Featured entries from our Journal

Details Are Part of Our Difference

Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s

529 Best Practices

David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor

The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear

Category: Timely Topic

MH Intro – November

This is the time of year we tend to remind ourselves of all we have to be grateful for. Over the Thanksgiving break, I recalled the highlights of my year in different categories. What were my professional high points, personal milestones, family memories, and noteworthy developments in my community? One moment that stood out was a note I received (unprompted) this summer from a long-time client of our firm. Our client’s sentiment is at the heart of our work and why our entire team finds meaning in our service. No organization is perfect, but when we get it right, we are lucky enough to help people achieve better outcomes with less worry. And when it happens and is recognized, it’s one of the sweetest feelings we get in our profession – knowing that we have quieted the noise and helped someone take a longer view in their journey toward real wealth is as good as it gets for us at Hill Investment Group.

“Hi Matt, just FYI…I told John Reagan yesterday in our annual touch base I spend about 15 minutes/month thinking/worrying about investment stuff. It took me a while to get there, but thanks to Hill, I made it. My wife continues to say you folks saved our lives from stress as I drove her nuts stressing before our Hill days. So here’s an example of what I stress about now…woke up yesterday morning at 3 am worrying if I should put the giant blow-up pool slide out this weekend for the final summer blast of 30-40 people at our pool. The grandkids will terrorize the adults launching off it into the pool! But if it’s not there, the kids will be so disappointed! So these are the types of stress thoughts Hill has driven me to! I never went back to sleep.”

On behalf of our entire firm, thank you for allowing us to be a part of your lives. We are grateful for the role you allow us to play and deeply value your continued trust!

Hill Investment Group

 

This testimonial was provided by a current client. This client was not compensated for this statement.

Back to School – Pause

My grade-school-age kids recently returned to school, which made me think about being a little kid again. Summer was always a time of unbridled joy and freedom for me. Even as a kid, I knew summer meant I had the freedom to get on my bike and ride to the nearby pool or meet up with my neighborhood friends for a game of street hockey because my schedule and routine were flexible. My biggest concern was whether or not I got a hit in my baseball game!

As we get older, those feelings start to change. We take on more responsibilities – summer jobs, summer school, and ultimately adulthood. Life speeds up quickly, and we don’t always do a good job of slowing down and living in the moment. We’re constantly thinking about what’s next and what we must do to keep everything moving forward. As Harry Chapin famously sang in Cat’s in the Cradle, “There are planes to catch and bills to pay.”

On a recent family vacation to Florida, I read a book by the former Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Leading with the Heart. Coach K uses the metaphor of his team being on a train. He reminds readers that stopping and enjoying the moments while on the train is essential. Some of those moments are big milestones we plan and prepare for, while others happen unexpectedly.

So, as summer ends and we return to our busy lives of hauling kids to their various events, traveling, and everything else we have going on, I encourage each of you to take a moment to “pause at the station.” Whether things are improving or worse than anticipated, try to enjoy the moment. Enjoy the moment.

P.S. For those looking for some light humor, I recently created unique handshakes with each of my three boys (my daughter is a bit too young to have her own). Below is a video of my youngest son, Charlie, and me doing a clumsy version of our handshake on his first day of Kindergarten – certainly a major milestone in both of our lives! 

*Apologies to long time client George Thomas for making a positive Duke reference. I hope you’ll forgive me.

**This is the same book featured prominently in the hit show The Bear (season 2).

Can Artificial Intelligence Help Pick Stocks?

It feels like every conversation lately revolves around the latest discovery in AI and how it’s improving x,y, and z. But how does AI impact our industry as Financial Advisors?

David Booth, Chairperson of Dimensional Funds Advisors, recently wrote an opinion piece on AI and the market for the Financial Times. He states, “Can artificial intelligence help pick stocks? More specifically, can investors use AI to determine the fair price of a stock or a bond? I bet a lot of people right now would say yes, given recent advances that allow for the processing of ever greater amounts of information.

I think my AI is better than all the other ones out there. My AI is the market.”

Read his full take on AI here.

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Featured entries from our Journal

Details Are Part of Our Difference

Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s

529 Best Practices

David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor

The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear

Hill Investment Group