Dear A.I.G.

I think this is a great op-ed piece from the NY Times written by an A.I.G. employee (former employee). It shows that the A.I.G. mess is a paradox because the only way to fix the issues within the company is to hire or retain good people. With the persecution by the government and by the media, the company is actually handicapped-making it harder to repay the tax payer. I think we all need to step back and look at this logically. If we expect to get our (tax payers) money back, then we need to give A.I.G. some leeway to pay smart people to figure things out. I am planning to write more on risk and risk taking in my next post, but I thought this would be a good primer. Check it out. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html

Boulder Trip

Last week I was able to take a few days off work to head out to Boulder and check out the MBA program at the University of Colorado. It was a wonderful trip, although only two days, I felt like it made a huge impression on me and my thoughts toward business school. The only thing that could have made it better is if Mary Beth and Parker could have come too, but maybe next time. I flew in Wednesday morning and hopped in my Prius rental (left) and drove to Boulder. As I was pulling into town, I couldn't help but notice that there were more people riding bikes than driving cars. Boulder is one of the most bike friendly towns in America and it makes me very jealous because KC is not bike-friendly at all. As for the cars people were driving-all sweet wagons, with bike/ski racks-again I was jealous. :)

I ate a quick breakfast on Pearl Street and then I walked around downtown until lunch. I met with a second year student, David, for lunch on Pearl St. at Illegal Pete's (a great burrito joint). David is one of the student bloggers for the business school and he was kind enough to answer all my emails over the past few months, and he helped me get the inside scoop about the program. I would definitely recommend meeting with current students if anyone is thinking about going back to school because you can read about a school on the Internet, but its much more meaningful to hear it directly from the "horse's mouth." After lunch I checked out the Boulder trails at Chautauqua Park (below). Killer run. I actually had to stop and walk twice because my lungs were burning, but it felt great.

Wednesday evening was the formal information session on campus. I had a chance to walk around campus after lunch to get my bearings and find the brand new business building (below). It was a really nice facility. The information session was from 6-8 and it was, well, very informative. :) I learned a lot about the program and was able to ask some questions. I walked out of the meeting thinking that CU is the place for me.

David was also very kind to show me his "family housing-on campus apartment," a housing option for MB, Parker and I if we choose to go that route. The proximity to campus and Pearl St. would surely be nice.

On Thursday, I woke up and picked up some coffee and chocolate covered espresso beans at Pete's Coffee & Tea-I recommend the chocolate covered espresso beans (originally introduced to me by my brother). They are awesome! I went up to campus one more time to attend a class and have lunch with Laurence-a 1st year student ambassador. The class was really interesting, mostly focused on ethics and sustainability. Sustainable business practices is one of the key characteristics of the program at CU. Just attending a class and hanging out with some students made me think that I need to do more reducing, reusing, and recycling. All in all, the trip was a success and I came away from the experience realizing that the CU students all seemed to have one thing in common; they all realize that money isn't everything. They all want to make a difference and they all want to have a work-life balance. I told MB that Boulder is quickly becoming my top choice because of all the factors I have mentioned. MB agreed and has continued to say that Colorado would be her favorite place to live as well. It is a place that I would love to go-we'll see if I can make it happen. :)

God Opens Doors....

.....And He closes them just the same. Sometimes I wonder why I had to get into the investment business right before the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime. What terrible timing...or was it meant to be? I have never had trouble moving up the pecking order in the endeavors I have chosen to pursue, but my career as an investment professional has been a bit different, to say the least. I chose to try my hand in the investment world for a few reasons:
1-I thought that I could learn to properly evaluate companies in order to profit from investing in their stocks.
2-I knew that investment principles are something that would serve me well in life, regardless of my ultimate career path.
3-I thought I could gain access to "hard to find" information and research which would give me an edge in my personal investments.
4-I thought that I would move from the associate role to CEO in no time at all. (sarcasm-just to clarify) :)

Well, my assumptions have been both right and wrong. I have learned a great deal about the markets and what to look for when trying to make investment decisions, however, when the S&P 500 is down 40% for the year, it is hard to find any stocks that can make me a fortune. I have gained access to a lot of research and high level information that should be extremely helpful, but no one ever mentioned that those Wall St. analysts and equity research guys are just making guesses too. They are wrong just as often as they are right. Granted, their guesses are more educated than some, but they are still just guesses.....no one can predict where this market might go. I have learned a lot about how greed can lead to stupid decisions and excessive risk-taking. Lastly, my associate to CEO path has been derailed by a hiring/promotion freeze which has been extremely frustrating for me. I need an incentive in order to keep me hungry, and I no longer have that. I know no matter how hard I work or how well I do, there will still be no promotion any time soon. I guess I should be happy that I still have a job with a stable financial institution because there are plenty of people out there who have lost theirs.

I am grateful for my job and that I am able to help provide for my family, but I am beginning to realize that God works in mysterious ways. He doesn't always give us what we ask for because He knows what we really want in our heart. I began a career in investments for the money, plain and simple. I am sure that I would be a different person today if I doubled my money last year and if I had begun to work my way up the corporate ladder. I would be too enthralled with the success to realize that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. The luster of the money and the corner office would wear off and I would be 10 years down the road and stuck in a corporate culture that doesn't suit me one bit. I believe that God is using this opportunity to show me that I need to trust Him. I am realizing that He knows what I want better than I do sometimes.

I am excited because I will likely be heading back to school as a result of the slow economic times and the lack of promotion opportunities. An MBA will give me a chance to explore entrepreneurship and, hopefully, lead to me starting my own business someday. I am heading to Boulder next week to check out CU's MBA program. I think that MB & I would love to live in CO and raise Parker on the trails, slopes, and peaks. :) I can't wait to free myself from the corporate monotony and dive into the rest of my life. Its funny how God realized all along that I didn't want to to be a banker, I was just looking for a way to get rich. Getting rich is no longer my goal and I wouldn't have realized it if things had gone the way I planned. My goal now is to be happy, work in a job that is rewarding that allows me to help people, and to be able to have the flexibility to spend more time with my family. I want to have the freedom to take breaks on those 75 degree days in March to walk around the Park and enjoy the sunshine with MB & Parker (and the children to be named later). :) That is what I want now. We'll see if that is what God wants. Until next time.