Experience

Thomas Nieto is a Co-Founder of Spyglass Hill Advisors, where he is a Managing Director and a Private Wealth Financial Advisor in Newport Beach, California. Tom works closely with clients to identify their needs, provide advice and guidance, and coordinate unified action with a team of locally based specialists.

Prior to joining UBS, Thomas worked as a Private Client Advisory for 25 years in Bank of America’s Private Bank (formerly U.S. Trust), where he helped add value to high-net-worth families. He also worked within Security Pacific National Bank where he participated in the creation of their Private Banking Group. Also, during his tenure there he worked in the Commercial Banking Group where he traveled globally to lead the acquisitions of foreign banks and oversaw evaluating and risk rating the firms largest corporate/real estate and capital market exposure. He earned his B.A. from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Thomas is a former board member of the Blue Ribbon Committee at California State College at Fullerton, as well as the Orange County Performing Arts Business Partnership. He is also a former Executive Board Member with United Way.

Thomas and his wife Marsha live in Newport Beach. During the weekend, he enjoys playing golf, as well as taking scenic walks along the coast. He also loves spending time with his two adult sons and three grandsons.

I began my career in one of the equity market’s more tumultuous periods —and over the past 30 years, I have helped clients manage their wealth throughout good times and bad. I joined UBS in 2007 after 17 years at American Express Financial Advisors. UBS has provided me and my clients the resources of the world’s largest wealth management firm without the demands of using proprietary products and services. Objectivity for fee-based advisors is extremely important, and UBS has proved to be the right choice for me and my clients.

I bring clients considerable financial insight and a commitment to formulating investment strategies from a “macro” perspective through a very tailored financial planning process designed to meet the clients’ specific needs and goals. Building from UBS’s open architecture investment platform, I provide investment, financial, retirement and estate planning strategies to a range of clients, typically executives, business owners and other professionals. In addition, I have been instrumental in helping other individuals and families who have had unusually unique situations that needed a high level of attention to detail and services.

My expertise comes not only in analyzing an investor’s goals, requirements and preferences and fashioning a portfolio that appropriately reflects the investor’s risk/reward profile, but also bringing in other consultants of the clients that may be required (e.g., tax advisors, accountants and attorneys) to properly establish investment and other financial strategies that allow us to personally gain a deeper understanding of our client's needs and to plan for the unforeseen. This has allowed me to emphasize my passion and drive to help others avoid common life planning and investment mistakes. This is particularly important as an investor’s financial needs, such as retirement, estate planning and business transition grows more complex.

California Department of Insurance License #0M96379. Licenses S7, 3, 24, 63, & 62 

Tim Thatcher is Senior Vice President–Wealth Management at UBS and a partner on the Spyglass Advisors Team.

Tim specializes in Financial Planning – working with corporations, C-suite executives and their families, coordinating decisions across relationships, and acting as a Financial Quarterback to be an extension of all service providers.  Tim’s comprehensive approach throughout his career integrates company benefits, retirement planning, asset management and estate planning to assist clients with their complex needs.

After obtaining his business degree in Finance, Tim has enjoyed developing trusted relationships with clients and their families and the rewards of helping them protect and grow their wealth.  Tim is known for his ability to look at a problem from many angles, communicate a range of options and make clients feel heard and comfortable.  The personal relationships are everlasting and his clients become an extension of his own family. 

Prior to joining UBS in 2012, Tim worked in the Financial Planning Division of Goldman Sachs for six years in both Orange County and the Greater Detroit area.  Tim was born and raised in the Midwest, where he graduated from the College of Business at Michigan State University, with a degree in Finance.  An active and avid sports fan, Tim currently resides in Orange County with his son London and is forever loyal to Detroit sports.  He has been named a Forbes Best-in-State Next-Gen Wealth Advisor twice, a designation for up-and-coming top advisors under age 40.

