Earlier this month, with the IPO of SpaceX, the world witnessed the creation of the world’s first known trillionaire.

How does that number look to you?

How does it make you feel?

Humans have real feelings and emotions, especially when it comes to money and wealth. We naturally compare ourselves to others. It’s human nature. As the saying goes, “It’s all relative.”

But that’s precisely the challenge.

If a billion dollars once seemed unimaginable, what are we supposed to do with a trillion? More importantly, what happens when we compare ourselves to someone who possesses it?

The truth is that comparison has no finish line. If wealth alone created contentment, a millionaire would envy no one. Yet we know that’s not how humans work.

Over more than 25 years in the wealth advisory profession, I’ve noticed something interesting, particularly among our clients at Hill Investment Group.

When people first meet with us, they often have a number in mind.
“I want to have $X.”

It’s understandable. Having a financial target can provide motivation and direction.
But something often changes over time.

As clients learn and embrace our evidence-based investment philosophy, gain confidence in their financial plan, and begin taking the long view, their goals frequently evolve beyond simply reaching a number.

Why?

Because they increasingly believe they can achieve their financial goals if they remain disciplined and stay the course. The constant worry begins to fade. The daily noise matters less. Confidence gradually replaces uncertainty.

And when that happens, something powerful occurs.

People begin thinking less about accumulating wealth and more about what that wealth can make possible.

They think about experiences.

They think about family.

They think about legacy.

They think about causes they care about.

They think about opportunities they never allowed themselves to consider before.

Ironically, many people discover that once they stop obsessing over a number, they begin focusing on the people, experiences, and opportunities that number was meant to support in the first place.

It’s a little like climbing a mountain with an experienced guide. Instead of worrying about every step, every turn, and every obstacle along the path, you’re able to lift your eyes and appreciate the view.

How does that perspective make you feel?

Not just about hearing about a trillionaire, but about your own future.

If you’re already a client, you may recognize this shift. The conversation gradually moves from “How much is enough?” to “What do I want to do with the life I’ve built?”

That’s an exciting transition.

It’s future-oriented.

And in many ways, that’s when financial success becomes less about what you’ve accumulated and more about the life, relationships, and opportunities it makes possible.

If you’re not yet a client, we’d welcome the opportunity to help you explore what financial peace of mind might look like for you and your family. Whether through our monthly newsletter, a copy of Odds On, or a simple conversation, we’re here whenever you’re ready.

At Hill Investment Group, much of what we do is centered around helping clients prepare, not just for markets, but for life.

Some planning is exciting. Some is practical. Some is the kind you hope never becomes urgent.

A Power of Attorney falls into that last category.

A Power of Attorney, often called a POA, is a legal document that allows you to name someone you trust to act on your behalf during your lifetime if you are unable to do so yourself.

It may not feel especially meaningful when everything is going smoothly. But in a difficult moment, it can be one of the most helpful planning tools your family has.

The purpose is simple: to give the right person the ability to help in the way you intended.

That might mean helping pay bills, manage accounts, coordinate with your advisory team, request distributions, or keep important financial work moving while your family focuses on what matters most.

This kind of planning is not really about paperwork.

It is about care.

It is about reducing confusion, easing the burden on the people you love, and creating clarity before life gets complicated.

There are different types of Power of Attorney documents, and the right version depends on your situation, your state, and the guidance of your estate attorney. A durable Power of Attorney is often especially important because it can remain in effect if you become incapacitated.

It is also important to know that a Power of Attorney only applies while you are living. At death, authority shifts according to your estate plan.

If you already have a Power of Attorney, it is worth making sure it is current, properly executed, and understood by the people who may need to use it. If you do not have one, this may be a good conversation to start with an estate planning attorney.

We are happy to help you think through how these pieces fit into your broader financial life and, if helpful, connect you with someone from our trusted network.

A little planning now can make a hard moment easier later.

As always, we’re here to help you take the long view.

If you’d like to talk more about this, please reach out to us and schedule time to talk.

State pension funds are often viewed as the “smart money” of the investment world.

They employ large internal investment staffs. They hire teams of consultants. They have access to private investments unavailable to most investors. They negotiate lower fees because of their enormous scale. They conduct deep due diligence on hedge funds, private equity managers, venture capital firms, and real estate partnerships.

In theory, if anyone should outperform a simple index portfolio, it should be them.

Yet the evidence tells a very different story.

A well-known paper by Jeffrey Hooke and John Walters, “Wall Street Fees and Investment Returns for 33 State Pension Funds,” examined the results of large public pension systems and compared them to low-cost passive benchmarks. The conclusion was striking: the median pension fund underperformed a basic indexed portfolio by roughly 1.6% annually over the study period.

That gap may not sound large at first glance, but compounded over decades, it becomes enormous.

More Complexity Did Not Lead to Better Results

Over the past two decades, many pension funds have dramatically increased their exposure to:

• Private equity
• Hedge funds
• Venture capital
• Tactical asset allocation
• Alternative credit
• Real assets
• “Opportunistic” strategies

These investments are often marketed as sophisticated tools capable of delivering higher returns, downside protection, or diversification benefits unavailable in public markets.

But despite all of the resources available to these institutions, the end results frequently disappointed.

Importantly, many of these pension portfolios were also taking more risk than a traditional 60/40 stock and bond portfolio. They often had:

• Higher equity exposure
• Significant leverage embedded in private investments
• Illiquid assets
• Increased credit risk
• More aggressive return assumptions

In other words, many pensions were not underperforming because they were conservative. They were underperforming despite taking greater risks and paying substantially higher fees.

The Cost of Chasing “What’s Next”

One of the most persistent themes in investing is the belief that there must always be a better answer somewhere else:

• A smarter manager
• A new asset class
• A more complicated strategy
• A niche product that can unlock hidden returns

But investing evidence has consistently shown that expected returns are driven primarily by exposure to compensated risks, not complexity.

Chasing fashionable investments or attempting to time markets often introduces:

• Higher fees
• Greater taxes
• More operational friction
• Behavioral mistakes
• Lower transparency
• Increased implementation challenges

And those costs compound quietly over time.

The pension fund experience is a powerful reminder that access alone does not create better outcomes.

Simplicity Is Often an Advantage

At Hill Investment Group, we believe investors are generally better served by focusing on:

• Broad diversification
• Evidence-based sources of expected return
• Low costs
• Tax efficiency
• Disciplined implementation
• Long-term behavior

This does not mean investors should avoid innovation or thoughtful portfolio design. But complexity should have a very high burden of proof.

The reality is that many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated institutions have struggled to outperform simple, low-cost indexed approaches, despite having every conceivable advantage.

For most investors, the lesson is not that investing is easy. It is that successful investing often requires resisting the constant pressure to make it unnecessarily complicated.