Corporate values are often empty. They are usually statements glued to walls or made into stickers. Rarely are company values meaningful enough that people remember them and feel a connection. At Hill Investment Group, we try to live our values in an understated fashion, preferring not to melt them onto a T-shirt but to live them. Please enjoy the six statements below as we share our backstage values in a front-stage fashion.

MAKING FRIENDS IS OUR BUSINESS
Inspired by the old Anheuser-Busch mantra, relationships are at the heart of what we do. Sometimes, friends become clients, and often, clients develop genuine connections with our team. “There will be neither frustration nor failure where there is friendship.”

CHEERS AND THE FOUR SEASONS
Hill Investment Group is a place where we truly know our clients. We know what they like to drink and the preferences that make them who they are. We see clients and serve them in a manner befitting a familiar and high-end experience. We value hospitality, reliability, and excellence.

PATIENCE AND DISCIPLINE
The rewards of the long view are only possible if we can help our firm and clients focus on what truly matters.

CANDOR
We value the truth (no spin) and commit to giving it to one another and our clients, both when it’s easy and hard.

EVIDENCE-BASED INVESTING EVANGELISTS
We don’t choose gunslingers and gurus to manage the real wealth of clients. We favor repeatable, reliable, robust forms of investment returns.

FUN GOES WITH BUSINESS
We take our work seriously and have fun in the process! We celebrate our wins and recognize life and work milestones at every chance.

As parents, we commit to years of financial responsibility when we welcome our children into the world. It’s an obligation we take on willingly. (Well, most days.) But we also hope to prepare our sons and daughters for the day they start creating their own financial independence … and, eventually, maybe a grandchild or two.

To instill meaningful financial literacy takes a team approach indeed – in school and at home. It also takes the right approach. A Wall Street Journal article, “The Smart Way to Teach Children About Money,” offered some important insights on that, suggesting it’s both what we teach as well as when we teach it.

Remember those Golden Rules: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic? Surprise. We may hate to admit it, but our parents and grandparents might have been on to something when they emphasized the importance of learning the basics – walking before running.

The WSJ columnist comments:

“We focus on teaching finance in school when regular math is much more effective at helping children manage money. We cram their heads full of financial facts and strategies years before they’ll actually need any of it—ensuring that they won’t remember the lessons when they’re most needed. And we squirm about discussing our own family income and debt, giving children fears and false impressions they may never shake off.”

So how do you determine an effective way to roll out your lessons on financial literacy and have open, honest conversations with your kids about your family wealth? While every household should move at its own pace, Lisa and I decided to introduce our daughter Harper to this handy chart from the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, which was included in the WSJ article.

I told Harper we would set aside time to go over each activity with her whenever she was ready to roll. Harper not only found the chart of interest, she’s been known to haul it around in her backpack. If you check out our photo of the month, we seem to have captured her attention.

Last month Hill Investment Group celebrated 11 years of taking the long view! We try to get our entire team together for this annual family celebration. Having our kids and spouses mix and mingle truly enhances the bond we have at the office. This party is certainly one of our best HIG traditions.

We enjoyed a fantastic BBQ dinner and spent a beautiful evening poolside at Matt and Lisa’s new (old) home. It is always a highlight of our year to spend time with of our co-workers’ family members.

*This year Henry and Laurence’s daughters, Julia and Kathryn, were still at summer camp and couldn’t make the party.