Our Story

In our experience, wealthy families face unique challenges but share several characteristics in common:

• They have all accumulated significant wealth throughout their lives and “Preservation of Capital” is high on their list of investment objectives.
• From a Financial Planning perspective, they prefer to have a comprehensive understanding of how their lifestyle spending relates to their income and longevity.
• They often struggle with issues related to liability planning, gifting and philanthropy

At Team Behnfield and Guidi, we collaborate with our clients on sophisticated and comprehensive financial planning that encompasses not only their investments, but saving strategies, spending priorities and other aspects of their financial lives.

As Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors, we offer access to the extensive resources of one of the world’s most respected financial institutions. When necessary, we can consult with firm professionals in such varied disciplines as Securities Research, Cash Management and Lending, Family Office Resources, Advanced Wealth Planning and Trust Services. These relationships bring additional intellectual capital to our decision-making process and significantly broaden the scope of our capabilities.


We believe that your relationship with your Financial Advisor should ideally rank among the most important in your life. Our clients look to us for personal guidance, advice and support that will make a difference in helping them achieve their most important financial goals. As a result, we invest heavily in our staff and purposely limit our practice to a select, relatively small group of clients.


The term “Family Office Resources” is being used as a term of art and not to imply that Morgan Stanley and/or its employees are acting as a family office pursuant to Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC does not accept appointments nor will it act as a trustee but it will provide access to trust services through an appropriate third‐party corporate trustee.
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Check the background of Our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck.*
How We Work with You
An engagement with our team typically begins with a series of discovery conversations. These conversations provide an opportunity to learn about each other. We make a concerted effort to determine whether or not our team will be a good fit for you, by providing a forum for expressing your objectives, philosophies and risk tolerance. We take the time to inform you in detail of the way that we work. Discovery meetings lead to preliminary Financial Planning efforts and Portfolio Allocation recommendations before proceeding with a formal engagement.

The experience that we bring to the table is extensive, highlighted by our Senior Partner’s 43 years length of service as a Financial Advisor. (see Bios). We have learned through experience that extremely wealthy investors tend to have a lower tolerance for risk the wealthier they get. The financial planning process provides a surprising amount of input to the portfolio structure we recommend. This leads us to avoid passive, formulaic portfolio management in favor of a more active, fundamental and conservative approach to asset allocation.

For our clients who are contemplating retirement or are already retired, we are aware of and very sensitive to the dilemma of transitioning from employment income to portfolio income and the stress that goes along with it. Our relationship with our clients is informed by the importance of working to match our clients’ investment strategy with their individual goals and risk tolerance.
A Commitment to Communication
Our clients have been referred to us for a variety of reasons, but the most common refrain has been that they were disappointed in in the level of caring that they received from their former advisor. Often, their disappointment was due to a lack of communication from both a frequency and quality standpoint.

Our client relationships are successful, in part, because of our commitment to ongoing communication. As a Team Behnfield and Guidi client, you can expect a minimum of:

• 8 scheduled monthly calls (or written contacts): We touch base to discuss markets, portfolio positions and current events, both personally and globally.
• 3 formal quarterly review calls: There are several topics during the course of the year that deserve a spot on the agenda of our quarterly calls/meetings. Current market conditions and outlook, Quarterly Portfolio Performance, financial planning and tax planning are a must. In addition, clients experience changes in their environment that impact their financial goals and we need to be informed.
• 1 annual review: The Annual Meeting is the best time to cover Investment Performance within a larger time frame and update your Financial Plan. We typically discuss the year ahead.

Of course, our communication with our clients is not limited to this schedule. You can call us whenever you have a question or concern and be certain that you will always receive prompt and personal attention.

Location

1800 Broadway
Ste 120
Boulder, CO 80302
US
Direct:
(720) 562-6200(720) 562-6200
1901 Main St
Ste 700
Irvine, CA 92614
US
Direct:
(949) 955-7500(949) 955-7500

Meet Team Behnfield and Guidi

About Douglas Behnfield

Doug brings more than 47 years of financial services experience to every client he advises. He began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1977 after graduating from The University of Colorado with a BA in English. At the time, “Account Executives” were leaving the industry to drive cabs.

Doug was introduced to the senior research staff at Merrill Lynch at the beginning of his career by his father, who had joined Merrill Lynch in 1954. He enjoys a close relationship with several top Wall Street Economists and Investment Strategists. The financial markets and the economy have been Doug’s passion from the beginning.

Today, Doug combines his investment experience with financial planning and advisory for clients while managing and mentoring his team of Financial Advisors. He has earned such prestigious industry designations as Certified Financial Planner, Certified Investment Manager Analyst and Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2019 after establishing Team Behnfield and Guidi at UBS.

Doug and his wife Martha are the parents of four children and the grandparents of eight grandchildren. The family leads an active lifestyle sailing, skiing, traveling, babysitting, and restoring vintage cars.
Securities Agent: NC, SC, MT, TN, MN, MA, CA, WY, HI, OR, NM, ND, FL, CT, NV, GA, CO, AZ, UT, NY, IN; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative; Transactional Futures/Commodities; Managed Futures
NMLS#: 1894347
CA Insurance License #: 0H85428

About Amelia Guidi

Amelia is a Boulder Native. She attended NYU for 2 years where she played volleyball and tried to survive Manhattan before returning to Boulder to complete her degree in Business Management from the University of Colorado, Leeds School of Business. Amelia began her career in Financial Services in 2007 and joined what would become Team Behnfield and Guidi in 2013.

