Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He was the most unlikely speaker ever. Now US Speaker
of the House Mike Johnson is presiding over what could
be the longest government shutdown in American history. What sustains
him and when will the shutdown end? And the folks
at Taylor for Gone Capital Management have some financial advice
for you all on this Arroyo Grande. Come on, I'm
(00:30):
Raymond Arroyo. Welcome to a royal grande. Go subscribe to
the show. Now turn the notifications on so you know
what's coming. And if you'd like to support the work
of the show, visit Raymondarroyo dot com. We really rely
on you. Mike Johnson had only served a few terms
in Congress when he was drafted after weeks of drama,
to become the fifty sixth Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(00:54):
Now Congress is locked in a government shutdown as he
approaches an anniversary. I sat down with him at the
Capitol to discuss what's driving the impasse and what grounds
him in the chaos that is Congress. Watch this this
week is the two year anniversary of your speakership. Fels
like twenty But yes, did you ever spend I mean
(01:17):
there were a series. This was three weeks of absolute
chaos here McCarthy, and then there was Steve Scalise and
your friend Jim Jordan. No one could get the vote. Finally,
Mike Johnson, Dusk, what did you think when you finally
got this.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, I was trying to whip the votes for those
other two guys, rememberants and brothers of mine. It was
not a job that I ever aspired to are expected to have.
But at the end of that tumultuous process getting at
the end of three weeks, we were doing permanent damage
to the country and the party. I'm honestly, prayerfully, I
just felt like God impressed by my heart that when
I was nominated I should step forward. By that time,
(01:54):
many members have been coming to me to do it.
So look, I'm a servant leader. I take no in
any of this. I'm just trying to get the job
done for the people, and I'm trying to make this
a member driven entity again, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
From the bottom up, not the top down.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I've tried to diffuse the power of the speakership and
really make it more member driven, and I think people
appreciate that, and they feel like they have a say
in that, and that's exactly what the founders intended.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
How did you prepare in that moment once you were
voted in? You had to do some soul searching. I mean,
we all have these moments where you're kind of called
to something you didn't expect.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
You wherever going to be called yes, And when that happens,
you realize you're at the limit of your own ability
and you have to rely upon God's power. Right, And
it's bigger than us. And I've talked about this President Trump.
I mean, we talk about spiritual matters often, and I say,
you know, the challenges we face are bigger than even
you individually, sir, and all of us collectively. We need
to fine guidance and we do well when we seek that,
(02:49):
and and God's responsive to it.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
This president has brought peace to the Middle East and
settled seven international conflicts. There are others in his cross hairs.
Can't break the gridlock on Capitol Hill. What will it
take you? In those meetings with Jeffries and Schumert, give
me a sense of that undo dynamic.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
If you well, I can tell you that the President
was showing real leadership. He brought us all in. He
likes to hear the sides of the various arguments, but
Schumer and Jeffries couldn't articulate in a particular point. They
still can't even today, and we're now on day sixteen
of the shutdown.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Till they haven't given you an ask. They haven't said,
this is what we need if we're going to vote
even for a continuing resolution exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And that ridiculous one point five trillion dollars counter proposals
that they filed is the offer on the table, and
it is patently absurd and everybody knows that. So they
don't seem to be in good faith even trying to
get out of this scenario.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And I have nothing left to give.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
We did not load up the continued resolution, the stop
gap funding measure that we passed out of the House
September nineteenth. We didn't put any of our Republican priorities
or policy writers on it at all. So there's nothing
I can go and take off of that to make
it more palatable for Sherman.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And Hocke, Jeff Jeffres.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
They just have to do the right thing, the common
sense thing, the thing they've done every time in the
past until now.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
This could well be the longest shutdown in history. How
long do you think we're looking at here? What will
break the dam here? I wish I could tell you that.
I hope it breaks soon.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
That's our prayer because this is exactly real pain on
real people. And every morning in the press conference we
come out and explain and go through the litany of
pains that are being felt by real people. The Democrats
in the Senate are plane politics right now for their
own political fortunes, and only they can answer when the
end will come.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I hope it's soon. Well, they claim these COVID era
Obamacare subsidies need to be replenished. Now. They couldn't pass
this because I remember this vote. They couldn't pass it
when they had the opportunity and they had the House
and Senate. But they're saying, you have to do it
or this is not going to end. Is that what
it takes? Will that open the dam here? No?
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Because they filed a counterproposal that's filled with all sorts
of things.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
That's just one of the demands.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It's one point five trillion dollars in new spending, including
restoring taxpayer funded healthcare to illegal aliens and non citizens,
to the tune of about two hundred billion dollars. That's
just one of the outrageous things they included in their demand.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Now they claim, do you see that in the bill?
