Although it has long been held as the “gold standard” by many investors, we have entered into a financial regime in which the coveted 60/40 portfolio of equities to bonds no longer works. Some believe that we will never go back to the investing environment in which that type of portfolio will provide solid returns. Others believe that we are merely in a cyclical regime change brought on by high levels of inflation. In the latter’s thinking, they believe the adage that, “this too, shall pass.”
Table Of Contents
Whether you are an ultra-affluent investor looking for a wealth manager to protect and grow your legacy, or an institutional firm seeking a strategic partner to assist in portfolio growth, you want a partner who not only aligns with your goals but who also has a well-rounded experience set to understand multiple dynamics within and viewpoints of the markets.
Paragon Capital Management President & CIO Craig Novorr has nearly two decades of experience offering unparalleled white-glove service to his clients at Paragon Capital Management, LLC, but he didn’t cut his teeth in wealth management. Hand-picked to join the firm after a decade of success as a VP and dual fund manager at UMB, it was Craig’s experience running the UMB Scout and Technology Growth Funds that provided him with a level of multi-dimensional expertise that isn’t found in many wealth managers.
That experience as a fund manager provided the insights and networks that can only be gained through direct institutional experience. It provided him a familiarity with making significantly larger investments than most wealth managers, a sharp eye for an accounting of every dollar, and an understanding of the risk inherent in different investments and how to mitigate those risks. Perhaps most importantly, it developed the personal networks that allow him to leverage the largest investment banks in the world to custom-build securities for his clients.
Above all, his decade managing two highly successful funds at a large firm also made Craig realize that he missed the interpersonal relationships that come from direct client interaction. When the man who mentored him as a college intern during his first years in finance set out to start Paragon Capital Management, LLC, Craig’s desire to work directly with clients and his innate entrepreneurial drive made his mentor’s offer to join him one that he couldn’t refuse.
Several of his long-term clients from UMB followed Craig to Paragon, and it was only a matter of time until a succession plan put Craig in charge of Paragon when his mentor, Howard Jacobson, retired. This move brought all of Craig’s experience and passions into one place - his love of managing teams, his institutional fund management experience and relationships allowing him to service his ultra-affluent clients, and of course his passion for providing his clients with the best opportunities that the market has to offer.
When selecting a partner to protect and grow your legacy or institutional portfolio, you want someone with a wide set of experience in various aspects of the market and a proven history of success at their trade. Three decades of proven experience on both the fund manager and wealth management sides of the financial house have delivered both for Paragon Capital Management, LLC and Craig Novorr.
Part of our success in utilizing structured notes for our clients lies in our long-standing relationships with the some of the largest investment banking institutions. Institutionally-sized deals require a counterparty that can facilitate trades or deals of that magnitude, of which there is a finite number.
It is these longstanding relationships with the some of the largest investment banks that not only allows us to create custom and unique investment deals for our clients and provide them access to alternative investment opportunities but also creates the ability to have those banks compete for the right to serve our clients.
When your relationships allow your firm to have the some of the largest institutions compete to create investments for your fund, it is your fund that wins. Rather than being forced to accept terms that may be acceptable but not exceptional, we have the opportunity to select the very best deals that will provide your fund with the greatest outcome.
Working with Paragon Capital Management, LLC as your subadvisor opens the same opportunity to offer your fund the chance to not only work on a deal but rather the best one that can be found within the deal space.
When Howard Jacobson left the institutional firm where he had spent most of his career to found Paragon Capital Management, LLC, his dream was to offer personalized, white glove, and family office-style service to his clients.
At a time when most of the industry was moving to the cookie-cutter approach of putting clients into pre-built financial products, Howard began his path in the opposite direction. The firm initially began creating custom portfolios of stocks and bonds according to each individual client’s needs, risk tolerance, and objectives, as well as providing a level of personal service for their clients that is hard to find in the industry today.