In the 12 years that Amelia has worked with Doug Behnfield, her role has evolved from Wealth Strategy Associate to Vice President, Financial Advisor. She energetically manages much of the day-to-day business functions of the team while actively participating in the team’s portfolio strategy and trading.

Amelia lives in Longmont and is an active member of her community, recently joining the Finance and Audit Committee for St. Vrain Valley School District.

Amelia is married to Kevin Guidi and they have 2 daughters; Ryan, age 15 and Daryn, age 10. Amelia enjoys shuttling her daughters between sports practices and activities, reading, cooking and painting in her spare time.
Securities Agent: OR, SC, MT, HI, CO, FL, AZ, NY, IL, WY, VA, TN, ND, CA, NM, MN, GA, NV, CT, NC, MA, UT; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative
NMLS#: 1894346
CA Insurance License #: 4072087

About Maxwell Behnfield

Max began his career in financial services immediately upon graduation in 2006 from The University of Colorado. His career path has led him from Janus Capital to UBS Financial Services, Northern Trust and now Morgan Stanley as a member of Team Behnfield and Guidi.

Over his career, Max has advised business owners and young professionals who share at least two characteristics in common. They are successful at what they do but they need a dedicated Financial Advisor so they can focus on their career. Financial Planning and Portfolio Management are his primary areas of focus.

Max is based in Southern California at the Morgan Stanley office on 1901 Main Street, 7th floor, Irvine, CA 92614. He is an avid supporter of the Orange County CU Buffalo Club (also known as OC Forever Buffs), the local chapter of his alma mater’s alumni association. When not rooting for the Buffalos or advising clients, he skis, plays tennis and enjoys spending time with his two daughters, Edie and Daphne.
Securities Agent: MT, NV, ND, UT, MA, CO, WY, NM, CT, CA, AZ, NY, TN, SC, NC, MN, HI, GA, OR, FL, TX; General Securities Representative; Investment Advisor Representative
NMLS#: 2081999
CA Insurance License #: 4215960

About Hannah Copeland

New and existing clients look to Hannah for a wide variety of services to help them make the most of their Morgan Stanley relationship. Hannah maintains the team’s calendar, schedules client meetings and provides guidance on Morgan Stanley’s cash management programs and services. She also serves as the team’s disbursement and payments concierge. In short, Hannah plays a key role in helping clients simplify their financial lives.

A native of Danville, California, Hannah moved to Boulder in 2016 where she earned a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and a Certificate in Real Estate at The University of Colorado. After graduating from the Leeds School of Business in May of 2020, Hannah interviewed and was chosen to join Team Behnfield and Guidi.

In the meantime, she enjoys doing Pilates, cooking new recipes, skiing during the winter months, and spending time with friends.
Wealth Management
From Our Team

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Working closely with you to guide your wealth and investments through the most challenging market cycles.
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Creating customized financial strategies for the challenges that today’s families face.
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Ready to start a conversation? Contact Team Behnfield and Guidi today.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

1Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences or review our Understanding Your Brokerage and Investment Advisory Relationships brochure available at www.morganstanley.com/wealth-relationshipwithms/pdfs/understandingyourrelationship.pdf.

For more information, please see the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Client Relationship Summary.

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2When Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors (collectively, “Morgan Stanley”) provide “investment advice” regarding a retirement or welfare benefit plan account, an individual retirement account or a Coverdell education savings account (“Retirement Account”), Morgan Stanley is a “fiduciary” as those terms are defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”), as applicable. When Morgan Stanley provides investment education, takes orders on an unsolicited basis or otherwise does not provide “investment advice”, Morgan Stanley will not be considered a “fiduciary” under ERISA and/or the Code. For more information regarding Morgan Stanley’s role with respect to a Retirement Account, please visit www.morganstanley.com/disclosures/dol. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a Retirement Account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments or other transactions made with respect to a Retirement Account. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters.

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3Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the trade name of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer in the United States.

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4Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is a registered Broker/Dealer, Member SIPC, and not a bank. Where appropriate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has entered into arrangements with banks and other third parties to assist in offering certain banking related products and services.

Investment, insurance and annuity products offered through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC are: NOT FDIC INSURED | MAY LOSE VALUE | NOT BANK GUARANTEED | NOT A BANK DEPOSIT | NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY

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5Investors should consider many factors before deciding which 529 plan is appropriate. Some of these factors include: the Plan’s investment options and the historical investment performance of these options, the Plan’s flexibility and features, the reputation and expertise of the Plan’s investment manager, Plan contribution limits and the federal and state tax benefits associated with an investment in the Plan. Some states, for example, offer favorable tax treatment and other benefits to their residents only if they invest in the state’s own Qualified Tuition Program. Investors should determine their home state’s tax treatment of 529 plans when considering whether to choose an in-state or out-of-state plan. Investors should consult with their tax or legal advisor before investing in any 529 Plan or contact their state tax division for more information. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC does not provide tax and/or legal advice. Investors should review a Program Disclosure Statement, which contains more information on investment options, risk factors, fees and expenses and possible tax consequences.

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6Insurance products are offered in conjunction with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s licensed insurance agency affiliates.

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Check the background of our Firm and Investment Professionals on FINRA's BrokerCheck*.

The information, products and services described here are intended only for individuals residing in states where this Financial Advisor is properly registered as described in this site.

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Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Individuals should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for legal matters.

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*References to length of service at Morgan Stanley include years at Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms.

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Awards Disclosures
CRC 6491812 (04/2024)