Your Team
Danielle Howard, CFP®
Molly McMahon, CRC®
Cambridge
Investment
Research, Inc.
SEI
Check the background of investment professionals on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.
I have been walking alongside clients to create financial health and optimize financial potential for the past thirty years. Feeling compelled and called to prioritize process and planning above and beyond the traditional product focused industry, Wealth by Design, LLC was born in 2004. The vision was to bring the intentionality of living life without regrets alongside your financial decisions to do so. Over the past nineteen years, the business has grown to primarily focus on people entering their fall season of life as well as serving the needs of families grappling with aging parents and adulting children. The complexities of the financial, relational, psychological, emotional and physical facets need to be unpacked with care – and I care!
I am a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner that takes the industry fiduciary standard to an advanced level as we get to know you, your family, your financial situation and your life components to best understand our duty. I am an educator, advocate, thinking partner and cheerleader when it comes to your life and it’s financial implications.
I write a personal finance column in the Glenwood Post Independent, blog for 60 and Me and other national publications. My podcast focuses on the mindsets, and financial modalities of retirement with guests focusing on the “whole” person in retirement. My published book ‘Your Financial Revolution’ – Time to Recognize, Revitalize and Release Your Financial Power was written to bring complex financial topics down to earth.
Colorado has always been home, and I have been blessed to live in the Roaring Fork Valley for the past 38 years. I am in awe every day that hiking, biking, rafting, skiing in all forms are right outside my back door. Spending time with my adult daughters, granddaughters, extended family and close friends keeps my life balanced and filled with joy. My spiritual life keeps me grounded and focused on what matters most.
Giving of my time, talent and treasure is a foundational value and great joy. Educating non-profits and their donor base as to creative giving strategies and the latest changes in legislative and tax environments is an honor. I currently serve as board chair for Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley. Past programing includes a collaborative effort with Response in Aspen and the Embrey Family Foundation as we created a “Women’s Financial Empowerment Workshop” In 2015, working with fellow advisor, Partha Iyengar, I underwrote the Life and Money workshop in colleges across Tumkur District in Karnataka, India. The program reached more than 500 women.
Before beginning my journey at Wealth by Design I dedicated 19 years to our family furniture company. Taking on the responsibilities of General manager, bookkeeper, buyer and sales associate availed me with deep client relationship and business administration experience.
Beginning in 2011, I served as the Senior Client Services Associate for Alpine Bank’s Wealth Management department. I found myself drawn to Wealth by Design in 2015 due to Danielle’s holistic approach to financial well-being, wealth management style and retirement philosophy. This refreshing perspective supports our clients in optimizing their financial possibilities while unfolding their life potential. Throughout my professional career I have committed myself to excellence. With the utmost integrity, determination, and professionalism, I thoroughly enjoy working to engage and support our clients.
In 2017, I completed the Series 65 licensing requirements qualifying my service as an Investment Advisor Representative. The following fall, I earned my Certified Retirement Counselor Certification®. In 2022 I earned my Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. I am committed to staying abreast of this changing industry and my role in walking alongside our clients.
As your client relationship manager or “clientologist extraordinaire”, I take pride in creating a professional, personalized experience, knowing that discussing financial issues is sensitive and often unchartered territory. Each day I work to create an environment where our clients feel comfortable and competent in navigating their financial journey.
When not serving our clients, I am kept busy with my two children Isabel and Crosby and our four-legged companion Fawn, an adorable rescue Shepard mix. To de-stress from a productive day at work I enjoy practicing yoga, hiking my back hill and taking the kids – I mean dog – for long walks, as well as bingeing my favorite TV shows.
Just as you have the opportunity to choose your financial professional, we in turn can choose our independent broker-dealer. As an independent financial firm, we are not an employee of an investment or financial services firm – we are independent business owners. Therefore, we are not pressured or distracted by corporate interests and can focus on what is best for you and your financial goals. We are proud that our values – integrity, commitment, flexibility, and kindness – are shared with our broker-dealer, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge).
Together, we focus on a common priority – you.
As one of the most respected and largest privately held independent broker-dealers in the U.S., Cambridge is owned entirely by its management and financial professionals. With Cambridge, we have total independence as to how we operate our business while they provide all of the back office support in compliance, marketing, licensing, and regulation. They also provide access to a first-rate network of people, products, and resources, enabling us to customize a financial plan that helps you realize your dreams for today and prepare for tomorrow. Collectively, we offer you the opportunity to work with an independent financial advisor combined with the ability to access a wide range of diversified financial products and a wealth of investment resources.