Brian Fraser, CFA, CAIA

My Story:

My name is Brian Fraser and I am the Founder of Canyon Creek Investment Advisors, a Marine Corps veteran, and a Colorado native. Growing up on the western slope, I spent many summers in the outdoors working at my father’s outfitting business, Canyon Creek Outfitters, my firm’s namesake. During this time, I developed a great appreciation for the mountains, work ethic, and a love for fly fishing. How did I get into investment management when starting out helping an outfitter? It is a long story but suffice to say that I owe a debt of gratitude to my late grandfather for taking the time to spark my interest in finance and investments one summer when I was in my early teens.

Education & Professional Investment Qualifications:

My Background:

After completing my military service with the 3rd Marine Division (Okinawa, Japan), I began my formal education in finance at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University). I was awarded a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a concentration in finance and graduated Cum Laude. I then when on to attend the University of Denver where I received a Master of Science in Finance degree concentrating in both corporate finance and investments. Later, I went on to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations – two widely recognized professional investment designations.

Following college, I began my professional career as a commercial credit analyst at a major bank and began teaching finance and economics part-time at Colorado Mesa University as an adjunct finance instructor. A few years later, I accepted a full-time position as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Finance and regularly taught in the areas of Risk Management, Economics, and Finance. During my time at the University, I also served as the Director of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at CMU; a grant that provided support for ethics instruction and the development of business ethics materials at the university.

After seven years of teaching at the university, I moved to become the Director of Investments within the wealth management department at a local banking institution. During my time within the role the department’s assets under management (AUM) grew from $550 million to more than $1.1 billion upon my departure. While not all the growth was attributed to investment related activities, the investment component contributed a significant portion of the growth. During my time as Director of Investments, I created and chaired two instrumental committees, the Investment Committee and Unique Asset Committee, and contributed to many other aspects of the departmental development, leadership, and client support.

Today, with the experiences, knowledge, and education that I have gained over the years, I look forward to the opportunity to work with clients like you. I am determined to offer top-notch advisory, planning, and consultancy services that will afford you the best opportunity to achieve your investment and financial objectives.