Do you believe that currently illegals have access to healthcare?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
No, they don't, because we proscribed it in the law
in July fourth, in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
We eliminated all the loopholes.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
They literally put in their counterproposal, c are go look
at page fifty seven, section twenty one to forty one,
and it us right there. They want to repeal the
health subsection of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Well, look
into what that means. Would invalidate It invalidates all their reforms.
It restores the fraudation and abuse back to Medicaid and
makes the system implode upon itself. And they're demanding that
(05:43):
we call back fifty billion dollars that we put into
the law to support rural hospitals. I mean, we're just
not doing that. And they know it's absurd. They picked
a fight because they had to show a fight against Trump.
Here's what it boils down to, Raymond. Everybody knows the
fact Chuck Schremer is afraid of his shadow that there
is a rising Marxist wing to the Democratic Party and
they're taking over the politics. They're about to elect Mondami
(06:06):
the mayor of New York City. As shocking as that is,
and it shocks Chuck Schumer as well. He's assuming he
will get a challenge from AOC or some other Marxist
and he doesn't want to do that. So he's got
to show a fight right now. And his theory is
that if he does that, if he digs in, then
maybe they won't challenge him. The leaders of the Democrat
Party right now are Bernie Sanders and AOC.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
That's the whole thing. For the time being. The military
isn't being paid, by the way. The President has found
a way to pay them this pay period by basically
taking from research and development money at the Pentagon. Right
how long can he keep that up?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Well, it's not a permanent situation. It's a band aid fixed.
To your point, I'm so grateful for a heroic commander
in chief who understands the necessity of taking care of
those who are taking care of all of us. But
it is a temporary fix because those are not inexhaustible funds.
And the longer this goes, the more peril there is
for people wearing the uniform. What happens the next pay period?
It's coming up. It's a great question. We've got to
solve this before the end of the month. You know,
(07:00):
in order to process the paychecks on time, you have
to have at least two business days for this to
be resolved.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
So the clock is ticket.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Everybody knows. They're having a hate America rally on Saturday.
They call it the No Kings. We call it what
it really is. And watch for the video. They'll be
Antifa and BLM and you know, Marxist and the Prohamas wing.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
They'll all be out there.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
They cannot resolve this before then because they're afraid to
face that angry mob. And I hope after that at
least a handful of sensible Democrats will come to do
the right thing.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
How do you, as speaker balance what you I mean?
You're to nineteen? Is your majority to two thirteen, and
that number may be adjusting in a day or two.
How do you deal with that slender of majority?
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Speaking for much of this Congress, ninety or or so
of the first hundred days, we had a literal one
vote margin on any given day, we have one or
two votes, which means everybody's got to come along. Now,
I'm happy to tell you, Raymond, it's a lot of
work and effort, a lot of prayer and patience. But
we have the most unified Republican party we've ever had.
I mean the White House, the Senate, and the House
Republicans are a line. There's a couple of outliers, yeah,
(08:01):
but by and large everyone's rowing in the same direction,
and they're doing it enthusiastically.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Very big thing. There is this Thomas Massy discharge position
that now you know, to release the Epstein files your
thoughts on this. There's a new member you're about to
swear in. They think that will tip the balance. You'll
have the signatures and that will force a vote on
the floor. It probably will. This is Rep. Elect Rejava of.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Arizona, and she takes her oath she's going to sign,
I'm sure, and that'll be it. The discharge petition is
a totally moot point. Now why do we say that,
because the House Oversight Committee is dug in deeply on this.
Some of the biggest bulldogs in Congress, Republicans and Democrats
working together to combe through the Epstein files and release
them publicly. So thirty four thousand documents have been released,
(08:45):
more or on the way. While the government has shut
down the oversight of the House Overside Committe's attorneys have
been in New York spending a lot of time going
through the Epstein estate files, not even anticipating the DISCHARGINGI
we're from maximum transparency.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
It's all going to come out.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
We have to make sure that we protect and redact
the names of the innocent victims, and that's something we
have a real responsibility to do.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I remember before we met last time we read a
diner in your district. It was a much happier time.
You weren't dealing with all this. But at that time
I remember reading about your dad, Pat Johnson. Tell me
about him. I know he was a firefighter burn in
the line of duty during training. What did you learn
from him and what of that lesson do you carry
(09:29):
with you to No.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Well, my dad was a training officer and he led
the hazmat team in nineteen eighty four when I was
twelve years old. They were a captain an hydros ammonia
league and a cold storage facility and a big emergency
and the building exploded and he got burned eighty percent
of his body three degree burns. So he was permanently
disabled after that, severely burned. And my whole aspiration in
life was to be the chief of the Shreveport Fire
Department and my corner at Northwest Louisiana, because I was
(09:52):
so enthralled with the fraternity of the fire service, and
I grew up with the training academy where.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
My dad worked.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
But that was a change of course in my life.
I might well have done that, and maybe that would
have been my highest calling, Raymond, But here I am
now trying to put out different kinds of fires, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
But what it taught me when I was young.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I was the oldest of four kids and had to
take on a lot of responsibility at the time as well.
