Paragon Capital Management, Ltd. is an independent, privately owned SEC-registered
investment advisory firm founded in 1990 by Alexander Feick and Henry Lester.
Alexander Feick and Henry Lester each own 23.75% of the firm. Current employees own
the remaining 52.5% interest.
As of the firm's fiscal year-end, December 31, 2023, the firm had approximately
$1,134,019,000 of client assets under its management: $1,019,981,900 on a discretionary
basis and $114,020,800 on a non-discretionary basis.
Philosophy
Objective Advice
Our fundamental goal is to provide high-quality, objective advice. We do not receive
commissions that might influence our recommendations. We do not offer other services
that might affect our advice. For example, if we were in the trust management business,
we might recommend more trusts. Similarly, we do not receive any fees for referring
business to other professionals, which might lead us to recommend those professionals
over other providers.
Open Platform
We strive to find investments that meet our Client's goals and our strategies regardless of
how or where they are offered or available. We are not limited by the investments
available at any one brokerage firm or custodian. Thus, while most of our client's assets
are custodied at Schwab, we buy and sell municipal bonds through several other brokers.
Integrated Analysis
We consider your whole portfolio in planning and investment decisions. Therefore, we
incorporate investments that we do not supervise in our analyses. In addition, we factor in
liquidity, time horizon, taxes, regulatory, and legal factors in the process of structuring a
portfolio. For example, the time horizon and tax treatment of a trust, a deferred
compensation plan, or a retirement account may make an investment compelling in one
account and inappropriate in another.
Services
Paragon Capital Management provides clients with financial planning, investment advice,
and investment management services.
Financial Planning
Financial planning services range from the simple to the complex, from a tax forecast or
mortgage analysis to how to manage stock options and concentrated stock positions. Our
core financial planning services include the following:
Analysis and planning for retirement
Estate planning, including taxes, trusts, and gifting
Income taxes
Employee benefits, stock options, and compensation contracts
Concentrated stock positions
Life insurance
Asset protection and risk management strategies
Financing
Educational funding
Investment Management
Clients work with us under the following arrangements:
(1) Discretionary – Under a discretionary arrangement, the Client grants Paragon
Capital Management discretion and authority under a limited power of attorney to
manage and invest their accounts according to established objectives and
guidelines.
(2) Non-discretionary – Under a non-discretionary arrangement, the Client either
implements Paragon Capital Management's advice or Paragon Capital
Management makes transactions on behalf of the Client but only on a limited
basis or after reviewing recommended transactions with the Client. Non-
discretionary clients will generally be unable to participate in trades and
opportunities in the same time frame as discretionary clients. For example,
municipal bond
opportunities can be fleeting.
We customize our investment strategies to our Clients' objectives using individual stocks,
bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds. We also may invest in hedge funds and
investment partnerships that pursue various investment strategies.
Process
In our initial meeting, we determine a client's goals and concerns. We then compile
information on their assets, investments, liabilities, income, and expenses. With this
information and personal documents, including insurance policies, wills, benefit plans,
tax returns, etc., we build a preliminary picture of their financial situation and how we
expect assets and income to change over time. We then meet with the Client to review
these projections and the underlying assumptions and information. Then, we revise these
assumptions and projections as necessary. Next, we develop a plan to achieve goals and
invest capital, considering different accounts, taxes, time horizons, and other factors.
Finally, an investment policy statement articulates the guidelines for implementing the
plan.
Retirement Rollover Recommendations
When we provide investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or
individual retirement account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and/or the
Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), as applicable, which are laws governing retirement
accounts. The way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests, so we
operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest and not put our
interest ahead of yours. Under this special rule’s provisions, we must:
• Meet a professional standard of care when making investment
recommendations (give prudent advice);
• Never put our financial interests ahead of yours when making
recommendations (give loyal advice);
• Avoid misleading statements about conflicts of interest, fees, and investments;
• Follow policies and procedures designed to ensure that we give advice that is
in your best interest;
• Charge no more than is reasonable for our services; and
• Give you basic information about conflicts of interest.
When providing recommendations to retirement plan accounts involving rollover
considerations, there are generally four options regarding an existing retirement plan
account. An employee may use a combination of those options, such as; (i) leave the
funds in the former employer’s plan, if permitted, (ii) roll over the funds to a new
employer’s plan, if one is available and rollovers are permitted, (iii) roll over to an
Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”), or (iv) cash out the account value (which could,
depending upon the individual’s age, result in adverse tax consequences). If your
designated investment adviser representative recommends that you rollover your
retirement plan assets into an account to be managed by our firm, such recommendation
creates a conflict of interest insofar as we will earn an advisory fee on the rolled over
assets. You are under no obligation to roll over retirement plan assets to an account
managed by us.
Client Assets Managed
As of December 31, 2023, we managed $1,019,981,900 of client assets on a discretionary
basis and $114,020,763 on a non-discretionary basis.