Our Founding Story

Vail Valley Asset Management (VVAM) was created to serve owners of lower middle market businesses. Owners of companies valued between $5 million and $100 million often have the majority of their net worth concentrated within their business ownership, creating complex financial risks and opportunities. Our founder realized the limitations of existing wealth management approaches for business owners in this size range and built VVAM to fill this need. VVAM’s investment advisory services place the closely held business asset at the center of the investment process to ensure the owner’s investment portfolio complements and diversifies the risks and rewards of the underlying industries and end markets their businesses serve.
As an active investor in lower middle market businesses through a holding company, VVAM’s founder witnessed the challenges business owners face when navigating the M&A process for the first time. Owners with deep expertise operating their businesses face an ecosystem of service providers motivated by success fees and deal expenses. In what is most often the largest financial transaction of their lives, business owners typically experience a high stakes process without an unbiased source of strategic advice. VVAM is uniquely positioned to walk with clients through the M&A process in a differentiated, fully aligned relationship. Bringing the experience and perspective from the founder’s involvement as a buyer within the lower middle market offers VVAM clients access to sophisticated advice as part of VVAM’s transparent AUM fee.