Firm Updates
September 2022: Grant attended the 6th Annual Private Wealth Mountain States forum where he learned about strategies catering to high net worth individuals and participated in several think tanks to discuss the artifice of managing portfolios in the difficult environment we find ourselves in.
July 2022: Adding to the groundbreaking work on Money Scripts of Klontz and Kahler in 2007, Rick Kahler hosted a presentation looking at updating how trauma impacts the emotional system and forms money scripts. Typically, at the core of each money script is a good intention to protect unfinished business around vulnerabilities. The webinar examined how money scripts evolve into rigid beliefs designed to protect these traumatized areas of the client. Additionally, Kahler discussed ways of working with clients to reframe money scripts and begin to modify hurtful financial behaviors.
June 2022: Grant attended a presentation from Key Investment Partners to learn about the investment environment and potential opportunities for cannabis and the supply chain.
January 2022: Grant attended the January Economic Forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Nicholas Sly, AVP and Denver Branch Executive- Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, spoke about the national and regional economy, along with specific indicators for Colorado and the United States. Jeff Bontrager, Director of Research and Evaluation- Colorado Health Institute, then followed with an economic forum discussing the Ten Health Policy Themes to Watch in 2022.
December 2021: Grant and Jeff observed a presentation by Jeffrey Levine, Director of Advisor Education at Kitces.com, to learn about exciting tax planning opportunities for clients. Mr. Levine addressed both current opportunities and the implications of the proposed changes to tax legislation.
August 2021: Grant received a tax planning certificate for completing a comprehensive tax planning course to unlock opportunities by analyzing a client’s tax return.
April 2021: Grant and his wife, Alisa, welcomed their first child into this world!
February 2021: Grant observed “A Conversation with Dr. Ben Bernanke.” The last time he listened to Dr. Bernanke, he told the story of when he came home the night of September 16, 2008 - “I’m sorry, I spent $200 on shoes.” She said. Dr. Bernanke replied, “I just spent $180 billion on a horrible insurance company.”
January 2021: Grant and Jeff attended an economic forum hosted by the Rocky Mountain Association of Financial Professionals at the CFA Society of Colorado. Nicholas Sly from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City gave his synopsis of the current state of the economy and the road to recovery. Dustin Bass, Director of the FMI Corporation followed with strategic insight and industry-specific advice for investors.
December 2020: Grant and Jeff attended a webinar from Jeffrey Levine discussing 2020 end-of-year and 2021 tax planning for a Biden administration. The webinar was packed with useful information to help clients navigate the potential changes to the tax landscape.
October 2020: Grant attended The Storm Before the Calm, a virtual event hosted by CFA Society Colorado. The event was hosted by George Friedman, an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and strategist on international affairs and the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures. George discussed:
China
Russia
Middle East
How COVID-19 is accelerating changes that were already occurring
How will the US cope with it's demographics: an aging population, declining birth rates & anti-immigration sentiments
May 2020: Grant partnered with My Financial Counsel to co-host a webinar on socially responsible investing. The landscape for environmental, social, and governance has changed and there are now exciting ways investors can make a difference with their portfolio. If this is a subject you are interested in, we encourage you to watch the replay of this webinar.
January 2020: For the CFA Society of Colorado’s Annual Forecast Dinner, the group was lucky enough to have Michael Lewis present to the group as the 2020 keynote speaker. This was a special event for many CFA charterholders, including myself. Mr. Lewis is the author of Moneyball, The Big Short, Blindside, Liar’s Poker, The Fifth Risk, and many other notable books. The CFA Society hung on his every word as he walked through his life, shared his experiences, and explained his thought process behind many of his best-selling books. One of Grant’s favorite quotes that night came at a time when Mr. Lewis was explaining the inspiration behind the Fifth Risk, when he said, “In the U.S. government, there are five times the number of IT (information technology) employees that are over the age of 60 than under the age of 30. How many people do you know over 60 that know how their phone works?”
December 2019: Two of the three founders from KEY Investment Partners unveiled their analysis of the cannabis market to the CFA Society of Colorado. Specifically, the evolution of the investment opportunities has changed from cultivation and end product sales to those providing data and business operational solutions to companies in the cannabis supply chain.