But it taught me the importance of faith and that
God is real and active. He spared my dad's life.
He gave us another three decades with him. He passed
away tragically three days before I got elected to Congress.
And I often think, my mind, I wish he was
here and could see all this. But in some ways
(10:30):
I think he is well.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
He is, you bet, and his spirit continues in you
through all of this, you have a covenant marriage, which
is a law that you labored to have passed in
the Louisiana State legislature. Why a covenant marriage? And people
often comment, even your staff, about how close Hugh and
Kelly are and how you brighten when she walks through
(10:52):
the holes.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, she's a married way out of my league, Raymond Kelly.
She's the very lady and we're partners and this and
she's my closest advisor and a person I trust the most.
In twenty six years ago and we got married. It
was a brand new law. Tony Perkins, who now is
the preensident of Family Research Council alder the law. He's
a young state legislator And in Louisiana and a few
other states, there's an option you can do conventional marriage
(11:14):
or covenant marriage, and that legally. The difference is it's
closer to the way the Bible designed it, and you can't.
You have to do pre marital counseling before you get
married to just have out the discussions that you should
and then you commit. If you're a marriage it's in trouble,
you have to do counseling again, and you have to
live separate in a part for two years instead of
(11:34):
one hundred and eighty days as in most default statuts.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
So it's really a symbolic.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Thing that a commitment you make to your spouse that
this is real, it's not a transitory thing, and you
regard it as a covenant between you and your spouse
and God.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
That's the way we see it. You spent a lot
of your early career as a lawyer defending religious liberty cases,
and there are ICE deportations, as you know, underway all
across the country. Some religious leaders are saying ICE is
targeting churches, They're surrounding churches or near them. Do you
see this as a possible infringement on the religious liberty
(12:11):
of people.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
That's actually the first I've heard of that. I'm not
certain it's true. I mean, there's a lot of unfounded
allegations that are stated about ICE right now. But we
do jealously regard religious freedom in this country, always have.
It's deeply embedded in the history and tradition of the country,
and we do well to stand by that.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Yeah, Okay, I have some questions. I ask everybody on
this show, who's the person you most admire living or deceased,
and be either up to you.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I mean in politics, I mean you would say Jesus,
of course.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
But left that is a pretty good one.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
I mean, that's the obvious. I mean Ronald Reagan was
a happy warrior. I still think of him often the president.
The President Trump put Reagan's portrait prominently placed right behind
the resolute desk, and it's in all the shots. And
I think we all admire him for the way he
handled the job and the way he did it. And
he was, in the addition, business and politics understood that
a lot of people into the party, not unlike President Trump. Yeah,
(13:02):
and I can tell you I have great admiration for
our current.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
President as well. He's want to be kind. I spent
a lot of time with him.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
They'll never be another one like him, and his record
of accomplishment is astounded.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
What's the best piece of advice you ever received?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
What is popular isn't always right, and what is right
isn't always popular. Oh yeah, somebody told me that when
I was in seventh grade, and I never forgot it.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
It's pretty good advice. Yeah. What does Mike Johnson know
that others don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I don't profess to be the wisest man. I know
a lot of things about Congress and its operation that
I didn't know before. But what I try to operate
under his biblical principle. I know it sounds trite, but
if you practice the promises and the commands of Scripture,
it turns out well in the end. And I have
ultimate faith and trust in that. And that's what guides
us through.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
What's your biggest regret in these last two years as speaker?
Is there one? I don't know what I have to
think about that. I really don't.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
I don't sit around and ponder what's happened behind. Is
that I look forward. I have to, you know, And
that's another biblical aminition. You be faithful in the little
thing before you to day and trust God with the rest.
And I'm sure there's lots of regrets. I made lots
of mistakes, But in my defense, I came to the
job unwittingly right. I didn't plan or train for this thing.
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
History will record. What would you what would you be
doing if you weren't doing.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
This, I'd probably be practicing law, still doing religious liberty litigation.
I enjoyed that work a lot of rewarding, But I'd
be spending a lot more time with my family to
tell you that they're all in involved, and we've got
them kind of collected here on Capitol Hill a lot
of the time, our kids, and they're all they feel
the part of this, and that's important to me.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
What's the word you cannot live without? The word I
cannot live without keep it clean? My constitution? How about that? Oh?
Was that a good? Say? There you go? What happens
when this is over? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
I don't spend a lot of time contemplating that. I
mean again, I got to be faithful what's before me today.
I'm in crisis management mode every hour and every day
and fifth year, constantly since October at twenty twenty three
when they handed me the gabble. We're in perilous, unprecedented times.
