About

Griffin Kirsch is the founder and owner of GK Wealth Management. He’s been a wealth strategist since 2014 serving executives and small business owners to create and maximize their wealth potential by helping them “see the unseen.”  He began his career in investments and insurance planning with Edward Jones, which allowed him to build a book of business and learn this industry inside and out. After a few years, he began to realize he wanted to do more for his clients, and without conflict. He decided to remove himself from the broker/dealer model and work independently alongside a team of industry specialists and mentors that could allow him and his clients to be better served.

His purpose is to explore and analyze the complicated intricacies of each individual’s and business’ financial situation in order to design and deliver simple strategies. From there, Griffin builds a financial blueprint to better determine a better detailed financial plan of action that allows clients to become better stewards of their wealth with clarity and certainty.

These intellectual strategies effectively help reduce taxes, reduce risk, increase portfolio efficiency, and augment the preservation of wealth legacy for his clients.

Griffin's team of industry specialists and mentors has proven to be especially powerful in helping his clients construct and execute their exit strategies. Griffin graduated with a Bachelor of Business degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Nevada, Reno.  He also played Division I Baseball for the University.

Griffin is a husband to his wife Laura Kirsch and a father to his two daughter's Adlee & Mila Kirsch. His outside interests include skiing, golf, boating and travel.  Griffin is on the board of the JDRF foundation (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). A type 1 diabetic since age 10, he has a personal interest in the foundation and hopes to one day see a cure for this disease.

Clayton Holthaus is an investment advisor for GK Wealth Management. He’s been working in the financial and insurance industry since 2015. He began his insurance career working for State Farm Insurance, while attending the University of Nevada, Reno. His time at the university was largely supported and influenced by his employment at State Farm. This played an important role in his understanding of the nuances of the business world, learning not only the educational side, but applying those concepts in practice. After a few years of working underneath the massive corporate structure, it became apparent the industry was riddled with conflicts of interest and the bottom line of the corporation was always top priority, even at the expense of the client. 

During his last year at the University, an opportunity to intern at GK Wealth Management arose. The internship flourished under the guidance of his mentor Griffin Kirsch, and an amazing opportunity to join the GK Wealth Management team, became a reality.

As the first licensed advisor to join the team, he was presented with a unique opportunity to join a firm that was chugging forward with substantial momentum and promise. A firm that values its clients over itself, one that has made it very clear that our primary objective is to serve our clients and provide them their best opportunity to succeed that we can. By building detailed financial plans and portfolios that serve the clients interest, he is confident we put our clients interest as our top priority.

Clayton’s team of industry specialists and mentors has shown to be incredible insight in analyzing the complicated intricacies and construction of client portfolios. This allows Clayton and his clients to work with confidence and clarity. These intellectual strategies effectively help reduce taxes, reduce risk, increase portfolio efficiency, and augment the preservation of wealth legacy for his clients.

Clayton graduated with a Bachelor of Business in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno. Clayton’s interests include fishing, snowboarding, playing sports, exploring Tahoe with his dog Lola, and spending time with family. Clayton excelled in sports at a very young age, learning many valuable lessons including the importance of teamwork and dependable leadership.

Antonio Arellanes is a Financial Advisor for GK Wealth Management. He has been working in the financial advising industry since the beginning of his college career, starting his journey as an administrative director for Ameriprise, which allowed him to have hands-on experience within the industry at a young age. Not long after, Antonio met Griffin and Clayton, and was given the opportunity to intern for GK Wealth Management. This opportunity changed the trajectory of his career for the better.

His first-hand experience in independent wealth management made it clear to Antonio that he wanted to leave the traditional structure of the industry and work as a fiduciary Financial Advisor, enabling him to better serve clients without the conflicts of interest often found in the broker-dealer environment.

