A.P. "Skip" Viragh, founder of Rydex Investments, was an innovator and visionary in the financial services industry. In 1993, he formed Rydex Investments to develop products and services for financial advisors, registered investment advisors and sophisticated investors who employed more active trading strategies. He was the first person to offer sophisticated inverse (or "short") and leveraged index funds to the general public.

In the years after, Rydex Investments established other firsts in the mutual fund industry, including the first inverse, fixed-income fund. Today, Rydex is one of the fastest growing financial services firms in the industry, with more than $14 billion in assets under management. In 2001, Investment News named Skip one of the industry's "power elite" due to his record of innovation. The Rydex Investments founder also bucked the trend during the last recession when he cut back bonuses and other benefits to avoid firing any staff during the downturn. In a September 2003 Newshouse News article, he was quoted saying, "Our culture today really is very strong because everybody knows that we came through it as a team."

Sadly, Skip died of pancreatic cancer on December 11, 2003 at age 62. In addition to his legacy in the financial services industry, Skip also made a name for himself with his largesse. He gave millions to his alma mater, Spring Hill College, making him the college's largest benefactor. In addition, in 2000, he and his four siblings formed the Viragh Family Foundation, a private foundation formed to make donations to medical research programs and other charitable organizations designed to help individuals attain educational goals and end hunger, homelessness and domestic violence. Through his creation of a charitable group at Rydex, the company is active in giving to local Washington, D.C. charities, such as Make-A-Wish ® Foundation, the Salvation Army's Christmas Gift Drive, Red Cross blood drives and the Capital Area Food Bank.