Our Investment Philosophy

“Our investment philosophy can be summed up in five words, counted on one hand: the beauty of dividend growth.”
— Joey Lipp (PhD, ChFC), Founder & CEO, Freedom Quest

If you study the quotation above, you now have two specific questions to ask me when we run into each other:

  1. What is dividend growth investing?

  2. What is so beautiful about it?

Investments aren’t everything we do with you, but they’re a central piece of any rational plan to grow, protect, and pass on wealth. Plus, you can learn a lot about your actual or potential financial advisor by asking about his or her investment philosophy.

At Freedom Quest, we seek first principles for human flourishing in everything we do, and investments are no different. We teach our approach to investing on our Investment Philosophy statement. Currently it has 45 theses. Clients receive a full education on the theses, and you can read excerpts below.

Just remember: one’s investment philosophy is inseparable from, and consequent on, one’s broader view of everything else, e.g. human nature & human flourishing, divine matters, moral truths, freedom, virtue, the purpose of business — which explains some of the items on the statement that are not traditionally thought of as related to “money.”

Selections from Our Investment Philosophy: 45 Theses

#1. Wealth is freedom, of a certain kind.

#2. Money is purchasing power.

#3. The purpose of investing is to increase purchasing power.

#6. Money is about desire. Desire is about the most important things. Ergo: Money tells us what we love.

#7. Inflation is the enemy of money.

#8. There are two kinds of capital: Capital that is outpacing inflation and capital that is being outpaced by inflation.

#10. We aim to build true wealth, i.e., the first kind of capital, by being owners of businesses, not loaners to businesses..

#18. We do not invest in the “stock market.” (No one does.) We invest in businesses that we want to own.

#19. Business is inherently beautiful, being the free, uncoerced exchange of goods from one human to another.

#24. Dividends from The Great Companies are not a serendipitously superfluous benefit in investing. They are the Benefit.

#28. Equity investing makes one great demand of the human investor: faith in humanity. Its reward is wealth.

#30. The greatest investment “risk” is failing to achieve our goals.

#34. We invest based on our household goals and according to a rational plan. We do not invest out of fear.

#38. It is not the White House’s job to steward my household’s money. It is my job: My financial freedom is up to me.

#39. The White House’s job is to secure my natural and civic rights. (The Declaration of Independence)

#40. As goes a nation’s individual households, so goes the nation as household.

#41. The best defense of American liberty is the liberty of the American household.

#42. “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” (Benjamin Franklin)

#44. Pessimists sound smart. Optimists make money.

#45. All good long term financial decisions come from love.