Investing in People

Some people make an impact through their work. Others make an impact simply through the way they treat people. Rick and Lynn Hill have done both.

Many of you know Rick as the co-founder of Hill Investment Group and someone whose vision helped shape our firm into what it is today. Outside of HIG, Rick and Lynn have also spent years quietly supporting organizations that make St. Louis a stronger community.

The Hills have been longtime supporters of Lift for Life Academy, a St. Louis charter school focused on helping students and families through education, support, and opportunity. Last month, they were honored at Lift for Life Academy’s annual Fashion Show for their continued generosity and commitment.

Anyone who knows Rick and Lynn probably isn’t surprised by that recognition. What has always stood out to me about them is that their generosity is both genuine and personal. They care deeply about people, and they believe in showing up consistently over time. Not just a pop-in. In many ways, their support of Lift for Life reflects the same philosophy that has shaped Hill Investment Group for years: Take the Long View.

At HIG, we often talk about long-term thinking in the context of investing, but Rick and Lynn live that idea in a much broader way. They understand that the most meaningful things in life, strong relationships, thriving communities, and lasting change, are built slowly and intentionally over time.

While Rick is well known professionally, Lynn has clearly been an equal partner in their commitment to family, philanthropy, and community. In fact, Rick calls Lynn his “secret weapon.” Together, they have created a life centered around success, generosity, and stewardship.

We are proud to celebrate Rick and Lynn — not only as longtime clients and friends of the firm, but as people who continue to make St. Louis better by taking the long view in the ways that matter most.

If you’re interested in discussing ways to get more involved in your community, let’s talk.

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.

Welcome to our next article in our “Signal vs. Noise” series, which examines popular claims circulating online or in print. Our goal is to help you separate the signal from the noise. At Hill Investment Group, we believe good advice should be simple, clear, and grounded in evidence — not hype.

“The biggest risk is not having exposure to this transformational technology.” — JPMorgan Wealth Management, January 2026

The story feels so obvious: transformative technology, dominant companies, get in now. But a compelling technology story and a compelling investment are two totally different things. Thus far in 2026, three of the largest AI companies on the planet reported some of their best quarters ever – and watched their stock prices drop. Here’s why that’s not as surprising as it sounds.

A stock’s price is the market’s collective best guess at everything a company will ever earn, discounted to today. It’s like how you can’t get a bargain on a house in a neighborhood that everyone knows is great – that desirability is in the asking price. In general, AI companies’ stocks trade at steep premiums compared to the broader market. That’s not necessarily right or wrong; it’s the market saying, “We expect extraordinary things.”

Exhibits A, B, and C

NVIDIA Corp – the designer of the AI chips that power the data centers behind virtually every major AI application in use today

• February 2026 – beat all earnings estimates and set all-time records for revenue, profits, and future earnings guidance – the stock fell 5.5%

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – the company that physically manufactures chips for NVIDIA, Apple, and virtually every major AI company

• April 2026 – beat all earnings estimates and set all-time records for profits for the fourth consecutive quarter – the stock fell 3%

ASML Holdings – the Dutch company that makes specialized machines used to produce TSMC’s chips; without ASML, there is no modern semiconductor industry

• April 2026 – beat revenue and profits estimates, while increasing their full-year guidance for 2026 – the stock fell 6%

These three companies are worth ~$5.5 trillion combined and are critical parts of the global AI backbone. They delivered, but the market said, “We already knew.”

These examples aren’t a reason to avoid AI investments entirely. Instead, they serve as a timely reminder that stock prices already reflect the market’s expectations, and that expecting a great company to keep being great isn’t the same as expecting a great return.

The more useful question for your financial future isn’t “will AI change the world?” It probably will. The better question is: “Is my portfolio built to succeed regardless of whether these companies meet the market’s sky-high expectations for them?”

Your portfolio already owns AI. At Hill, we invest in global capitalism, which means that you already own NVIDIA, TSMC, ASML, and every other company driving or benefiting from this technology as part of a diversified portfolio. Put simply, you get to participate in the upside if AI exceeds expectations, but you’re also not overexposed if these companies fall short.

Decades of financial research show that the most reliable path to investment success is owning the whole market, staying diversified, and tilting toward companies that are attractively priced with strong profits. Instead of taking a bet on (or against) AI, you have a strategy built to succeed whether or not AI stocks live up to the hype.

Our job is simple but critically important: put the odds of investment success in your favor by sticking to the evidence, not the headlines.

Disclosure