When Rick Hill and I founded Hill Investment Group in 2005, we knew we wanted to do something very different from anything you’d find in the traditional financial services landscape. As we set about converting our ideals into reality, we referred to our culture as an island of idealism, rising above the status quo.

Knowing little about branding, we surveyed several St. Louis influencers to help us find a firm to create our logo and tagline. Rick also had one request: He was hoping the firm could include his name.

In the winter of 2005, we selected TOKY Branding + Design to help us with this challenge; we are still their clients to this day.

In hindsight, the rest may seem like a no-brainer. Because they all work so well together, it’s easy to assume that our firm name Hill Investment Group; our hill-shaped logo, our Take the Long View® tagline; and the professional, polished line drawings that now characterize our graphic presentations came together practically overnight.

You’d be mistaken. And we’d be doing a disservice to the visionary souls who have put in countless hours and creative capital helping us shape and refine our now “obvious” brand.

Usually these marketing types labor on unsung behind the scenes, so we thought you might enjoy meeting one of the incredibly talented teams behind our branding: TOKY Branding + Design.

We love how Eric Thoelke and his TOKY team took Rick’s name and helped us connect it with our greater ideals, guiding us on how to meld our identity with our desire to coach people on how to take a higher perspective with their wealth. In his own words, here are Eric’s thoughts about our collaboration (and, yes, Eric’s last name is pronounced the same as his firm’s simpler spelling of the same: toe-kee):

“Back in 2005, I got to spend a couple of leisurely lunches with Rick and Matt, talking about their nascent business, and how their investment philosophy and deeply personal service would set them apart. It was immediately obvious these were true differences, not just distinctions in style. Our goal was finding a way to articulate those differences by integrating the firm’s name, logo and positioning.

The best brands encircle a target audience with messages that are meaningful and distinctive. It’s like pointing all the engines on a rocket in the same direction; alignment creates the greatest thrust. In working with Hill Investment Group, I never get tired of the rush that fires up all their branding engines and targets them in the same direction.”

Recently, my family and I quietly celebrated my 75^th birthday. We didn’t make a big to-do over it. That’s not my style. (Except for the party we had on my 70th. Oh, what a night.)

Will I retire soon? I hope not.

Maybe I’m trying to catch up with St. Louisan  Oliver “Ollie” Langenberg, an A.G. Edwards (Wells Fargo) broker, local philanthropist and all-around good guy who passed away in 2012. He was just shy of his 100^th birthday and, as Wells Fargo’s oldest active advisor, he was happily plying his trade right up until quitting time.

That said, friends and clients of Hill Investment Group may wonder why I’m still here. The simple answer is, I love the people and the work. I have always enjoyed reading books and articles about investments – at least the kind that enhance my understanding of our evidence-based strategies. I find it rewarding when I can apply my interests and experience to advise clients on how to pursue their own personal and financial goals. I also find it invigorating to spend time with my younger co-workers, serving as an in-house mentor.

Besides all of this, I am grateful for what I no longer have to do. These days, I’m retired from much of the planning and operations that no longer demand my unique abilities; I’ve happily turned these over to others who relish these important, ongoing roles. Instead, as chairman of our Investment Policy Committee, I am free to focus more deeply on new evidence-based investment strategies and solutions we may want to employ, exploring whether they might improve on our clients’ investment experience.

Why am I still here? Because I am still in a great place!

Despite Rick’s understated demeanor, he’s certainly one of the most important people on our team. Watch as he tells his origin story from his days at Anheuser-Busch.