November 2019: The CFA Society of Colorado hosted a presentation that Grant attended on the 4D’s in the investment world (depopulation, declining productivity, deglobalization, and debt). By categorizing the investment and economic themes in to 4 D’s, investors can explain the change that is occurring and potentially spot opportunities which may play out over the next decade.
November 2019: Grant traveled up the elevator a few floors to hear a detailed presentation on estate planning, charitable gifting, and strategies to help clients and minimize estate taxes while accomplishing any philanthropic goals.
October 2019: Grant attended several presentations evaluating the fundamentals of the investment environment at the Ritz in Denver. One standout lecture from Brian Wesbury, CIO of First Trust, justified the rationale behind his assertion that the stock market will continue to rally.
October 2019: Noble Wealth Partners hosted a webinar on Preparing for the Cost of College and Understanding the FAFSA on 10/22.
Listen to the replay by clicking here.
September - October 2019: Jeff volunteered to teach the JA Personal Success course at Green Mountain High School in a partnership with Junior Achievement.
September 2019: Noble Wealth Partners sponsored the Colorado State Open at the Gates Tennis Center in Denver.
September 2019: Jeff and Grant attended a presentation on Opportunity Zones to learn more about potential tax and estate benefits for certain individuals.
July 2019: Noble Wealth Partners hosted a cocktail party at the Sky Lounge inside of The Confluence in downtown Denver. A great time to spend with clients, friends, and family.
May 2019: Jeff and Grant attended an investment conference in Chicago where portfolio managers and professionals from First Trust shared portfolio implementation ideas and methods to navigate the current market environment.
May 2019: Grant attended a presentation by Lathrop and Gage to learn about complex business and succession issues to better serve clients of Noble Wealth Partners.
May 2019: Grant a presentation about the CFP® Code of Ethics to stay current on rules and regulations for financial advisors.
March - May 2019: Jeff was selected as a Level 3 (freshman and sophomore) baseball coach at Columbine High School for the 2019 season. Jeff has volunteered as a baseball, basketball, and football coach at the youth level since 2008, but this is his first experience at the high school level.
April 2019: Jeff and Grant attended the CFA Society of Colorado’s 2019 Forecast Dinner where Myron Scholes, Ph.D. presented new research on how to look at portfolio returns and managing wealth. Dr. Scholes is widely known for his seminal work in options pricing, capital market equilibrium, tax policies and the financial services industry. He is a Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences and co-originator of the Black-Scholes options pricing model, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1997.
February 2019: Jeff and Grant attended a Trust and Estate Planning presentation to stay apprised on legal matters surrounding trusts, and updates to Colorado’s Uniform Trust Code from Senate Bill 18-180.
January - February 2019: Jeff and Grant volunteered to teach personal finance to the Senior Achievement Class at Alameda High School in a partnership with Junior Achievement.
January 2019: Grant graded three research reports for the CFA Institute Research Challenge held on 2/6/2019. All competing universities (Colorado State University, University of Denver, Colorado School of Mines, University of Boulder, Metropolitan State University, and the University of Northern Colorado) presented their recommendations on Denver-based upstream energy company SM Energy (ticker SM).
January 2019: Jeff and Grant attended a presentation on the state of the fixed income markets by Gibson Smith of Smith Capital Advisors.
January 2019: Grant went to the Federal Reserve Branch in Denver to attend a presentation by Alison Felix, VP and Denver Branch Executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and Randy Thelan, VP of Economic Development at Downtown Denver Partnership. Alison provided an update on the Fed and the health of the national economy. Randy shared insights about downtown Denver and the Front Range including growth & trends and upcoming development projects.
October 2018: Our firm is set up with TD Ameritrade as the custodian. TD Ameritrade provides our firm with technologies in key areas of our business. Specifically, client management, customer service, trade execution, and portfolio management. They also provide our clients with a third-party custodian to hold the assets.
September 2018: Jeff attended a presentation by Joshua Brown, from Ritholtz Wealth Management. The presentation dove into the nuances of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
August 2018: Noble Wealth Partners was formed by merging Columbine Wealth Planning with Noble Wealth Alliance. Exciting news for all clients and future clients.
