and Chapwood Investments.
Butowsky began his financial career with Morgan Stanley, working there for 18 years, from 1987 to 2002. At Morgan Stanley, he became senior vice president in private wealth management. He founded the private wealth management firm Chapwood Investments in 2005. He is currently a managing partner in Chapwood Investments and created the Chapwood Index. By 2013, he was managing investments for a hundred professional athletes. Butowsky started the celebrity and athlete investor group Clubhouse Investment Club with professional baseball player Torii Hunter. Butowsky was also a managing director at Bear Stearns.
In 2012, Butowsky was a commentator in the ESPN 30 for 30 film, "Broke," where he spoke to his experience working with athlete clients. Created following the 2009 "Sports Illustrated" article, "How (And Why) Athletes Go Broke," also featuring Butowsky, "Broke" featured many professional athletes and advisors speaking to their experiences with the issue. Butowsky published the 2019 book "Wealth Mismanagement: A Wall Street Insider On the Dirty Secrets of Financial Advisers and How to Protect Your Portfolio." Butowsky founded the 1940 Act fund Paramount Access Advisors for hedge funds in 2012.
Butowsky has written columns for "Breitbart News and" "TheBlaze."
Defamation Lawsuit.
In June 2018, Butowsky filed a defamation lawsuit in U.S. federal court seeking $57 million in damages from NPR and one of its reporters, David Folkenflik. Butowsky accused Folkenflik of pushing a "false narrative" of Butowsky's involvement in a now-retracted Fox News story alleging that the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was connected to the 2016 leak of DNC emails to WikiLeaks. Butowsky also alleged that Folkenflik conspired with an attorney to extort money from Fox. Butowsky told Courthouse News Service that he still believes the Fox News story was accurate. The case is scheduled to go to trial in mid-2021.
By August 2020, Butowsky still insisted that the retracted Fox News story was accurate. He claimed without evidence that the Seth Rich family were "not innocent bystanders" and that they were "in possession of material evidence indicating that Seth Rich downloaded the DNC emails, sent them to Wikileaks, and requested payment."
Personal life.
Butowsky lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife and two children.