We’re excited to introduce the newest member of our team, Griffin Lewis, a proud University of Texas graduate (like two of his teammates here at HIG). In the past, we prioritized hiring by location. Today, we focus on finding the best possible person for the role: people whose values match our own. That’s true across the board, from full-time team members to interns. Though we differ in many ways, the qualities we share—being old souls, a connection to the outdoors, joy in serving others, and a deep commitment to our craft—make us, in short, a team of caring nerds.

Griffin embodies these traits fully. You will see him jumping in wherever he’s needed—whether that’s supporting service, trading, or operations—so that you experience seamless care from our entire team. His “utility player” mindset means he’s always looking for ways to make your life easier.

Shaped by a family that taught him resilience, inspired by a sister who set a high bar early on, and sharpened by experiences as both a behind-the-scenes problem solver and a door-knocking entrepreneur, Griffin brings both grit and heart to our work. Outside the office, you’ll likely find him logging long runs or cycling laps around Lady Bird Lake, or chasing down sunrises and spontaneous adventures. 

We’re thrilled for you to get to know him. Are you a “caring nerd?” or do you know one? Check out our career opportunities here.

At Hill Investment Group, we spend our days immersed in markets and evidence. We know most people don’t, and our clients rely on us to do that work for them.

Even the most financially literate investors can encounter misconceptions, often picked up from friends, social media, or the financial press. Many of these are rooted more in behavior and emotion than in evidence.

Here are a few we hear regularly, along with an evidence-based perspective on each.

It can be easy to think of dividends as “free money” from an investment, and some even choose funds solely for their dividend yield. The reality is that when a company pays a dividend, the value of its shares is reduced by the same amount. For example, if you hold a $20 share and it pays a $2 dividend, you now have $2 in cash and a share worth $18—the total value is unchanged.

Companies that reinvest profits into their business sometimes create more long-term growth than those that pay them out. At Hill, we view dividends as one element of total return and often as a way to rebalance portfolios in a tax-efficient manner.

For clients who rely on investments for retirement income, we may help design a withdrawal plan by selling shares. This approach allows:

• Investment decisions to be based on total return, not dividend yield alone.
• Greater flexibility to manage tax impact by choosing which holdings to sell.

This can be more tax-efficient than receiving dividends automatically, which are taxable whether you need the income or not.

No one enjoys seeing an investment go down. But in certain cases, realizing a loss can provide a tax benefit while keeping your long-term plan intact.

For example, tax-loss harvesting involves selling an investment that has declined, capturing the loss to reduce taxes today (or in future years), and reinvesting in a similar security to maintain your portfolio’s strategy.

This doesn’t remove the reality of market downturns, but it can turn them into opportunities for tax management. While individual investors may not do this on their own, professional advisors often monitor for these opportunities as part of portfolio management.

Because U.S. companies are most familiar, many investors lean heavily toward them—sometimes without realizing it. Yet the U.S. represents only about half of the global market, which means there is significant opportunity beyond our borders.

Diversifying globally can help manage risk and position a portfolio to benefit from growth wherever it occurs. History has shown that different markets lead at different times. For example, U.S. stocks lagged from 2000 to 2010 while international markets performed better. In other periods, U.S. stocks have led. Since no one can predict which region will outperform next, broad diversification helps reduce reliance on a single market.

Investing comes with complexity, and misconceptions are common. Our role is to help clients cut through the noise and make evidence-based decisions that support a long-term plan.

If you know someone who might be interested in learning more about this approach, we’re glad to share educational resources or have an introductory conversation. They can reach us at askanadvisor@hillinvestmentgroup.com.

This is an ad we’d be proud to run in the Wall Street Journal, or anywhere, for that matter, because it’s the truth.

However, we’re only seeking to help a handful of new, special families each year…not tens of thousands. So, rather than charge higher fees to our clients to pay for expensive ads, we’ve been blessed with your help in achieving over 20 years of highly successful, selective growth through your heartfelt and warm introductions to family, friends, and those you care about who’ve become part of the Hill Family. Thank you!

As you celebrate along with us, if there’s someone special you’d like to help and think might be a good fit, please reach out to me.

Not ready for that? We’d be happy to send them a copy of Odds On so they can learn more about our “Take the Long View” philosophy, evidence-based investing, and values.