Twas the Night Before My New Job

It seems like this blog thing has either gotten old or people just don't post comments. Even the other 3-4 blogs I read don't have as much commenting as they used to. In my opinion, that's what is fun and addicting about this. So again, don't be a blog voyeur...post a comment! :)

I'm sitting here in Saginaw, the night before my first day on my new job. Normally, I'd be a little nervous, but I'm not now. Probably because I've worked there before, so I know what to expect. My role will be different, but the environment is still pretty similar. Everyone asks, "So what will you be doing?" Well, it's a little difficult to fully explain if you're not familiar with what "money managers" do, but I'll try to simplify it. GIM (Green Investment Management) markets their services to brokers across the country. These brokers generally offer full service investing to their clients...everything from small cash accounts to indivdual stocks to bonds to mutual funds, etc. However, you've heard the old saying "Don't put all your eggs into one basket", right? Well, when a client has a significant amount of money, it is essential that they diversify, but they don't have the knowledge, time, and/or desire to do so, so they hire a money manager. Money managers, with respect to the industry terminology, are not brokers, and likewise, brokers are not money managers. So brokers defer these larger accounts to money managers, who then diversifies the client's money and watches it on a daily basis. The money manager earns a fee, let's say 2% of the account balance, and the broker earns a smaller percentage, say 1%. So the client effectively pays 3% for the money managers' services. GIM has a unique style of management. Not only does GIM employ an asset allocation strategy, they integrate an active style of management, commonly refrred to as "market timing." Byron Green, the owner of the firm, has developed a sophisticated economic model that forecasts the direction of the economy. As he sees definite trends forming, he moves in and out of the market to take advantage of various opportunities in the market. For example, if his model signals an upturn in equities (or stocks), then he will sell a percentage of bonds among the various allocations and buy a healthier position in equities. The actual investments are almost exclusively mutual funds. If you have a long time horizon, and you're comfortable with a little more risk and fluctuations in your portfolio, then you may have a "growth" asset allocation, which may consist of 85% equities and 15% bonds/cash. The 85% equities may be made up of 4-5 different mutual funds, making sure there is no duplication of holdings within each mutual fund. OK, I just realized I'm babbling and you're probably about to fall asleep. So in short, GIM is an active asset allocation money manager. My role as Director of Operations is to ensure that all of the operations of the business are completed in an acceptable manner. Why couldn't I just leave it at that?!

Well, the commuting has begun. I am staying my aunt and uncle's house now, and will during the weekdays, and then I will go back to my family in Wichita Falls on the weekends. We are scheduled to close on our house around March 16th (our 9 year anniversary!), so hopefully we'll only have to do this for 2-3 weeks. We had the house inspection Saturday, and the appraisal should be completed tomorrow. HOpefully the builder will begin reconverting the garage and some other projects this week! I'll post some more pics of the house in a day or two. But now I will go to bed and get a good 6 hours of sleep before my first day on the new job. I'll try to post more often to let you know how the new job is going.