I recently did my civic duty and served my time as a juror for the criminal court of Knox County.  We had a difficult case with disturbing charges.  The testimony was intense and the evidence complex. I sat with 12 other jurors (including 1 alternate) in the same area of the court room, heard the same testimony and viewed the same evidence.  When we were finally given the opportunity to begin deliberations we took an initial poll of where we each stood on the verdict.  The majority of the jury agreed on everything but there were 2 or 3 that saw/heard a completely different scenario.  How is it that people see and hear the exact same information but reach opposite conclusions?

Most people would say it’s because of our backgrounds, where we came from, how we were raised and what experiences we’ve had in life.  It’s the same experience I have with people when it comes to managing money.  I can have 2 families with approximately the same net worth and financial resources but their financial plan and investment strategies can be entirely different.  If you’ve been investing for very long you most likely have experienced a loss in your account at some point.  While those new to investing may have had a positive experience over the last few months.  Reality lies somewhere between the two.  At Oak Springs our goal is to avoid the down turns the general market experiences which in turn may limit the upside potential during general market upswings. But history shows our approach wins in the end.  And, it’s the end, the goal, that we’re after.

The same way we approach investment management is the same approach my jury took.  We met in the middle. We each gave up a little of our own convictions to put forth a verdict we all agreed accomplished the end goal.

-Carol Johnson