New Owners

A few years, I was at a conference, standing in a buffet line. I must have become fixated on extracting the blueberries from the fruit platter (I really like blueberries, and those cheap tongs at hotels are not well suited for the task of small fruit extraction…but I digress). In an attempt to position myself better, I bumped into a tall, skinny man of my age (but looked much older than me), which caused my blueberries to scatter. Of course, I was embarrassed, and apologized profusely, and not knowing what to do next, introduced myself. He said his name was Tim, and he was attending the conference for the first time. He asked me what I did, and since I wasn’t sure if he was a potential client or an annoying money manager marketing person, I explained, somewhat passionately,  all about Angeles: our long experience, deep knowledge, incredibly smart, talented people, and our fanatic focus on providing our clients with the most satisfying, even sublime, investment experience possible.

Tim really perked up when he heard about our culture and philosophy, and said that he agreed that the key to success was to give clients a level of service that was unmatched anywhere else. By now, we had come to the end of the buffet line, and he was called over by someone else, but he asked to stay in touch, expressing a hope we might be able to do business together in the future.

I didn’t hear from him again. Until this morning. He reminded me of our initial conversation, which he never forgot. What really resonated for him was my comment that we obsessed about our clients’ experience with us, that it be seamless, well-integrated into their lives, helping each of them achieve whatever goals they had. He said that this was precisely his philosophy in running his company. But, he confessed, he felt like he had been about as successful as he could be in his industry, and was looking to extend his brand, and corporate philosophy, to new areas. And so, he offered to buy us, to become the cornerstone in their quest for dominance in investment advisory.

His enthusiasm was infectious, and I , too, became very excited at this prospect. But, I said, we are really not for sale. Tim replied that I hadn’t heard his price yet, which was true. He threw out a number with many zeroes in it. I asked him to add another zero, which he did immediately,but added that he would be named CEO of this venture. Without consulting my colleagues, although I was pretty sure they’d be very happy, I accepted his terms.

So, it is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that Angeles Investment Advisors is now Apple Investment Advisors, effective today, April 1st. Free iPads will be given to all clients in celebration of this deal. Future enquiries should be directed to Tim Cook, CEO. We hope you are as excited as we are. Enjoy your day!

• 5 May, 2015

  Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

  There will always be a debate about the relevance of history to current conditions. I am firmly in the pro-history camp, ...

• 4 May, 2015

  Skyscraping

  In 2009, there were 19 buildings in the world with heights above 1,000 feet (305 meters for the non-American readers). ...

• 19 Nov, 2015

  Fairy Tales

  The technology bubble of the late 1990s is a distant memory for most investors, and an ignorance for the rest. But back ...