Fred Grand is Co-Founder of Spyglass Hill Advisors, where he is Senior Vice President and Private Wealth Financial Advisor at UBS in Newport Beach, California. Fred is responsible for providing high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners and institutions with customized wealth strategies, planning, and banking services. He leads a team of in-house specialists who work in concert to uncover possible efficiencies in multiple disciplines.

Fred enjoys helping clients streamline the complexities that significant wealth can entail. His tenure in financial services has provided him with deep relationships in the professional community and a robust network of contacts. This connectivity allows him to support clients in their efforts to preserve, grow and transfer wealth effectively.

Prior to joining UBS, Fred was a nationally Top Ranked Private Client Advisor for Bank of America (formerly U.S. Trust) assisting high-net-worth clients. Fred was also awarded the Best in the West Award for his role as a Global Commercial Banker, where he catered to Middle Market companies and their owners. He served as an Investment Banker and CPA® conducting mergers, acquisitions, and financing advisory services. Fred began his career as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he consulted Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and hedge funds. Originally from Southern California, he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Accountancy and Financial Planning from the University of San Diego. He has served as a top-ranked adjunct professor at his alma mater, teaching finance and accounting. Fred has attained the designation of Certified Public Accountant (CPA®, inactive).

In his free time, Fred enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters doing recreational activities such as; playing tennis, golf, skiing, cycling or relaxing at the beach. In addition, he can be found volunteering within the community and serving on several company boards.

John Hurford is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at UBS in Newport Beach, California. In this role, he is responsible for creating and maintaining personalized investment solutions by utilizing a broad range of wealth management services including financial planning and wealth strategy. This includes assisting clients establish goals and objectives, work towards developing overall strategy, formulating and implementing potential solutions, and conducting reviews to help clients monitor progress toward reaching the goals. In addition, he supports clients in navigate through changing market environments to provide guidance in the areas of asset allocation, derivative oriented strategies, tax-minimization strategies, and risk-based strategies.

Prior to UBS he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Bank of America (formerly U.S. Trust). He managed portfolios for both institutions and individuals. He was one of the founding members of the national model portfolio program as head of fixed income research. Additionally, he  was one of the Lead Portfolio Managers for the Private Bank’s flagship global equity portfolio, Global Opportunities Portfolio (GOP), which had $1.2B in AUM. This strategy was in the top quintile over past 10 years among global equity strategies including hundreds of outside managers (i.e. third party SMA’s and mutual funds).

Prior to joining Bank of America, John worked as a consultant  at LPL Financial working with financial advisors to create and develop customized asset allocations in accordance with the client’s financial goals. He earned his Master’s of Financial Engineering from UC Berkeley – Haas School of Business and Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of San Diego. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

In his free time, John enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons. During the weekends John is an avid surfer, Olympic weightlifter, and an aspiring barbeque pit master.

Laura has been working in the financial services industry for over 19 years. She oversees client administration and client operational support. Laura attended the Academy for Business Careers and Post University. In her personal life, she has four children; Kaitlynn, Andrew, Julia, and Megan. Laura is an avid reader and loves spending time traveling and at the beach. She resides in Shelton, CT with her husband, John.

Laura Holland is the Team Administrator for Spyglass Hill Advisors at UBS in Newport Beach, California.  In her role she coordinates the client team and in-house specialists to deliver a high-touch client experience that is customized for each client’s unique situation.  Laura organizes a strategy-based approach for our clients across investment management, credit, wealth structuring, trust and estate planning services, philanthropy, and private banking.

Laura enjoys learning each client’s unique story, which helps the team better understand their history and future goals and objectives. This knowledge enables Laura to utilize her extensive professional experience and desire for excellence to serve clients with a holistic approach and properly deliver the necessary firm resources.

Prior to joining UBS, Laura was a Private Client Manager at Bank of America Private Bank, in Newport Beach.  Laura has over 30 years of experience in financial services and gained a well-rounded background having worked in various roles serving high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients.   

Laura currently lives in Rancho Mission Viejo and enjoys the outdoors, cooking and spending time with family.