- Zachary Bouck
- Jun 30
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 1
As Denver Wealth Management approaches our ten-year anniversary on June 1st, and I approach my 20th anniversary of living in Denver in December, I can’t help but take a minute to step back and think about the community and roots I have grown in Colorado over the past 20 years.
In the world of remote work, nomadic behavior, and the general American attitude of ‘Go west, young man!” I’ve come to realize that there are tremendous benefits to staying put, building a community, and digging in deep.
Now it seems like a kind of American heresy to say ‘Stay put, young man.’ Maybe it’s the old age and experience starting to do the talking. Maybe it’s me hoping my three kids stay in Colorado and we get to see each other on more than just major holidays. Maybe it’s that I’ve gone west figuratively from my home state of North Dakota and want all my people to stay around me now that I’m established in Colorado. Motivations are hard to understand.
But one thing I’ve learned is that growing roots in a community seems to work like a kind of compound interest. The first year the changes aren’t readily apparent – in fact the jet-setting nomad seems to surpass the community-minded person as the networker makes fast and frequent connections. Who among us hasn’t been pulled into the force field of a fast-talking, charismatic businessperson?
The real challenge of the fast talker is that they promise life-changing or fast results in a minimum period of time. Sometimes it works – sometimes it doesn’t. But where will that fast-talker be 1-5-10-20 years down the road? Far from settling in and helping people who experience ongoing problems, the fast talker has talked his way to the next town or the next big deal.
Deep Roots and Long-Term Investors
Long-term compound interest isn’t just limited to living in a community. There is a compound interest that is generated by sticking with a particular philosophy through good times and bad. As a peer in the financial management industry likes to say, “Every strategy works if you’ll stick with it through bad times.’
When I think about some of the greatest investors EVER, many investors have turned small amounts into quick fortunes. However, the ones that really capture my attention are the investors who are more like marathon runners than sprinters. They run a sustainable pace over a very long distance vs. a very fast pace over a short distance. I’ve never seen a day trader on the Forbes 500, but I do see a lot of business owners.
Sometimes sprinting is necessary. Paying off consumer debt, finding a job when you’re unemployed, or moving to an acceptable school district are times when it may be better to be a sprinter than a marathoner.
But when it comes to community, fellowship, and the understanding that you, as an investor or businessperson, WILL BE THERE, it is a feeling that gets measured in years and decades, not with short-term enthusiasm.
Fresh Roots
When I started as a financial advisor in 2008, it drove me nuts when I reviewed someone’s expensive, inefficient, underperforming, and neglected portfolio. I’d recommend obvious changes and propose money-saving solutions (index funds are more tax efficient than mutual funds!), and I'd be shocked when the prospective client would say, “We like you, but our advisor has been working with our family for years.”
What I didn’t realize then is that trust and community are massively valued. While their advisor, who is pushing 70, might be behind the times when it comes to new tax laws, there is something to be said for trusting the guy who trusts the thing that has always worked for them.
I’ve also learned that trust is contagious. Richard (a partner in our group) trusts American Funds, therefore his clients trust American Funds. When the market drops, no one ever wants to sell American Funds – maybe we’ll sell that new fund with the new fund manager.
I’ve come to trust good companies with good management. It can be hard to define what good management is exactly, but somehow it is easier to look for the opposite. Bad management is easy to spot, and you don’t have to look very hard. When the market crashes and Apple drops along with it, I trust that the company will continue their strategy, we can all buy more stock, and it has historically worked out. When a management team has an earnings call where it is obvious that they are hiding key information from analysts and shareholders, you know you have a bad management team. Sell.
Clients trust advisors and companies that are consistent. An investing or financial planning philosophy can evolve as the world does, but values must remain consistent.
Maybe that’s the hard part about growing trust. Do you trust someone with a rigid philosophy that never EVER changes? A lot of people like that kind of certainty. I think about Dave Ramsey’s ‘Debt is always bad and is never useful!’ What about when interest rates are 2.75% and inflation is 8%? Maybe trusting that someone is wise enough to change course is part of trust?
Being a long-term part of community means you give up anonymity. If you make a fool of yourself, you can’t hide. Your community will know. But part of long-term relationships is acknowledging that we are flawed, and forgiveness is part of what builds these extra-strong long-term bonds. Why are so many siblings so close? Perhaps you’ve seen all their flaws and good qualities and decided to love them anyway. A good community is like that.
10 More Years
As Denver Wealth Management passes the ten-year landmark of providing wealth management services, I look forward to seeing where the next ten years in Denver will take us. As our clients relocate for new opportunities, we go with them – we are in almost all 50 states in 2025. While our client’s physical location is always changing, maybe the roots we are growing for the next ten years are stability. A consistent financial planning process. An investment philosophy that changes as the world does. A stable value system. Simply being present is a good start, but it is not enough. We have the honor of building on ten years of trust.
Investing in mutual funds involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Fund value will fluctuate with market conditions, and it may not achieve its investment objective.
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss. Stock investing includes risks, including fluctuating prices and loss of principal.
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Denver Wealth Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor. Denver Wealth Management, Inc. is a separate entity from LPL Financial.
