anniversary

The Last 30 Years and the Next 30 Years 
By Greg Leibman, Billy Garver, and Caitie Leibman

Friends, a lot of things can happen in three decades. In December 2024, our President Mark Leibman celebrated 30 years of affiliation with LPL Financial. There is a lot of work a person can do in that amount of time, and Mark has chosen to spend a lot of it with you and on this enterprise we now share.

He still intends to work until age 92, and he is energized by the work. Mark’s the founder and he’s still in it for the long haul.

So what’s our story, we “next generation” advisors? All three of us may very well have more years in this industry left ahead of us than there are behind us. It behooves us to remember the importance of the long view.

Thirty years. Something about it just sounded so lovely, it got stuck in our brains.

Back in December, we also celebrated our system of longevity discounts. This is one of the ways that we at 228 Main try to walk the walk: we reward the commitment it takes to become an effective investor, so the program includes fee reductions at certain milestones.

Clients get a fee reduction after 5 continuous years with us and then again at 15 continuous years. Beneficiaries or descendants who come on board with us may also take advantage of their forebears’ start date. In this sense, the longevity discount becomes a “legacy” discount.

But this stuff is all contagious, so we couldn’t help ourselves. We told Mark that we needed to add another level: why not include a 30-year discount? Can you imagine the joy of getting to tell a client of 30 years that you would like them to start paying you less? We could. We’re hungry for it.

And we wanted to give Mark this chance. Another excuse to celebrate some of his oldest friends? Yes, please. Why not?

This is what it’s all about. Growing the buckets. For the long haul. As a team. We’re trying to put our money where our mouth is—which is to say, we’re trying to put our policies where our values are.

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Play the audio version of this post below

The Last 30 Years and the Next 30 – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

This text can be found at https://www.228Main.com/.

Connecting, Communicating, Caring

© Can Stock Photo / focalpoint

The third birthday of our 21st century communications program at 228Main.com is upon us. It is a natural time to look back, and think ahead.

When we started, there were things we wished each of you knew. Questions we answered over and over. Stories we told all the time. We wanted our values and principles to be available for inspection, anytime, at your convenience. And we wanted to tell you our thinking about strategy and tactics on a more timely basis.

But we also wanted to hear more from you. Interaction is a key feature of electronic communications and the new media. You reply to our email newsletters with questions or comments or service inquiries. You like or share or comment on the things we post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

The whole object was to talk to you in new ways. Others focus on how to attract new business, new customers—not us. We simply thought it was great to have our thoughts go to all clients at once, to your phones or computers, at the speed of light, for you to read at your leisure.

We are always looking for ways to improve, but it has been a success so far. We feel better-connected than ever. We were fortunate about one aspect: LPL Financial, with whom we are affiliated, is a sophisticated and strong supporter of the new media. (Not all investment firms are.) LPL provided a lot of information that helped us get started.

Now it seems as if we are creating the future together, out on the leading edge, building a reputation in the industry. But it is still all about talking to you.

We are committed to expanding our communications in ways that will make us more accessible to you. If you have anything you would like to share that might improve what we are doing, please email us or call.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Happy Anniversary!

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / mikos

Leibman Financial Services (LFS) was born in August, 1996. It was the culmination of nearly twenty years of prior experience in virtually every aspect of financial services. August 2016 marks the 20th Anniversary of our founding.

While the twenty years before LFS covered a wide range of insurance and banking and investment and benefit products, LFS was intended to focus very tightly on helping people manage their money to get where they wanted to go. This is why we are in business.

And what an incredible twenty years it has been!

  • We were fortunate to be aligned with the independent broker-dealer LPL Financial. LPL provides the platform, resources, and expertise we need to provide state-of-the-art services to you.
  • We were fortunate to land our facilities at 228 Main in beautiful downtown Louisville. It’s a great place to do business.
  • Most of all, we were fortunate to be able to serve so many wonderful people. We are privileged to help with many of life’s most important topics.

A milestone is a natural place to look back and look ahead. We are excited about the future, for a number of reasons:

  1. The gap between expectations and reality as it unfolds is where investment opportunity lives—and we believe the gap is historically wide right now.
  2. We have the largest and most capable staff we’ve ever had, to do the work we need to do for you.
  3. Our range of offerings is expanding to better pursue the diverse needs and circumstances of our clients.
  4. Our communications program expanded dramatically over the past year, with a complete library of our philosophy and methods at 228Main.com and daily commentary in three ‘New Media’ venues.
  5. The founder is intent on working to age 92, and feels better than ever about being able to do so.

A heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to everyone. We are looking forward to the years and decades ahead.

It’s the Journey, Not the Destination

© www.canstockphoto.com / chbaum

When we think about our lives and plans, milestones are a useful concept to help organize our thoughts. In ages past, the mile markers on the roads of the Roman Empire let travelers know of the progress of their journey.

The same is true of the milestones in our lives: birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and retirements are points on the journey, not the destination. The road continues on, after we reach each milestone. They are memorable accomplishments worthy of celebrating, a natural time to reflect and take stock… but not the destination.

Thus it is with our business anniversaries. We’ve been at 228 Main in beautiful downtown Louisville for fifteen years, as of November 1st. Larry is wrapping up one year in our shop already; Greg will soon mark his sixth anniversary. Next year, our firm marks twenty years in its current form.

But we measure our progress by the people we’ve helped. The staff, systems, experience and resources we put together to do our work for you more effectively are our true milestones. Hiring a third member of the team, having a dedicated staffer to help with the technology clients use, building out our 24/7 communications in the New Media, allocating more time to research and portfolio management: these are the recent milestones we care about.

In other words, our true milestones are the ones that help us help you make sense of your journey.