But I'm absolutely convinced that God has a plan for
America and he's given us another chance. And I'm just
trying to be faithful in that responsibility every day. And
(15:20):
I don't worry about tomorrow. Today has enough trouble of
its own.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
What do you fear most about the country and what
gives you the greatest hope, And I'll end there.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
The greatest concern I have about the future is that
we have rising adversaries in the world, and there is
a march for Marxism and the Jihati kind of theology
and ideology.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Very dangerous times.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
But the thing that gives me hope is that I
sense and I feel that we are having a resurgence
of not just common sense but faith as well. And
as you know and you've discussed it, I mean, the
statistics prove what we know intuitively. There is a resurgence
of Christian faith in particular and especially in the next generation.
And I'm just deeply, greatly encouraged by that, and I
(16:05):
believe our best days ahead of.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Us are mister speaker, Thank you for the time. Thank you,
my friend, Thank you great to see you. We want
to thank Speaker Mike Johnson for the time and his
staff for helping us arrange that. And with markets wildly
fluctuating through all of this, where is the best place
to invest your money now? And what about those who
want investments that reflect their deepest held values. Together Karen
(16:29):
and Jerry, for Gone have built a company Taylor for
Gone Capital management that actively manages portfolios in the public
and private markets while prioritizing faith, family and long term stewardship.
Would you'll welcome Karen and Jerry for Gone. Thank you
both for being here together. You all really have built
(16:50):
an important mission through your company, Taylor for Gone, which
is an investment firm and it actively manages portfolios in
both the public and the private markets, and specifically, I
know you designed them to prioritize faith and family and
long term stewardship. Jerry, you began your early career coming
(17:11):
up through the ranks of Merrill Lynch.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Tell me about that. How did that prepare you for this?
Speaker 4 (17:16):
Well, I would say, first off, I spent ten years
too long there. I should have done this sooner. But nonetheless,
you know, it was really a great training ground for
you know, learning just the business in general of investments
and markets and the economy. And you gave me the
ability to build a business of clients, a book of
(17:37):
clients that then ultimately was the seed if you will,
for Taylor for Gone Capital.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
Twenty one years of doing that, and you.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Know gave me some good insights on you know, how
to approach managing portfolios for clients. I would say more so, though,
because of my experience with mentorship from actually Karen's father, Dictates,
who was one of the original portfolio managers back with
tro Price in Baltimore in the sixties and seventies and
(18:07):
was my mentor through the years, even though we never
put our businesses together. While I was at meryll And
he realized with six kids and Karen being the youngest
of five girls and one boy, after five years of marriage,
I think you figured out that I was actually in
a similar business, and from there on we became super close.
At the end of his life in two thousand and four,
(18:28):
he died relatively young at seventy.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
We had been talking together almost every day for.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Fifteen years, and that really was the basis for my
learning the business. But I think the basis when you're
talking about faith in finance was really more just about
my evolution and growth in my Catholic faith over the
years that has ultimately led us to where we are
today in approaching the whole business with that faith background.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Karen, this really was in your blood as well then
capital management, I mean, because of your father's firm. Tell
me a little bit about your individual approach and the
shared background and how family became part of this model.
Speaker 6 (19:12):
Well, I honestly can't say that my father ever taught
me anything about finance other than being hardworking. And my
first job out of college was with the Savings and
theone back before they disappeared. But then I worked with
a nonprofit and then also with Oracle where and all
of my experience, my superpower was really my technology or
(19:36):
learning how to use computers and programs and apps. I
was an excel whiz at doing things like that. So
Jerry asked me to help him with a project when
he was at Merrill Lynch and took it from there.
I started my own little operations business with him.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
So huh.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
And the model of the firm is in the mission
really is faith, family and finances. How did you come
to that and why is it important? First and foremost
the faith part to you?
Speaker 4 (20:06):
Jerry, I would say, as I mentioned earlier, it's an
evolutionary process because early on and look, I'm a cradle Catholic,
Karen is too, but we've grown in our faith over
the years, and I would say part of it is
driven by you know, forty years in this business now
that first twenty one with Meryll, I think there was
(20:28):
an expectation, you know, we always approached the business. I
always approached the business with the idea that you're going
to do things based on sound morals and principles, much
of which all of which I learned from my upbringing
as a Catholic. But I think we assumed, and maybe
rightfully so, that back in those days the business world
tended to operate more off of those principles. And in
(20:51):
recent years, i'd say maybe the last ten to fifteen years,
largely the period of time that we've had Taylor for
Gone Capital as a separate entity, we saw, I believe
we saw straying away from what would have been, you know,
the principles of Christendom, if you will, operating in the
business in the marketplace. And as that was happening, and
as we were growing more in our faith, it was
(21:14):
becoming I think more important to approach the business overall
with that idea of spreading you know, spreading the Gospel,
so to speak, spreading the faith in the context of
making sure that we're operating our portfolios, adhering to those
principles and adhering to the truths of the faith. And interestingly,
in these last few years, I think in general, those
(21:37):
like us that have approached an engagement model or approached
it from an engagement perspective with the companies that we
invest in, and how we talk to clients about how
they view their overall wealth and well being from a
faith perspective has become more and more important, I think,
more and more impactful. And so where we You know,
if we went back ten years and we were not
(21:58):
paying attention to how corporate America, for example, had started
going down the road that we see in media and
that we saw in academia.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
I think we've kind of stemmed.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
The tide in these last few years taking that approach
of engaging companies as we have done.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Work like, yeah, I don't want to get ahead of people.
