As many of you know, each year at Hill Investment Group we present the Rick Hill Award.

It has quickly become one of the most meaningful traditions inside our firm. Importantly, it is not an award for the loudest voice, the biggest title, or the most visible contributor.

This year, during our team’s 20 year celebration, we had the special privilege of announcing the award with Rick himself in the room. That made the moment even more meaningful for all of us. Rick has always believed the true strength of our firm lives somewhere quieter. In the people who take ownership without being asked. Who care deeply about others. Who show up the same way whether anyone is watching or not.

We are grateful to the clients and teammates who submitted such thoughtful and generous nominations. The letters reflected something we feel every day. Hill is filled with people who take their responsibility to clients seriously. We do not take that lightly.

As we read through the nominations, a clear pattern began to emerge. Different writers. Different perspectives. Yet the same name kept appearing, along with the same themes.

One nominator described this person as “an old soul in a young man’s body.”

Another wrote about someone who stays calm under pressure, steps in to help outside his lane, and does it all without seeking recognition.

We also heard about the way Jack naturally takes interns and new hires under his wing, helping them understand not just what to do, but why it matters. That resonated deeply with us because Jack himself began his Hill journey as an intern.

The story that stayed with us most involved a client phone call.

The client was facing something far bigger than money. Instead of quickly handing the call off, Jack stayed present. He listened carefully. He connected. He shared honestly from his own life and reassured the client that Hill would be fully there in that moment.

As the nominator wrote, it would have been easy to say, “I’m so sorry to hear that… here’s Nell.” But that is not how Jack operates.

That kind of behavior is not found in a job description. It is a choice. And it reflects exactly the spirit Rick modeled when he helped build this firm.

By the time we finished reading the nominations, the choice was unmistakable.

We are proud to share that the 2025 Rick Hill Award recipient is Jack Gardner.

Jack, thank you for how you show up for clients, for teammates, and for Hill. You make the firm better in ways both visible and invisible.

And to our clients, thank you for the trust you place in our team every day. Moments like this remind us that Hill has never been stronger, and people like Jack are a big reason why.

Take the long view,

Matt

We are pleased to formally introduce Sarah Larsen, our Executive Operations Lead at HIG.

Many of you may have already interacted with Sarah. Over the past year, she has supported our team in a part time capacity and has recently joined us full time as the operational and organizational backbone of the firm.

Sarah’s work spans executive support, people operations, finance, and firm administration. Her role is designed to help our leadership and advisory team stay focused on what matters most: serving you well, thoughtfully, and consistently.

As part of our recent expansion of service hours, you may hear Sarah’s voice if you call later in the day. Her presence helps ensure that when you reach out to Hill, there is a steady, capable person on the other end who knows our team and how we work.

Sarah brings more than eight years of experience running her own administrative support business, following an earlier chapter in advertising. While she enjoyed building and leading her own firm, she was drawn to HIG’s culture, values, and people. When I approached her about stepping into a full time role, it felt like a natural fit and the right place for her to do her best work.

Known for her curiosity and can-do mindset, Sarah is a lifelong learner who is not afraid to jump in, figure things out, and move important work forward. Her focus on building strong support systems helps our leadership and advisory teams operate at their best so we can continue delivering thoughtful guidance and strong long-term outcomes for the families we serve.

Based in Seattle, Sarah lives with her husband Patrick, their two children Luke and Piper, and their dog Rosie, a Cavapoo. A California native, she has fully embraced life in the Pacific Northwest, rain included.

We are grateful to have her on the team and excited for the ways her work strengthens the Hill experience for our clients.

If 2025 reinforced anything, it is how quickly markets can test conviction and how costly it can be to react emotionally or narrowly. 

By April 8, the S&P 500 was down 15%, driven largely by Liberation Day and the sudden imposition of global tariffs. Volatility spiked, sentiment deteriorated, and the narrative quickly shifted toward protectionism and questions around US leadership.

Then, just one day later, markets delivered a stark reminder of how unpredictable short-term moves can be.

On April 9, the S&P 500 experienced one of the largest single-day rallies in history, with the S&P 500 rising 9.5% in a single session. Note: That one-day gain is larger than the average annual return of the S&P 500 since it’s existed. Investors who had de-risked or moved to the sidelines in response to the drawdown were not there to participate.

Despite being down double digits just three months into the year, the S&P 500 finished 2025 up nearly 18%, an outcome that few would have predicted during the spring selloff.

But the more important story was not just that markets recovered. It was where the returns came from. Global markets, as measured by the MSCI ACWI index were up 23%.

The Case for Global Diversification

2025 was a powerful reminder that returns rotate, often abruptly, and often away from what has worked most recently.

• US Market (S&P 500): +18%
• International Developed ex US (MSCI World ex US Index): +33%
• International small value (MSCI World ex US Small Value Index): +40%
• Emerging Markets (MSCI Emerging Markets Index): +34%

Investors who reduced international exposure or concentrated further into US equities, often justified by recent outperformance, materially underperformed what markets ultimately delivered.

International small value in particular was one of the strongest performers globally, with the ETF we use, the Avantis International Small Value ETF, returning 50% for 2025!

The Bigger Lesson

Markets do not reward confidence in narratives. They reward discipline. Investing in all types of markets and staying invested in all Markets.

Short term drawdowns are uncomfortable. Large single day rallies are unpredictable. The investors who captured 2025 returns were not those who timed exits or chased recent winners. They were those who stayed invested, stayed diversified, and allowed markets to do what they have historically done over time.

In years like 2025, the value of diversification is not theoretical. It is measurable.

And it is earned by maintaining exposure when doing so feels hardest.