Your Team

Karlan Tucker, Founder

Starting from the bottom, Karlan was born and raised on a dairy farm in the poorest county in Michigan, his childhood memories mostly of weeds and work. As a boy, it was a life he loved, but it was not without difficulty and hardship for his family. When Karlan was 16, his father’s failing health forced their move to Arizona for a much-needed change of climate. The family farm in Michigan was sold, thus creating, for the first time, a modest nest egg for his parents. Karlan’s father eventually succumbed to his long battle with Chronic Farmer’s Lung, an incurable respiratory disease that literally took his breath away. Karlan began looking after his mother’s affairs, including her financial well-being and retirement savings. It was a big responsibility with real consequences. Karlan knew his mother would never be able to go back and re-earn the money if he made a mistake or took too much risk. With his very first client, Karlan’s investment mantra became a version of Warren Buffet’s Rule # 1: “Don’t Lose Mom’s Money!”
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An investing obligation soon grew into a career, as Karlan carefully applied Rule #1 in helping others grow and protect their hard-earned savings. He formed his first financial services business in 1988, specializing in Long Term Care Insurance and Medicare Supplements. This business quickly grew into Karlan Tucker & Associates (later renamed Tucker Financial), a full-scale retirement planning team. For the past 30 years, Karlan has helped over 5,000 retirees prepare for a successful retirement. So many of his clients have been just like Mom and Dad, ready to retire, sitting on a pile of hard-earned cash and just not sure how to make it last for multiple decades. That’s why the focus of Tucker Financial has not strayed from Rule #1, striving to provide secure income and peace of mind at the core of each retirement plan.
Striving to be an appreciating asset, Karlan has never slowed his learning. Some of his many ongoing associations include Ed Slott’s IRA Advisory Group, Harvard’s Executive MBA Program, The Aileron Institute in Dayton, Strategic Coach in Toronto and The Genius Network in Phoenix. With all this, books are still Karlan’s favorite teacher, as he’s read over 800 books on retirement, money management and investing. Karlan is co-author with Brian Tracy in Tracy’s new book, Success in the New Economy.
Karlan and his wife Angela live in Columbine Valley. While raising three children and building a business, they’ve transformed a dilapidated horse property into a beautiful mountain estate. Now with an empty nest, they stay busy with church involvement, business coaching and beautiful landscaping. In 2005, Karlan and Angela helped form Impact Global Outreach, a non-profit organization that provides community development, education and orphanages in Southeast Asia.

Darren Petty, President

Serving as President of Tucker Financial, Darren’s passion is helping people retire HAPPY. To help our clients live life to the fullest, Darren and his team design balanced retirement portfolios that generate reliable income, ongoing growth opportunity and tax efficiency. In keeping current with today’s retirement needs, Darren has earned the designation of Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP ®). He also holds a Colorado life insurance license and is an investment advisor with Tucker Asset Management. Outside the office, Darren enjoys spending time with his wife, Sierrah, and their daughters, Londynn and Hayden, enjoying all that Colorado has to offer.