The following is a recap of Don Gould’s remarks to clients at our 25th anniversary client appreciation event at The Huntington on September 30, 2024.
Dear Clients,
It seems that a 25th company anniversary calls for some reflections, so here goes.
First, my thanks to the whole Gould team, from Portfolio Management to Service to Administration. As you know from your interactions with us, it’s an amazing team that always puts service to our clients first. I am so proud of the workplace we have built. It’s a place where we can know each of our clients in a close and personal way, and where our clients—you—can look for trusted advice and excellence in the management of your financial assets. It’s a place where we can see our work meaningfully improving your lives. It’s also a workplace where everyone likes one another, likes their work, and works together as a team, all while promoting a healthy work-life balance.
For most of the 1990s, I was a “big shot” at one of the world’s largest asset managers. I jetted around the world, had a prestigious business card, and regularly rubbed elbows with the famous, powerful, and very wealthy. It was heady stuff. One day I gave it all up to start Gould Asset Management in a one-room office above Goldstein Optometry on Indian Hill Boulevard in bucolic little Claremont. What motivated me to make such a move?
We live in a culture that tends to worship growth and bigness. Bigger is different, but not necessarily better. When I was in a big company, I found that the higher up you are on the ladder, the more removed you are from the people your business is supposed to be serving. You spend most of your time negotiating deals with other businesspeople, and you tend to focus on keeping the people above you happy rather than the company’s clients.
I once read a book titled “Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered” by E. F. Schumacher. I took the title to heart and believe it contains an essential truth about business and human relations. Starting Gould Asset Management was about getting back to smallness. We are, at heart, a small and personal company. Not by accident, we are based in Claremont, a small town where people know each other, are involved in the community, and work together toward the collective good. We are proud that Gould is a strong and consistent contributor to that effort.
Now, obviously, this small company has grown. From one person to fourteen, serving well over 300 households and nonprofit organizations, with about $950 million in assets under management. So, you may be thinking, how does this growing company stay small? I think that is both our great accomplishment and our ongoing commitment to you, our clients. We have retained the culture and essence of a small and personal business, and we will strive to maintain that no matter how much we may grow by the numbers.
How will we do that? First, by always making service to our existing clients our top priority; we will never sacrifice quality of service for the sake of growth. Second, by keeping our independence. That starts with running our own show—our company is majority-owned and 100% controlled by the people who work here. That means we are not beholden to some large, remote organization telling us how to manage our clients’ portfolios. Independence means we can think independently on your behalf, and we believe this leads to better outcomes. At Gould, there’s only one client and it’s you.
Finally, none of this happens without you, our clients. On behalf of the whole Gould team, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to serve you for the last 25 years. To the next 25!