My Story
Who I Am
I was born in 1965 and raised in Houston, Texas, where I attended St. John’s School. I received a B.A. degree from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1989, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas McCombs School in 1999. My early career was spent in computer network design and engineering. In the 1990’s I also helped found and finance several startup companies, one of which was acquired and another which went public, both at significantly appreciated values. While working with my father on multi-generational estate issues for our family, I became very interested in investments, and I set out to change my career accordingly. For several years after this career change I managed our family’s accounts, and in 2003 I earned my CFA charter. In 2004 I opened my practice to the public by registering with the SEC as an investment advisor.
I am skeptical of most of the claims made by securities promoters, and I am cautious about new investment vehicles or fads. Among my role models in the investment world are Warren Buffett and John Bogle (the founder of Vanguard). Each in his own way reflects the most important aspects of investing: Buffett, in his careful analysis and common sense approach to active, concentrated portfolios; and Bogle in his insistence on low costs and “passive” indexed investments. These two men’s approaches together form the basis for the successful “active/passive” dual approach that I employ.
Every day all over the world, including in this country, people are defrauded. Investment fraud comes in many forms, sometimes blatant, as when an investment fund or entrepreneur steals outright their investors’ capital; and sometimes subtle, as when a fund charges exorbitant fees for little in return, or when an advisor uses practiced persuasion to convince unwitting investors of half-baked investment theories and methods. One of my main jobs is to make sure that my clients do not get defrauded, and that their money is instead invested in sound ways with sound people.
As a client or prospective client, you have a right to know what my business goals are. I am not interested in building an empire with many layers of personnel between my clients and me. I believe that the best financial advisory, as with legal and medical practices, best comes from a close relationship of confidence and trust directly between advisor and client, and I intend to continue to provide advisory services in such fashion. My business has grown strongly in recent years. I currently manage over $145 million, and I have capacity and systems in place to manage significantly more over time.
I believe strongly in ideals like honest accounting and economics, social justice, 
environmental awareness, public and private education, and more. I believe that in the long run the best business results and the best national economic results are obtained by congruence with these ideals. I do not mix my ideals and my financial advisory per se, but it is important for you to know that each informs the other in ways beneficial to my clients. For example, I treat all of my clients with equal favor, regardless of the magnitude of their wealth because I do not believe in discrimination based on economic class. On the investment side, I believe that my outlook better attenuates me to emerging investment themes like Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and international investing. Perhaps most importantly, this progressive outlook has enabled me to add the practice of life planning to my financial advisory.
I am a husband and father and I organize my life so that I have adequate time to fulfill these most important roles. I am a member of Congregation Emanu El in Houston, and the Houston Zen Center, a center for meditation and contemplative practice. I am also a conservation landowner in Colorado County, Texas, and I take seriously my obligation to care for this small part of the world and its natural inhabitants – it is one way that I give back what has been given to me in abundance. Living a full life is vital to me helping my clients live full lives.
One final thing about me: I love my work, especially meeting with and learning about clients, crafting portfolios for them, and working together to meet their needs.