Given how fleeting a financial super-star’s fame tends to be, there’s something comforting about Warren Buffett’s staying power as the “Oracle of Omaha.” (Omaha is Buffett’s hometown and headquarters for his global holding company Berkshire Hathaway.) The straightforward wisdom he’s been sharing for more than 50 years in his annual shareholder letters helps explain the perennial appeal.

I’ve long admired his position on how to invest sensibly over the long haul. After all, he’s the guy who first said (in 1988), “our favorite holding period is forever.” But his insights on human character are always among my favorites, such as these new gems from his recently released 2016 letter.

• “1,000 monkeys would be just as likely to produce a seemingly all-wise prophet. But there would remain a difference: The lucky monkey would not find people standing in line to invest with him.”
• “Ever-present naysayers may prosper by marketing their gloomy forecasts. But heaven help them if they act on the nonsense they peddle.”
• “As Charlie [Munger] says, it’s great to have a manager with a 160 IQ – unless he thinks it’s 180.”
• “[B]ad behavior is contagious: CEOs who overtly look for ways to report high numbers tend to foster a culture in which subordinates strive to be ‘helpful’ as well.”
• “This year the magic potion may be hedge funds, next year something else. The likely result from this parade of promises is predicted in an adage: ‘When a person with money meets a person with experience, the one with experience ends up with the money and the one with money leaves with experience.'”

PS: If you haven’t caught the HBO Special, “Becoming Warren Buffett,” I recommend that too. You have to love an 86-year-old billionaire who still drives by the McDonald’s take-out window on his way to work each morning to “splurge” on an Egg McMuffin®. (Here’s the promo for it​. To watch it in full, you’ll need to be an HBO subscriber.)

Is there such a thing as too much knowledge? There can be! It’s called “the curse of knowledge” when we forget that nobody will have a clue what we’re talking about if we leap right into the deep end of investment theory.

That’s why our first responsibility is to recreate those same, “ah-ha!” moments that we’ve already enjoyed. Today’s video with journalist Robin Powell does just that, for those of you who are wondering what this “evidence-based investing stuff” is all about, as well as for anyone who could use a handy, two-minute reminder. Enjoy!

Robin Powell and Matt Hall on Evidence-Based Investing from Hill Investment Group on Vimeo.

In March we took a break from our regularly scheduled e-newsletter and blog programming to share an annual Hill Investment Group overview.

Dear Friends,

You’re used to getting the Hill Investment Group newsletter now every month. We put a lot of thought into those newsletters, curating the best stories to help you stay focused and keep the odds of success on your side. I want to do something a little different this time.

The investment industry is in the midst of a major transformation. Independent advisors like Hill Investment Group are growing 15% annually, as investors are becoming smarter than ever and learning to focus on evidence over hype. As our firm evolves alongside the industry, I want you to know that we’re holding on to the core values that have gotten us where we are today—and that we intend to protect, fiercely, for the future.

Since our founding in 2005, we’ve thought of ourselves as a small firm with big ideas. To preserve this mentality even as the firm grows, we’ve worked hard to create a very specific culture that’s rooted in three core areas:

The character of our people – Everyone at Hill Investment Group has authentic passion for our work and our clients. We make new hires very intentionally, looking for people who share that strong desire to serve. Then, we strengthen engagement in many ways throughout the year, such as annual family and team parties and even daily lunches. In fact, lunch here is more than just a meal—it’s a vital work session where we tackle everything from big questions about the future to little details that make our office run better.

[Editor’s note: Speaking of those daily lunches, Matt was pleased to talk about them recently in a BBC Business Daily broadcast exploring today’s business lunch culture. You’ll find his sound bite at (appropriately) around 12:00 in this “Out to Lunch” radio podcast.]

Our dedication to service – We’ve created a client service culture that’s extravagantly thoughtful and detail-oriented. This approach not only ensures a consistent experience for every client, it’s another way to show how much we care. Remember the television show “Cheers” where everybody knows your name and can anticipate what you order? That spirit has been and will always be a part of the fabric of our firm.

Our commitment to the evidence – We are results oriented and data-driven. Everyone on the team—even those with many years of experience—is hungry to learn more. To that end, we strive to be leaders in our community and to forge connections that help us advance our professional development. That way, we can continue offering clients the best possible service.

These values are written into our company mission statement, and more importantly, they underpin every decision we make for our business and our clients. I could reel off hundreds of anecdotes illustrating our culture in action—and actually, I captured a lot of those stories in my book, Odds On. As I was working on this letter in March I headed out to visit Hill Investment Group’s Houston office, which opened in 2014. Sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, I realized that our expansion was another example of how our culture guides our actions.

The challenge of staying true to our values as we grow is both exciting and humbling— it’s why we do what we do. We started Hill Investment Group to help change lives, and we work hard, every day, to live up to that mission. I hope these thoughts on our culture help clarify how we make decisions. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I’m always happy to talk.

Take the Long View,

Matt Hall, President
Hill Investment Group