For the third year in a row, Schwab Institutional is running a series of TV commercials in support of independent Registered Investment Advisor firms. That’s us! The commercials are an extension of Schwab’s long-running advertising campaign, focused on helping the public understand why terms like “independent,” “fiduciary,” and “Registered Investment Advisor” matter – or at least should matter – to anyone seeking solid financial advice.

You can see the TV ads now through mid-May on CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg TV and Golf Channel. They stand out to us for their emphasis on the right kinds of questions to ask when assessing a financial advisor. While most financial services advertising is aimed at products and sales, we’d say Schwab gets it right. Here’s our favorite:

Schwab’s ad campaign is hardly the reason we do business with them. But it’s one more way their thinking aligns with ours, as we turn to them for holding our own, and our clients’ personal investments.

As Matt Hall touched on in his post, “Exactly Why Fiduciary Matters,” Hill Investment Group was founded on the premise that every investor deserves excellent client care, fiduciary levels of advice, and access to well-structured investment solutions. While we’ve not figured out how to scale HIG to serve the entire planet just yet … we’re working on it.

One big step in that direction started last spring, when I was hired to launch Hillfolio, our ground-breaking new digital platform for investors of more modest means. This summer, we soft-launched the program. On October 1, we’ll launch it publicly, first in St. Louis and Houston – close to Hill Investment Group’s two existing offices – then nationally.

Our alliance with Schwab has been key to the launch.

“We’re excited to see the commitment Hill Investment Group is making to Schwab Institutional Intelligent Portfolios. We recently added the ability to add mutual funds to our ETF-based portfolios. Hillfolio is leading the charge to use this new flexibility for the benefit of their clients.”

You’ll find additional details about our Hillfolio launch in this press release. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

For years, Capital One® has been hiring outspoken celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, Charles Barkley and Spike Lee to ask folks, “What’s in your wallet?” It’s a memorable ad campaign – and probably a successful one, as they run it every year during March Madness. But perhaps a more relevant question these days is, “What’s in your digital wallet?” Do you have the apps in place to manage your wealth, wherever you may roam? Here’s a summary of the apps you’ll find in our own digital wallets here at Hill Investment Group: HIG Wealth Access – A handy overview of your total wealth, including assets and liabilities such as home(s) and debt loads. HIG Client Portal – A place to check your financial portfolio, as well as to securely store critical electronic documents. HIG’s client portal includes accounts we manage as well as those held elsewhere (such as in a client’s company retirement plan). Custodian Login – Custodian account logins (for us, that’s Schwab), so you can deposit checks, initiate other financial transactions, and review account information. Banking/Credit Cards – Bank and credit card account logins, so you can keep an eye on your spending and saving activities. One of our goals is to enable all clients to Take the Long View® by having easy access to their information. Please reach out to us if we can answer additional questions about what’s in your digital wallet or we can point you in the right direction for your set-up.