A few weeks ago, I heard Morgan Housel speak at a conference for top advisors. Many of you may know Morgan from his book, The Psychology of Money, which we often share with clients. We also had him as a guest on my podcast, Take the Long View.

During his talk, Morgan told a story that reminded me of one of my favorite investing lessons.

Everyone knows Warren Buffett. Most people know Charlie Munger. But far fewer people know Rick Guerin.

That’s interesting because Buffett once said Rick was every bit as smart as he and Charlie were. Yet history remembers Buffett and Munger, while most investors have never heard of Rick.

So what happened?

In the early days, Buffett, Munger, and Guerin invested alongside one another. They shared ideas. By all accounts, Rick was an exceptional investor.

But during the brutal bear market of 1973 and 1974, Rick used leverage. He borrowed money to invest. When markets collapsed, margin calls arrived, and he had to sell.

He sold shares to Warren Buffett.

Years later, Buffett explained the difference between them this way:

That is one of the most important investing lessons there is.

The difference was not intelligence. It was not information. It was not access.

It was patience.

Buffett and Munger built their lives and their portfolios in a way that allowed them to stay in the game. Rick could not, or would not, do the same.

That is why I think this story is bigger than investing. It is really about compounding.

Compounding only works if you give it enough time.

That applies to investing. It also applies to building a business, raising a family, improving your health, and developing meaningful friendships and relationships. The biggest rewards often come from years of steady progress that may not look very exciting in the moment.

I have seen that firsthand.

When we started Hill Investment Group in 2005, there was no shortcut. There was no trick. There was simply a commitment to do the right things repeatedly. Serve clients well. Stay disciplined. Keep learning. Think long-term. Allow time to do what time does best.

Now, 21 years later, one of the things I appreciate most is this:

That is true in investing. It is true in business. And I think it is true in life.

The next time markets get noisy, or life gets noisy, I hope you remember the story of Rick Guerin.

Not because he failed, but because his story reminds us that success is often less about brilliance and more about patience.

That is what Taking the Long View is all about.

Summer has a way of reminding us what all of this is really for.

A few quiet days on a river. Pool time. A long dinner with friends. Time away without constantly checking markets, headlines, or account balances.

(The photo above is my dad and daughter, Harper, fly fishing together in Mid-Missouri.)

Lisa and I recently celebrated our only child’s high school graduation. Like many parents, it was one of those moments that made you pause. You realize how quickly chapters of life move and how important it is to actually be present for them.

In our experience, one of the most overlooked benefits of good planning and disciplined, evidence-based investing is the ability to zoom out and fully engage with life beyond money.

Not because uncertainty disappears. Markets will always move. Tax laws will change. Life will remain complicated.

But when there’s a real plan in place, when someone is helping coordinate the moving pieces, when important things are being tended to before they become problems, and when your investment approach isn’t dependent on predictions or headlines, something valuable happens:

You gain the freedom to stop carrying your financial life around in your head all the time.

That doesn’t happen accidentally.

Behind the scenes, our team spends an enormous amount of time thinking about taxes, estate planning, cash flow, investment implementation, behavioral coaching, and the hundreds of small decisions that quietly compound over time. Michael Kitces and others have written extensively about this often unseen value of financial advice, particularly the role advisors play not just in improving outcomes, but in helping ensure important things actually get done.

In many ways, the real value of planning is not simply financial optimization. It is creating the conditions that allow people to be more present for the moments that matter most.

We hope this summer gives you some of those moments.

Don’t Hire Us Because You Like Us

There’s something worth saying out loud.

You shouldn’t work with us just because you like us.

When we meet someone new, I often ask how they chose the person they’re currently working with.

The answers are usually some version of:
“He’s a neighbor.”
“She’s a friend of the family.”
“We met through our kids’ sports.”

All perfectly understandable.

But those aren’t the answers I’m hoping to hear.

It would be refreshing to hear someone say:
“Our values really align.”
“I believe in their investment approach.”
“They’ve given us planning advice that has actually changed our financial lives.”

Because when something as important as your financial life is involved, that’s what should matter.

Likability is certainly a factor. We enjoy it as much as anyone. It makes relationships easier. It makes conversations more natural. And it tends to persist for years.

But it’s not a sufficient reason to choose someone to manage your life savings.

That’s where we’re different.

You should work with us because we believe in something.

Because our approach is grounded in decades of academic research, not opinion or prediction.

Because we’ve built real strategies, like the work behind EBI and LVIG, that are designed with intention, not assembled to match a trend.

Because we care deeply about financial planning. Not just portfolios, but the decisions that actually shape your life.

And because we are fiduciaries. We work for our clients. Not a brokerage firm. Not a bank. Just you.

In short, if you believe what we believe, that’s the foundation for a long and healthy relationship.

If you like us too, that’s even better. It makes the relationship more enjoyable. It makes conversations easier. It probably makes the whole experience better.

But it’s a bonus. The icing on the cake.

Because over time, we’ve found that the best outcomes don’t come from chasing what feels right in the moment. They come from committing to a sound approach and sticking with it. Taking the long view.

Performance, in that sense, isn’t the goal. It’s the result.

The best outcomes we’ve seen come from staying put when it was hardest to do so.

That doesn’t always win the popularity contest.

But in the long run, what matters isn’t who you like the most.
It’s who you can rely on when it counts.

So you can invest your money and your time in the people you actually like.

Take the long view,