When you say engage company, you all mean what explain
that to the odience.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
So in our practice we do all our own investment
management ourselves.
Speaker 5 (22:25):
We do all the research into the individual companies.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
We don't farm anything out, and so the engagement is
that we're talking to management all the time.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
I mean, and we always had.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
From the standpoint of just purely what's going on with
their business and their finances, so that we can make
sound investment decisions as to which company we want.
Speaker 5 (22:41):
To put in our portfolios.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
The engagement comes in those I think there's a model
that is disengagement or disinvestment. You know, we're not going
to invest in this particular company because they do X
Y Z.
Speaker 5 (22:56):
Now, there are particular no go.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Zones I would say for us in the Catholic faith
that you know, certainly abortion and things of that nature
that that we would we would just go not go
near if a company was somehow involved in that. Fortunately,
it's kind of hard to find companies that are directly
involved in that, thankfully.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
But nonetheless those are those might be no go zones.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
But there's other areas where our company might be doing
things that are you know, for example, with this proliferation
of the THEESG DEI phenomenon over these last ten or
fifteen years, you know, we found it better to engage
with these companies and kind of point out where they
might be doing things that just don't make sense, not
only from a base standpoint, but even from a legal standpoint.
(23:39):
As it turned out with these DEI programs, which which you.
Speaker 5 (23:42):
Know, we're essentially breaking those civil rights laws.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So that's what we mean by engagement is we have
access to talking to these companies because we do the
individual research on companies ourselves, because we are managing our
portfolios ourselves obviously both public and private companies, and so
that's where we think we can and have the most impact.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Right, And Karen, how do you help your clients realize
this notion of contributing to the common good, that it's
not just investing money and looking for a return, but
that there's good being done. These are these this company
or the actions that they bring into society.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
Well, everybody wants to be able to feel good about
where their money goes. But more than that, do you
want to be able to feel stable in their finances.
The biggest issue that affects families is finances, good or bad. Right,
So as long as they're Catholic.
Speaker 7 (24:40):
Faith, and.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
They can follow that with you, whether it's through philanthropy
or through making sure that their children are guided in
the right way. So we have legacy. We deal with
clients who have children and grandchildren. If you need to
teach them how to manage finances number one, but also
(25:05):
you know the principles behind it. Basic capitalism or you know,
taking care of your family. It's all about first and foremost,
you know, subsidiarity. You got to take care of your
family first, and you know, do it in a in
a moral and Catholic guidance.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
How do you teach them? How do you teach young people,
particularly children?
Speaker 4 (25:25):
You know, I think the best way Raymond to do
that is by example. Yeah, she took the words right
out of my mouth. We don't hang out together very much. Yeah,
by example. And I would also add to what Karen
said about how do you do this? Yeah, you know,
the system that we live in functions well when it's
adhering to those Christian principles that we that have been
(25:48):
proven throughout the millennia. And in fact, companies that are
running their business according to those principles are going to
be the ones that are most successful. Sure, for any
short period of time, you know, frouds can end up
looking like they're you know, they're doing well.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
But sooner or later things catch up to them.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
And we think that that's something we always in our
shop we talk about investing in companies that are well
managed in front of fertile fields of growth. What is
well managed me I mean, if that's not in the
eyes of the beholder, I don't know how much more
it could be. Because well managed for us is is
basing their decisions not just on sound business principles and
(26:28):
you know, managing their their their house correctly from a
financial standpoint, but also how they approach their employees, how
they approach their customers, approach their customers.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Or their clients.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
You know, companies that adhere to those principles end up
being the ones that are successful. So if you're finding
good people, if you're looking across the table from an
investment a company that you're looking at, a prospective company
you're looking to invest in, you find a hard time
finding it hard to look into the eyes of the
people that are running the company. My advice is you run,
don't walk to the nearest exit. It's almost all he's
(27:00):
going to end up ending badly if you go for
or when you're working with somebody that you can't look
into their eyes and feel good about it.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Well, Karen, what are you all telling individual investors that
come to you today? What do you advise them about
not only the marketplace, but about the power of that investment.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Well, first of all, I'm the operations. I am in
the behind, so I am not advisor. I do not
talk to clients about that kind of thing. That would
be Jerry. So there's another thing about our family. You know,
we work together practically twenty four to seven. But I
have my role and Jerry has his role.
