The best part of our work is the relationships we build with our clients. This series celebrates those relationships by highlighting the interesting people behind the portfolios. This spring, several members of our team had the opportunity to visit Larry West at his remarkable Route 66 Museum, Campbell’s Service, in Pacific, Missouri.

What began as Larry’s appreciation for America’s “Mother Road” has grown into an incredible collection of vintage service station memorabilia and Route 66 treasures, all thoughtfully displayed in a restored building along Historic Route 66. The museum is a labor of love, filled with carefully curated signs, gas pumps, and artifacts. Walking through the museum feels less like visiting a collection and more like stepping back into a piece of American history.

That same commitment is evident in their family business, West Contracting. Founded in 1956 by Larry’s parents, Norman and Mary West, the company has grown from a small family business into one of Missouri’s leading paving contractors. For nearly 70 years, the West family has helped build the roads that connect our communities, while earning a reputation for hard work, integrity, and putting relationships first.

This year, West Contracting reached another exciting milestone as the company celebrated its 70th anniversary. As part of the celebration, Larry sat down with his son, Chris, to reflect on the company’s history, the lessons learned over the decades, and what it means to prepare the next generation to carry the business forward. Their conversation wasn’t just about construction—it was about family, leadership, and leaving things better than you found them.

 View Part 1 here. 
 View Part 2 here.

At Hill Investment Group, our motto is Take the Long View. While we often think about that in terms of investing, it’s just as meaningful when we see clients who have spent decades building businesses, preserving history, and investing in future generations.

Larry and Kathleen have done all three.

We’re grateful they welcomed us into a place that’s so personal to them, and we’re even more grateful to know them as clients and friends.

Markets continue to generate plenty of headlines – from AI and rising stock prices to questions about whether a handful of companies have become too dominant.

In a recent conversation on the Excess Returns podcast, our HIG and Longview Research Partners CIO Matt Zenz discusses how an evidence-based investment process helps investors stay focused on what matters most, without relying on predictions or market timing.

Topics include:

• Should today’s market concentration should concern long-term investors?
• Why do valuations matter, and when do they matter most?
• How thoughtful implementation can improve long-term investment outcomes.
• Why taxable fixed income may be one of the biggest remaining opportunities to improve after-tax returns.

The discussion also explores Longview’s philosophy behind the Longview Advantage ETFs, including EBI and LVIG, and why disciplined implementation can add value over time.

Listen to the full conversation here:
We Asked a $1 Billion Quant Manager Why Concentration Isn’t a Warning — and Small Caps Aren’t Dead.  

Or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Ten years after Odds On was first published, Matt received a note from a fellow advisor that felt worth sharing.

Robert DeNovo, a private wealth advisor in Knoxville, wrote to say that he first came across the book through Dimensional, Larry Swedroe, or perhaps a recommendation that followed from both. However he found it, the impact stayed with him.

“Odds On, and later your podcast, was a catalyst to build a better experience for our clients. We, and they, are better for it.”

That says a lot.

Not because it is praise for the book, though we are grateful for that. It matters because it points to something bigger. The right ideas travel. They move from a book to a conversation, from one advisor to another, from a team meeting to a better client experience.

That was always the hope behind Odds On.

The book was written to make evidence-based investing easier to understand and easier to live with. It was never meant to be a technical manual. It was meant to help people see that a disciplined financial life does not have to be complicated. But it does require clarity, patience, and a willingness to let evidence guide the way.

Robert’s note also mentioned that when his team brought on a new associate, one of the first resources he shared was Matt’s podcast, especially the conversation with Danny Meyer. That detail felt fitting.

At Hill, we have always believed that the client experience matters as much as the advice itself. People need more than smart portfolios. They need a sense of calm. They need clear communication. They need a guide who helps them make better decisions when the stakes are high.

Odds On was never just about investing. It is about behavior, trust, and the kind of partnership that helps people stay focused on what matters.

Ten years later, it is meaningful to hear that those ideas still resonate with other advisors, with other teams, for other clients we may never meet. That is one of the best outcomes a book can have.

It keeps working.

It keeps traveling.

And, as Robert put it, people are better for it.

Thanks to Robert for allowing us to share his comments and for his support.

Request a copy of Odds On here.