John L. Montag

Trying to author why you enjoy your life's work is difficult to encapsulate. So my thoughts are really an attempt in mid-career rather than at a conclusion. Each client begins the relationship by describing their preferences and their priorities. And while the actual words can be similar, the use and the understanding and even the definition can actually be different. For example, the word risk is quite personal.

The word growth can change. And so the start of healthy communication includes developing a sense of someone's vocabulary and a true sense of their personal intentions. And while the situations can look familiar, each one has its own unique fingerprints. From there, the financial picture looks like a puzzle. While our work really prioritizes investments, legal and accounting questions can surface and they're going to influence decisions.

And empathy, empathy has to be a key part of these ingredients. The relationship dynamic is similar to that of building a house. An attorney can be the architect and broadly put the rooms together and the accountant might oversee other items, taxes being a very key one. Our role is really making that financial home livable. So together, ongoing conversations help us clarify the mission of each of the rooms and put the appropriate security in each one.

Studying markets and studying securities takes time and it takes thought. And while you can approach it as a science, it contains art too. This extends into myriad topics where we have an understanding but we rarely predict anything perfectly like everyone. Macroeconomics, inflation, interest rates, and microeconomics, so specific company data or earnings, are complex. Companies and economies, like families, have histories and they have futures.

Every day I recall a mentor who remarked, "If you're right 55% of the time you look like a genius." And being a baseball enthusiast, even a .300 batting average is considered impressive. That is, you hit the ball 30% of the time. I pair this with two other comments. The first comes from a doctor and a dear friend who said, "On average, it takes about 20 seconds from the time you open your mouth to the time I begin my diagnosis.”

And by contrast, in investing, it can take perhaps 20 quarters, five years, before we have enough experience together to really understand one another. My grandfather was in this business, and he used to always say, "You're either a hero or a goat and it can always change tomorrow." Truly, time is a key ingredient for solid relationships, becoming stronger through the ups and downs of the markets and the benefits of appropriate investments and mutual understandings of certain words like risk.

Add this all together and you're very busy. You have a humbling occupation. You learn something every day and you recognize that relationships are central to a fulfilling career. It's a wonderful life.