Paragon Capital Management, LLC CIO and President Craig Novorr has continued that philosophy of service to clients, adding several new types of investment products that further allow each client to have a portfolio that is uniquely tailored to their needs.
As a subadvisor, this client service-based philosophy has created a skillset in which the experts at Paragon Capital Management, LLC are well-versed in creating portfolios and investment products that are custom-built for each individual objective. Due to the institutional size of many of our clients’ portfolios, trades, and deals, the scale when operating as a subadvisor for a fund isn’t even very different!
As a fund manager, your returns are a critical aspect of your business and can lead to an avalanche of new inflows or outflows depending on the performance of your fund. As a firm with an ever-present eye on risk mitigation and protecting the downside, we understand that reliable returns are the best way to grow a portfolio over time.
Our risk mitigation strategies have led us to develop financial products that protect our clients’ downside while also offering upside market participation. These products and strategies provide steady, reliable returns rather than the wild ups and downs that may be found with other types of investment strategies.
The most high-flying aggressive growth stocks and funds during good times are often the ones hit with the hardest turbulence when the market hits a hiccup or worse, a correction. Our mantra at Paragon Capital Management, LLC is to provide steady returns over time, rather than following an aggressive growth strategy that will have massive up years followed by massive declines which wipe away those returns.
If you are looking for a way to provide safe havens and steady returns to your fund that you can depend on, our experts at Paragon Capital Management, LLC would love to talk to you about our investment philosophy.
None of these financial instruments that we use are exceptionally complicated, but most advisors and funds neither know about nor understand them. At first glance, they seem like opportunities that are “too good to be true,” but our experience has proven them to be the exception to that rule - when properly implemented.
Fixed income refers to debt securities that can provide a steady stream of interest payments or dividends along a fixed schedule, hence the name "fixed income." The underlying debt security can be issued by many different types of organizations and is often used to fund a specific purpose.
Fixed-income investments are typically given preferential treatment over common stockholders if the debts become more than the issuer can maintain. While there are many different types of debt-based securities, they all maintain priority in bankruptcy proceedings over the owners of common equity shares.
It should be noted that there are multiple types of these instruments that we utilize available, and not all of them are beneficial. Our investment into the time and experience required to properly understand, implement, and utilize these tools is what has allowed us to serve our clients in ways that other firms don’t even know about.
It was the 2008 market correction that led Craig Novorr to find a better way to serve his clients, and it looks like we are moving into another tumultuous time for the markets. If you are at the point where Craig found himself nearly a decade and a half ago and are seeking new opportunities for your fund, we are here to assist.
As the ancient Chinese proverb states, “the wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows all.” Our current society is so full of an omnipresent availability of information at our fingertips that it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with it all. In an investing environment in which trades move faster than the speed of knowledge, it has become impossible for one person or even a small team to keep up with it all.
Subadvisors allow a fund manager to leverage the subject matter expertise and experience of those who are experts in their fields, thereby allowing the fund manager to focus on what they are best at. As financial professionals, we each have a fiduciary responsibility to our clients’ best interests, whether that client is an individual or a fund.
Our team at Paragon Capital Management, LLC has spent a multitude of careers between us becoming subject matter experts in our craft. If you would like to leverage that expertise to provide reliable cash flows, tax-efficient investing, capital preservation, lower volatility, or fixed-income guarantees to your fund, we can offer our assistance.
Our experience utilizing simple financial instruments that others don’t understand, fixed-income expertise, background as institutional investors and fund managers, long-standing relationships with the some of the largest investment banks, and experience creating objectives-based and custom portfolios for our ultra-affluent clients have provided our firm with the requisite skill sets that fund managers may be well served by.
If you would like to discuss a potential working relationship with Paragon Capital Management, LLC as a subadvisor to your fund or firm, contact our CIO & President Craig Novorr here to see if an alignment can be found.
Whether you feel as if you’ve outgrown your advisor or you just want a fresh perspective on portfolio strategies in our current market, our team of experts is here for you.
