"When I joined Greg Donaldson in 1997, Laura Roop was already in place, building our first efforts at enhancing the experience DCM clients would have. At the start, we had two equity styles for managing money, both focused around dividends. Later named Cornerstone and Capital Builder, they initially created to meet the needs of retirees.

"Our Cornerstone strategy selected companies with higher than average dividend yields and that kept those dividends growing every year. In 2000, the stock market fell by 10%; it grew by 13% and continued to outperform the market over the next two years. Its dividends had held it up.

"With our Capital Builder strategy, we chose companies with histories of dividend growth, but, as a tradeoff, had a lower dividend yield. It produced less cash, but did grow its dividends and, therefore, its stock prices, faster.

"As we were about to announce these strategies, we discovered many people forced into early retirement could not draw enough dividends from either of these portfolios to meet their expenses. So, we created a portfolio that would produce an even higher dividend yield as safely as possible. From this idea grew Income Builder, rounding out our investment strategies."

When Ciavon started at DCM, right out of school and single, a few of us here made it our unsolicited mission to find someone worthy of her.

After months of brainstorming, one day the Captain (Greg) announced he’d found the one. He’d noticed a man at church, the son of a friend he had known for years, and it hit him that this person was perfect for Ciavon. He was a kind, gentle man named Matt and was just her type. After a little persuasion, both parties agreed to a blind date.

The first date was a huge success, and with the very well-timed DCM Christmas party the following week, Matt quickly became a fixture around DCM. They were engaged two years to the day of their blind date and in September of 2007 they were married. Greg and Joyce Donaldson hosted their couple’s shower, Mike and Carol Hull gifted their wedding cake and the rest of DCM helped however we could. Fast forward 13 years and two kids later, they’re still going strong. Captain Greg was right – Matt was, and is, perfect for Ciavon.

By our ten-year anniversary, DCM had eight employees and 16 DCM kids. We served nearly 300 families in 28 states and the District of Columbia with total assets approaching $300 million. Indiana continued to be the state where we had the most clients, but we gained a larger presence in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida.

As Mike Hull said then, and rings true today, "Over the next twenty years, more people than ever before will be retiring with a fixed sum of money that must last them the rest of their lives. Unless they become investors instead of speculators, and unless they learn how to invest for income as opposed to purely capital gains, retirement will be a nightmare for them. Our job is to reach them and share our story."

"Given the size of Facebook’s IPO, and the fact it was one the first of its kind to go public, many thought the next tech bubble was on the horizon. Based on the weak initial few months of trading post-IPO, this seemed accurate. While we followed its IPO and understood the potential implications on the market, a start-up like Facebook didn’t fit in with any of our investment strategies. Some clients wanted to buy into the IPO, but our participation was very muted.

"As it became clear their revenue model was real and could have staying power, the initial negative trend reversed in 2013 and hasn’t slowed much since. Facebook, among others including Amazon, Netflix and Apple, has revolutionized the way we live and work. Indeed, they forced us to find new ways of valuing stocks that do not pay a dividend but have the capability of doing so. Their dominance continues and has allowed other ideas to blossom into real businesses that further change the way we live."

"When opening our office in Columbus, we wanted it to be a mirror of Evansville. We chose the same paint colors, the same trim, the same overall DCM look and feel – we wanted clients to walk in and know, no matter the location, they were getting the same DCM experience.

"Our goal is to be an office that people really know, understand and trust. An office that people think of when they need financial planning and investment management."

Going back to the 1990s, we've had quantitative models to screen for new investment ideas and alert us when a current investment might warrant a sale. These models, when back-tested, worked so well that we set out to create an automated, rules-driven strategy that would perform as well as, or better than, our actively managed strategies. With that intention, QuantD was formed.

QuantD’s most interesting, and important, features are that it both selects the stocks with the best buy candidates, selects the best stocks to sell, and grades prospect stocks and bonds. process. It has a formula that takes several macroeconomic data points and combines them into what we call the “cash trigger,” a systematic process for moving away from stocks andinto government bonds if certain criteria are met. This formula is built to potentially minimize downside risk. If we can partially reproduce the downside protection that bonds provide without their negative impact on future returns, we may be a step closer to solving the problem that ultra-low interest rate environments pose to our clients’ income.

As we move forward, QuantD will continue to grow and evolve. However, the fundamental ideas that DCM has always believed in will never change. QuantD subscribes to those same ideas: Quality, Value, and Momentum. They are the building blocks of QuantD and will always be – regardless of how they are specifically measured.

At Donaldson, we know we hold an immense responsibility to our clients as we guide them on their financial journey. That’s why we’ve always done all we can to truly make a positive impact in their lives each day. In 2015, we came together to formally define the ideals that embody DCM and make them our guiding force.

Together, we determined the nine core Donaldson values are: development, impact, family, servant hearts, faith, excellence, unity, integrity and passion. With unwavering energy and conviction, our team has committed each of these to their work, fully integrating them into our strategy from top to bottom. As a result, we bring our passion and strength to our clients and our own teams every day with more intention and greater respect.

"Most publicly traded global asset managers tend to love middle management. With that structure comes a lot of delegation and projects that distract from directly serving clients. When I joined DCM, I was shocked how differently we allocated our time – with respect for each other and with the client always top of mind. When my colleagues ask for my help, I know it’s important to them because it’s important to a client.

"In my experience, there has been a huge disconnect between what clients want and what advisors were able to provide because the people running the business didn’t have the same goals as the clients. I thought if I could be more involved in the resource decisions, I could try to create a better client experience. So, that’s what DCM has given me the freedom to do. To manage clients with a blank slate to rework how we deliver financial planning at DCM.

"I spent most of my first few months listening and quietly evaluating business models and technology. I think this steady approach has meshed well with our culture. We’re open to ideas, but highly discriminating. And when we commit to something, you better believe it’s going to happen. My team is already growing and well on our way to making a more cohesive and comprehensive experience for our clients."