Speaker 7 (27:31):
Isn't that a typical.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Okay, Jerry, she's passing the buck to you.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
I am yes.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
I mean I think it all plays off of what
we've already talked about.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
You know, what are we advising people for? One thing?
Speaker 4 (27:43):
You know, our model is actually a pretty simple model,
and I think the simpler people can can keep their
finances the better. I mean, finance gets very complicated very quickly, especially.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
For wealthier people.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
I mean they just start running it is. It's true,
the more you have sometimes the more problems it creates.
But even then, we want to simplify. We want to
keep things so that we're not getting overly caught up
in in gimmicks and games to try and beat the system,
if you will. In fact, that's part of our overall
model of investment over long periods of time. The most
(28:19):
important thing we can tell clients is, look, we adhere
to those principles that we talked about, but then when
it comes to the actual implementation and in the investments themselves,
we believe it's really important to ride through multiple market
and economic cycles and be able to, you know, sustain
yourself mentally when things are difficult, and know that what
(28:42):
you're really investing. And we talk about it, we're investing
in the business. We're not trading in the public markets.
That's maybe purer in the private markets because in the
private markets they don't trade every day. If you're buying
a company that's private, it doesn't trade any day, so
it's a little purer. You can make that long term argument,
you know. Trow Price said something that we talk about
(29:02):
all the time. The great fortunes in this country were
made by men that held their held positions and companies
for generations in some cases. Right, So we look at
investment and the planning that goes along with it as
a as a multi generational process. And I think if
people looked at investment that way instead of like this quick,
(29:23):
you know, get rich type thing, I think we'd all
be better off. And I would say that the industry
has has has very much contributed to that problem, and
that we've we've we preach long term, but then we
sell things to people that are very short term oriented.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
So that's a problem.
Speaker 6 (29:40):
I will also add as far as the operations perspective
and the client that many times clients have thanked us
for simplifying back to that, you know, being able to
simplify if they've had accounts at four or five six
different places and have you know, hundreds, if not thousands
of different musual funds and investments, that you know, we
(30:00):
can help them simplify and it causes so much less
stress and they can trust that their finances are in
good hands that they don't have to think about it.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Okay, here's the tough question for both of you. Crypto.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I keep hearing everybody I know, young people, middle aged people,
they're dumping their money into crypto.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Is this a wise investment?
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Jerry?
Speaker 4 (30:23):
You know, I think that it is in the context
of the broader picture of what crypto or blockchain technology
is trying to do. It is a decentralization. So Karen
mentioned the word subsidiarity earlier. You know where was bitcoin born.
It was born in nine which is in the wake
of this big scandal and crisis of the financial markets,
(30:46):
the financial world where what I would say is an
extraordinarily and dangerous level of financial engineering took place. And
Bitcoin was a means to try and get away from
what is I'm getting a little more technical here into
the weeds, but fiat money, which is which is what
all of the major central banks of the world print,
(31:07):
is money that's not tied to anything. The concept of
bitcoin was to separate away from those centralized bureaucratic authorities.
And look at what's happened, I mean bitcoin versus the
dollar over these you know, sixteen years since it's been
in existence, has been just off the charts favorable. Can
people get caught up in again the short term trading mentality? Absolutely,
(31:30):
and that's a danger and that's something that you have
to be.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Super careful about.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
But I think as this market evolves, as this this
concept evolves, Bitcoin was just the beginning. Now we're seeing,
you know, the second version with the likes of Ethereum
and Solana and these these platforms.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
That are being used.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
That is going to be very.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Important for a further decentralization and privacy aspect of various
different industries in finance, at real estate, just basic transactions
being done on a blockchain, which which ensures more security.
Speaker 5 (32:03):
In the long run.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
So yeah, I think overall that's a good thing, but
one must be careful to not get caught up into
the trade.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
I am stunned, Karen.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
I mean, I'm kind of surprised that Jerry's advocating this.
It's not based on anything, you know, I thought a
moment ago you were saying, you got you're investing in
the company. Well, that's a tangible asset. You can see
the people, you can see the spreadsheet, you know what's coming.
Bitcoin is basically investing in pixie dust, isn't it.
Speaker 6 (32:33):
Well, a lot of what Jerry is investing in is
the companies that support the systems, so the technology that
supports this.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
I guess my pushback on that, Raymond would be, what
are you investing in when you buy a dollar?
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Well, the dollar investing in the dollar, I'm investing in
a company. The dollar is the trend that you know.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
The holding dollars, You're holding what is essentially a currency that's.
