Investors deserve better financial institutions. And given the possible changes coming in the world economy, investors are going to need better institutions.

Tugboat Financial has been a dream since 1992. Yet for 14 years, it has been postponed. If God provides, then I would like to build an institution that:

• embraces its clients' interests wholeheartedly
• addresses financial needs comprehensively
• pursues a wise investment strategy rigorously
• shares risks and rewards symmetrically
• funds ministries and charities generously

This requires erasing well-taught presuppositions and thinking an institution through from its very beginning. Every aspect, from motives to account management, can benefit from a new look.

The first step is to write a book ("A New Institution for New Times") describing this mission. Given my 25+ years in the financial services industry, including stints at an investment firm, a bank, an insurance company, and a hedge fund, this book reflects the lessons learned and offers a fresh institutional design built on seven pillars:

1. New Motives
2. New Structures
3. New Financial Plans
4. New Financial Portfolios
5. New Investment Strategies
6. New Distribution Methods
7. New Account Management

The firm of the future must reject the conventional wisdom of "managing and disclosing conflicts of interest" and "greed is good." Instead, its principles should be founded on sharing: interests, risks, rewards and profits. The current culture places a premium on intelligence; the new firm seeks for wisdom. And it seeks to reduce tensions in an environment that will be marked by growing tensions:

• inter-generational conflicts as the baby boom matures.
• inter-national turmoil as developing countries assume a greater role and US dominance diminishes.
• economic difficulties as US growth wanes, interest rates rise and inflation potentially returns.
• institutional strife between firms and their clients as investment returns diminish.

The classic symbol of an investment advisor is the lighthouse. Tall and erect, it elegantly points the way to safety through the treacherous shoals, itself safely on solid ground. The new symbol is a tugboat, leading clients rather than pointing the way, sharing in the ups and downs -- the risks and rewards -- of investment cycles, right in the middle of the turmoil. The tugboat knows its place, for the larger ship with which it has been entrusted is the focus. The tugboat is the small but steady helper that leads the way through the midst of danger.

As God makes it possible, Tugboat Financial will be created to reflect these goals and to seek to bring glory to the Lord Jesus in the way it operates.