April 2018: Grant judged the Rocky Mountain Investment Challenge for the second year. A very exciting opportunity for students to present their best stock idea to a panel of judges. All the teams performed extraordinarily well. The teams and results are listed below:
Judges: Marcelo Alaniz (Investment Analyst at Great West), Dan Starke (Investment Professional), Harry Starn Jr., CFA, CFP® (Director of the Personal Financial Planner Program at University of Colorado), Dr. Leo Chan (Professor at Utah Valley University), JP Tremblay, CFA (Professor at University of Denver), Walt Werner, J.D. (Retired Professor at University of Wyoming), Suresh Gupta (Chief General Manager in the Enquiry & Adjudication Department Securities & Exchange Board of India), Joe Briones (Investment Analyst for the Wyoming Retirement System), Grant Glenn, CFA, CFP® (Owner of Noble Wealth Alliance).
This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security mentioned. Investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
March 2018: Jim Paulsen, Chief Investment Strategist of The Leuthold Group, LLC, provided Grant and the CFA Society of Colorado with his thoughts on the global economic and inflation outlook. Including some thoughts on the implications for financial markets, the U.S. dollar, commodity markets, bond yields, and the stock market. And, how investors may consider tilting their portfolios for the coming year.
March 2018: John Carpenter, the founder of the Global Blockchain Summit and Global Data Summit, educated Grant and the CFA Society of Colorado about the intricacies of fintech, smart contracts, supply chains, and the implications of the Blockchain for business in today's modern world.
February 2018: Richard Herbert, VP on the Global Macro team of Franklin Templeton spoke to Grant and the CFA Society of Colorado about global economic imbalances and the implications for those invested in the various markets. Including, the possible waterfall effects of the Fed unwinding their balance sheet.
January 2018: Amy McGarrity, CFA, the Chief Investment Officer of Colorado PERA spent time with Grant and other members of the CFA Society of Colorado. During the meeting, she discussed potential changes the PERA Board is recommending to the General Assembly to help improve the funded status and financial health of the plan.
January 2018: Grant kicked off the first Irish Coffee Club (think tank of five individuals holding their CFA designation, four of the five also hold their CFP® certification) meeting of the year. During the meeting they discussed investment trends, business practices, and exciting developments in the world of wealth management. These meetings occur monthly.
January 2018: I attended a workshop geared toward optimizing investment portfolios and discussing the details of how the tax reform may impact clients. The event was hosted by Janus Henderson.
October 2017: Noble Wealth Alliance was launched!
October 2017: Grant attended AQR's RIA Midwest Investment Symposium in Chicago to gain perspectives on advanced quantitative portfolio strategies for our clients.
September 2017: JP Morgan hosted their 2017 Investment Forum in Denver. Grant observed the market insghts from several of JP Morgan's portfolio managers discussed methods of potentially capitalizing on various investment themes.
August 2017: In accordance with House Bill 08-1002, Grant joined three other individuals to form the CSU Investment Advisory Committee. The Committee assists Colorado State University with managing their investable operating assets.
July 2017: Grant attended the LPL Financial Focus conference to stay updated with the evolution of wealth management and useful ideas that contribute to an enhanced client experience.
One of the Keynote speakers at the conference, Lori Greiner.
April 2017: Grant judged the Rocky Mountain Investment Championship in Rockwell Hall on the CSU campus. A great event where students from eight colleges in Colorado present which stock they believe will outperform in the near future. CSU took first place, go Rams!
January 2017: Jeff founded Columbine Wealth Planning!
Our Reading
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.” —Charlie Munger
The world around you is constantly changing, and so should your portfolio. It is paramount that your financial advisor and planner understand the market environment and is apprised of the changes that may require a shift in your portfolio allocation. Our wealth strategists at Noble Wealth Partners strive to understand the meaningful events that are occurring in the markets (stock, bond, commodities, etc.) to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risk during times of financial turmoil.
To stay updated, we read a sleuth of material on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. In addition, we read stock analyses, bond reports, various publications, market summaries, and research papers. We invite you to send us anything you find interesting. I’m sure we will find the material interesting as well.
Book Recommendations