When he first joined GK Wealth Management, it didn’t take long for Antonio to notice that he had joined a firm that prioritizes efficiency and clarity, focusing on streamlined wealth preservation, tax optimization, and portfolio efficiency to help clients achieve their goals with precision and confidence. With Griffin and Clayton’s exceptional mentorship, Antonio learned how to build detailed strategies and help clients navigate the intricacies of their finances to effectively optimize their financial well-being.

Antonio’s drive to help others with personal wealth management stems from the fulfillment he found by educating himself with financial and estate planning in order to assist his own family so early in his life. As the middle son of a single mother of five, he hopes to guide his family toward economic stability and security, as well as many other families that are in need.

Antonio graduated with two Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno. During his time as a college student, Antonio served as President of the Nevada Student Investment Organization, and represented the university at the Rotman International Trading Competition in Toronto, where he ranked above top institutions such as Princeton and Columbia University.

His interests include snowboarding, rock climbing, and spending time with his younger siblings. Antonio serves on the board of The Hayek Group, which focuses on the philanthropic initiative to make financial literacy curriculum available to all schools in Northern Nevada.

ADB Part 2B

Teddy Bakhos who is the founder and owner of a Canadian-based consulting firm “Bakhos Consulting Services Inc.” is acting as the Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of GK Wealth Management, offering investment advisory and portfolio management services to our firm. Teddy has been working in the financial markets and investment industry since 2009. He has many years of professional investment advisory expertise and more than 11 years of university teaching experience, with a remarkable record of accomplishment in the investment and securities industries in different countries like Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Covering brokerage, trading, investment advisory, asset allocation, asset management, portfolio management and business development. 

Teddy started his career at Banque BEMO (a pioneer and leader in Private & Corporate Banking in the Middle East, Cyprus and Luxembourg) as a “Senior Banking Advisor” in the Investments & Securities team. After 2 years, he moved to Banque Libano-Française (BLF) as “Senior Relationship Manager: International Coverage & Correspondent Banking”, where he was managing the bank’s local and international institutional relationships network. After a few years, he moved within the same group to the Libano-Française Finance (LFF); the financial and investment arm of Banque Libano-Française as a “Senior Investment Advisor”, covering the execution, advisory and asset allocation side of the business for High-Net-Worth and institutional clients in Switzerland, France, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. In 2018, he has been promoted to “Dealing Room Manager: Equities, Funds & Derivatives”, where he focused the most on the following segments: execution, advisory & asset allocation, business development, coaching & training and management, through which he acquired in-depth knowledge in the investment world and the securities industry’s best practices from a managerial perspective.

In addition to his professional duties, Teddy occupied different academic positions in various universities and faculties since 2012, where he expanded his courses basket covering Advanced Financial Markets, Technical Analysis, Financial Derivatives, Corporate Finance, Banking & Finance, Strategic Decision-Making, Financial Management and Strategic Management, for bachelor and master's degrees, in addition to the Executive MBA (EMBA) program targeting seniors, executives and top management personnel of companies in different industries. Teddy was the “Head of Financial Markets Academic Curriculum Program” at The Higher Institute for Banking Studies (ISEB), where his role focused initially on launching, then managing a Financial Markets Master’s degree, through a well-structured curriculum and recruiting a suitable teaching body of professionals from different financial markets fields, as well as permanently organizing seminars, workshops and training sessions to the institute’s students and teaching body. For 11 consecutive years, Teddy was also in charge in different universities in Lebanon and other Gulf countries of a permanent applied trading workshop through a professional investment platform covering different financial asset classes. 

Teddy graduated with a Bachelor degree in Business & Management Administration from the Saint-Joseph University of Beirut (USJ), and then pursued a Master’s degree in Research in Finance. He excelled throughout his academic path to be nominated "Honor Listed” during all his years of studies, as evidenced by an exceptional scholarship granted by one of the biggest multinational companies in the world “Deloitte”, as recognition for his academic excellent performance.

On a personal level, Teddy has been married to Racelle Barmo since 2014 and he is a father to Matteo 8 years old and Kate 6 years old.