Speaker 5 (32:57):
An iou nothing right, and.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
It's and it's manipulated and controlled by a centralized bureaucracy.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Well client on the government, right, protecting that asset or
in or or or given credibility to that.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Asset, and it's a naturally inflating asset because they can
print anything they want. The concept of biitcoin as a
as a monetary alternative and a store of value.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Think of it like this.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
Yes, you can hold gold in your hands and nice
and shiny and what have you, but offer all practical
purposes other than that, unless you want to make jewelry,
it's kind of not very useful. Bitcoin is like digital gold, okay,
But more important than just digital gold and bitcoin is
what's coming from the technology of the blockchain itself and
(33:45):
the ability to be able to have these secure transactions
generated on this chain of of of transactions.
Speaker 5 (33:53):
That's all a blockchain is is.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
It's a it's a it's a functional ledger, a digital ledger,
if you will, of transactions that can be proven and
you offer a level of security and privacy that we
have a hard time getting nowadays.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, I want to shift gears and talk about the
research you talked about that a moment ago, the research
that you expand really investigating these investments.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
What are you looking for?
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Are you looking for principles that will align with an investor,
and why is that so important to people or why
should it be so?
Speaker 4 (34:28):
I think going back to our motto of well managed
companies in front of fertile fields of growth, I mean,
first and foremost, we are here to make make money
for people in an ethical way, right, And I think
what you end up with with companies that are being
innovative and are being creative and how they grow and
run their business, what you end up with is companies
(34:52):
that end up being very successful and end.
Speaker 5 (34:54):
Up making good money.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
You know, there are oftentimes it's difficult when you have
or people will perceive that it's difficult when you have
the kind of charge that we have that you want
to invest based on a core set of principles that, oh, well,
then you're going to somehow not have as good a return.
Quite the contrary again to what I said earlier. If
companies are running their business appropriately, and that's not to
(35:20):
say they don't have to be smart, I mean, you
are the most principal person in the world, but you
don't have a very good product or service, and then
that's not going to work for us.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
So they've got to be principled.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Well managed, and then they have to also have a
very innovative, very creative product or service that we can
then say, Okay, yes, that's where the world is going,
and we're interested in being a part of that.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Yeah, Karen, you all have been very innovative as far
as engaging the media. You have a substack blog, your podcast,
The Long Only Podcast has been quoted in Forbes Finance
and TD Americ Trade Business Insider.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
What's the most surprising thing.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
You will learned or reported recently that we need to
know now?
Speaker 6 (36:04):
Well, to be honest, Jerry and I are the old
school here, right, We've brought on our son to join
our family business.
Speaker 7 (36:12):
Right, he's got the.
Speaker 6 (36:14):
You know, his his uh fingertips on what's happening, and
he actually wrote an article about, you know, what we
do in the in the culture of right now.
Speaker 7 (36:24):
It's in Crisis magazine.
Speaker 6 (36:27):
So this is what's surprising is how people are reacting
to that article and.
Speaker 7 (36:34):
How they people really want to do something.
Speaker 6 (36:37):
And participate in this movement that's happening in the world today.
But yeah, the Long Only Podcast refers to the fact that, yeah,
it's we long term investments, but we're also here for
the long haul to heaven, right we all want to
get to the heaven. That's the long trip. So yeah,
I don't know, Jerry, do you have anything that do
you want to add.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
To that kind of what's important nowadays or what's the
hot button? You can't not talk about AI?
Speaker 7 (37:01):
And right, Yeah, there is a whole series on.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
That and we've we've actually published a number of what
we call narratives, one of which I think is particularly
special on the on the AI THINGU which does have
you know, there are concerns around it, but uh, you know,
I think ultimately the positives far outweigh the negatives that
are there. Has to be it has to be done
(37:25):
in a in a in a in a proper way.
And that's where again adhering to the principles of the faith.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
If you stay to those.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
Principles, you're going to be just fine with AI. If
you you know, the way you would have a problem
with AI is is people deviating you know, transhumanism and
all these crazy kinds of things that you know would
be deviations from the faith. It's important to stay at
the forefront and that's what we're using and to be
commenting on what is being talked about out there and
(37:54):
that's what we're using our blog and podcasts for us
to try and keep people aware of what we're thinking
and what.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
Makes us tick.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
Because especially when you're talking about a very long term
investment rise and like for us owning an investment for
ten and fifteen and even twenty plus years, we've had
some that we've owned for over twenty years, it's important
to focus constantly, really on why it is that you
own those positions. Because the world wants you to be
(38:23):
making a decision at buying low and selling high every
second of every day.
Speaker 5 (38:27):
That's a fool's errand it truly is a fool's errand.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
And so but in order to make sure people are
staying centered, you have to keep informing as to why
it is that it's important to hang on to this position. Now,
that's not to say this isn't just long long only
in its context of we buy and we hold everything
forever and ever. No part of managing is continuing to
stay on the pulse of what's going on out there
and make sure you're lined properly.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
I'm going to ask you both this question, the best
advice you would offer young people A young couple just
starting out should they do, how much of their how
much of their income should they be dedicating to investment,
and what would be your strategy for them?
Speaker 6 (39:09):
Have a budget, talk about it from the very beginning,
from you know, even before you get married.
