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

Tag: HIG Family

People & Pets

Many of our clients, friends, and team members have pets…dogs, cats, horses, fish, and many others. Our family has been blessed with a wide range, including fish, turtles, bearded dragons (Puff & Flame), a rabbit (Thumper), and a European Blue Butt Potbelly pig (Corny)…topping out at 350 pounds plus.

Sadly, last week, we lost our closest and most senior family pet, Teddy the Miracle Yorkie, after 15 amazing years of love and companionship. Teddy was a miracle because I’m allergic to almost every dog…except Teddy! We populated many of our friends’ homes with our six prior attempts at living with a dog. Jeana is a true Master Trainer, and she bore most of the pain as these dogs brought joy to others. Most of them lived long, wonderful lives with their ultimate family, and we had the opportunity to see them regularly…just not under our roof.

Teddy remains the best birthday present my wife, Jeana has ever received, and Teddy was a blessing to all of our kids. I could go on about his gentle nature and soul, his warm and friendly demeanor, and his ability to bark like a dog ten times larger than his 9-pound frame. If I continue, I will cry more than I am now. So, I will turn you over to a friend of our firm who you’ve heard from before, John Jennings, who also recently lost a dog, Dylan. John eloquently shares ”Six Life Lessons from Dogs,” which he originally wrote in 2022.

We’d love to hear your pet story!

Welcome, Michael Kafoglis!

Michael KafoglisWe’ve added an incredible new team member, and you may recognize his last name. Michael Kafoglis joins our Client Service team as an advisor and CFP based out of our Houston Office. Michael will work closely with John Reagan, servicing our Hill and Hilltop clients. Michael comes to Hill Investment Group with seven years of experience at one of the largest investment institutions in the country, where he served as an advisor to high-net-worth families.

As the son of a consultant turned teacher turned financial planner, he has a unique view of investing. Although he was taught concepts of compounding, diversification, and patience at a young age, when he became an advisor, he discovered his financial education was not the norm but the exception. Michael has made it his goal to educate clients and simplify their financial lives so they can focus on what they care about. Needless to say, he will fit right in at Hill Investment Group.

If his name sounds familiar, Michael is following in the footsteps of his dad, Charles Kafoglis, as he joins our team out of Houston. We are referring to them as the Kafogli and are already enjoying the camaraderie and banter they bring to the team. Stay tuned, as his complete bio will hit our site later next month.

Welcome, Michael!

Our Top 5 Moments of 2019

As we set our vision to 2020, we’re energized thinking about the year ahead and a whole new decade. We’re also fond of acknowledging what’s been accomplished. Here is our “Top Five List of 2019”. 

1.) Culture is king – St. Louis Business Journal awarded us 2nd place on their list of  “2019 Best Places to Work in St. Louis.”

2.) Take the Long View with Matt Hall launched with 12 episodes aimed at making patience and delayed gratification cool again! Check out the most downloaded episodes: 1) The Mashburns 2) David Kabiller 3) Dave Butler  

3.) Astroball – We welcomed Houston Astros President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, and author Ben Reiter to speak to friends in Houston about how a long view of data science and growth mindset created one of the most unlikely turnarounds in sports history. More on that here.

4.) An old friend in a new platform – This story could easily go long so we’ll bullet point it to keep it tight.

  • Dimensional funds are now a part of our Hillfolio solution.
  • This is special because the “mass affluent” audience didn’t have easy-access to DFA until now.
  • Schwab Institutional and DFA had a history of stalled negotiations.
  • Hill Investment Group was pleased to play a role in helping bring the two sides together for the benefit of the end client.

5.) We are quietly revealing a new level of service. The first rule of Hilltop is we don’t talk about Hilltop. We’ll make an exception here because it has to make our top highlights of the year. Why? For years we have been providing service to ultra-affluent families and gradually building out the offering to begin to extend it to a select group of families. Our partner, Henry Bragg, is uniquely qualified to carry the Hilltop torch. See the landing page and list of services to know more about our well-kept secret.

 

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