Hill Investment Group’s investment philosophy is based on the fundamental belief that, over the long view, global capitalism will succeed. HIG also loves continuing education – for our clients, our future clients, and ourselves. We’ve also got a demonstrated commitment to giving back.

When the Saint Louis Fashion Incubator launched in late 2016, we found another natural place to combine all three of these core beliefs. Through this non-profit incubator initiative, HIG has partnered with others to make a significant financial and mentoring commitment to six talented young designers who have come to St. Louis from across the U.S. Their two-year fellowships here are preparing them for full commercial debuts upon graduation. 

Relationships are important too, which is how HIG came to lead a perhaps surprising charge in fashion and design. It came about in part when our Houston team introduced us to the husband/wife fashion aficionados, Sid and Ann Mashburn. We’re excited to co-host the Mashburns when they visit St. Louis in mid-October to share their decades of fashion world experience. From “brick and mortar” stores to an online, Skype-based business offering made-to-measure clothing, Sid and Ann have been there, done that, and will be sharing their leadership experience with our incubator designers … and a few others while they’re here.

Just as we’re proud of our entrepreneurial and philanthropic involvement here at HIG, we enjoy inspiring other business owners and friends to share their time, talent, and treasures to spread their own unique vision and values. Cheers to the Mashburns for joining us!

No doubt about it. All of us here at Hill Investment Group are one team, regardless of whether we work out of St. Louis, Houston or wherever our clients want us to be. That said, we’re not without our civic pride. Let’s just say some of us more loudly cheer on the Astros, while others of us favor the Cardinals.

What else makes our home bases special in their own rights? We thought it would be fun to launch a series to share some of our cities’ favorite features and interesting oddities. We’ll start with a few points of historical pride.

History

• St. Louis – Founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, named after the 13^th Century French King Louis IX. Our famed Arch commemorates our reputation as the “Gateway to the West,” from where Lewis & Clark launched their 1804 expedition.
• Houston – Found in 1836 by brothers John and Augustus Allen, named after former General Sam Houston, a commander in the Texas Revolution for independence from Mexico. We’re probably best known for our oil and aerospace industries.

Famous Folk

• Houston – Jeff Bezos, Beyoncé, George H.W. and George W. Bush, A.J. Foyt, Howard Hughes, Dan Rather, Renée Zellweger.
• St. Louis – Maya Angelou, Yogi Berra, George Foreman, Redd Foxx, Ulysses S. Grant, Kevin Kline, Charles Lindbergh.

 Musical Heritage

• St. Louis – An early mecca for St. Louis blues, jazz, R&B and ragtime – Chuck Berry, Sheryl Crow, Miles Davis, Scott Joplin, and Ike & Tina Turner have called St. Louis home.
• Houston – Houston also hosts musicians across every genre – and who often cross multiple styles. Notables include Yolanda Adams, Clint Black, Lyle Lovett, Kenny Rogers and ZZ Top.

On Location (movies filmed or set in our home towns)

• Houston – “Apollo 13,” “Boyhood,” “Independence Day,” “Rushmore,” “Selena,” “Urban Cowboy.”
• St. Louis – “Escape from New York,” “Larger Than Life,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “National Lampoon’s Summer Vacation,” “White Palace.”

Want to know more? In a future installment, we’ll share some of our favorite things to see, do, eat and drink in our respective home towns! And, by the way, if you’re ever visiting us in either locale, please let us know. We’d love to give you a grand tour of our favorite hot spots.

When Odds On was born, we quickly realized that one of the powerful benefits of having a book in hand is it gets our foot in the door at public and professional venues alike. By having opportunities to “teach the teachers” about evidence-based investing, we could spread the word faster through the power of exponential word of mouth.

That’s one reason it was fun and fulfilling to present “The Evolution of Evidence-Based Investing” to a group of attorneys at the century-old, St. Louis law firm Lewis Rice earlier this month. (The awesome view of downtown St. Louis, Arch and all, didn’t hurt any either!)

Looking back to the 1950s, it’s eye-opening to realize how far investing has come since then. That was back before computer-generated data was available to help us understand the powerful efficiencies available in our capital markets. It meant that trying to pick this or that stock was not only the typical way to invest … it was mostly the only way possible. Low-cost index funds weren’t even available until the 1970s, but what a ride, as today we’re nearing 40% of the market resembling our approach.

Are you looking for a speaker for one of your organization’s events? Let us know if we can tell you more about the evolution of investing. Not to worry: Having an awesome view is optional.

PS: Are you wondering about that weird square drawing in the photo above? Check out our “Illustration of the Month”  post.