Speaker 7 (39:14):
Understand that the finances can be.
Speaker 6 (39:16):
A major issue that could you know, cause conflict in
your family. So just be able to talk about it
and stick to your budget. And also part of that budget,
Jerry would say, right that you have a little bit
that you.
Speaker 7 (39:27):
Pay yourself every month, and that's your investing. That's where
you're investing. And we have products that will do that
for the you know, the.
Speaker 6 (39:34):
Very first investor for our mutual fund, to the high
net worth investor.
Speaker 7 (39:38):
We have everything in between. So that but all families.
Speaker 6 (39:43):
Need to be able to give, uh, you know, teach
responsibility to their children about how to work hard for
their money. And then you know, here's something you pay
for taxes and so here's something you pay.
Speaker 7 (39:53):
Remember that. Do you ever hear that game rich dad,
poor dad?
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (39:58):
So I caught that to our kids when they were
go up and they had their lemonade stands and their
cookies stands and stuff. So it's always important to you know,
teach children how the value of work and the value
of the dollar.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
The taxation important part is really important so they understand
where government comes in.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
It'll get you to go whether you're at the beginning
or the end.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
What would you say to retirees people who are worried
about the market. I mean, you know, I know people
have only invested their whole lives in mutual bonds.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
They're afraid of the market place. You would say what
to them?
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Well, first off, I think if that's the only thing
you've ever invested in, you haven't participated in the growth
of the economy because that's a fixed interest investment. In
our view is that there's better ways to invest in
to be completely subject to inflation. I think the biggest
mistake that retirees make is that they get too conservative
over They stayed to conservative from day one and missed
(40:53):
out on the great growth that the economy has had
to offer over time.
Speaker 5 (40:59):
And so that's a huge problem.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
Equal maybe not as equally problematic, is they get to
that date where they quote unquote retire and they turned
completely conservative and then they you know, nowadays they're living
a lot longer. I mean, we have clients getting into
their nineties regularly now, and you know you don't want
to be outliving your money. We have a saying don't
don't have your client spend the only life that they
(41:25):
have to live. On the one hand, meaning don't be
so crotchety that you won't live your life. But on
the other hand, I also get so conservative that then
you can't live that life.
Speaker 5 (41:36):
You know you can't. You don't have the resources to
live that life. So I think most retirees get way too.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
Conservative and and as a result end up making it
a lot harder for themselves. This is why it's so
important to have that that long term horizon and invest accordingly.
When I mentioned that the industry has not done anybody
any services by a you know, preaching long term but
then coming up with products that are very short term oriented,
(42:04):
you got to avoid that. And it's really not that complicated.
Just stay simple, own good businesses and own them for
long periods.
Speaker 6 (42:12):
We also have a client who at eighty five wrote
an article for Forbes saying, don't retire.
Speaker 7 (42:18):
Keep working.
Speaker 6 (42:19):
You know, it keeps you your minds sharp, but keep
your body moving, keeps your blood going, and keep you know,
so maybe you do something different from what you did
for fifty years.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
But maybe don't retire.
Speaker 4 (42:31):
This is probably another podcast, Raymond, But yeah, I do.
I do think that we've I do think that we've
made a mistake also in our industry in pushing this
idea of retirement. On what we've done is we've we've
in many ways pushed the most, the brightest, and the smartest,
wisest certainly people out of the workforce. And you know,
(42:55):
we're talking about workforce shortages right now as the reasons
why we need to import a lot of work. You know,
how about we keep people on the job longer and
let them give us their talent.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
I agree with periods of time.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Yeah, and I do think, you know, I saw it
with my own grandfather. He built his own business. He
really died with his boots on. He didn't, you know,
he kept working until he died. And I think there's
something wonderful about that. He was in his eighties, but
he wanted to be there. He wanted to keep doing
what he did, and he needed help and there were
people around him who could. But he was living in
(43:28):
his restaurant and making people happy, and it brought him
joined and kept him active and focused. Jerry and Karen
thank you so much for your time, and you can
visit taylorfregone dot com for more information. They have tailored
packages depending on where you are on life's journey and
again Faith Family Finance. They united in a powerful way.
(43:50):
Karen and Jerry for Gone, Thank you for being here.
Thank you Ramon for more. Check out Taylor for Gone
Capital Management there at Taylor for Gone, and I hope
you'll come back soon to the Arroyo Grande Show. Why
live a dry, constricted life when if you fill it
with good things, it can flow into a broad, driving
(44:11):
Arroyo Grande.
Speaker 3 (44:12):
I'm Raymond Arroyo.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
Make sure you subscribe like this episode and by the way,
in comments tell us what you think. Thanks for diving
in and we'll see you next time. Bine O Arroyo
Grande is produced in partnership with DP Studios and iHeart Podcasts.
It's available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get
your podcasts