History

How We Got Started

I was recently asked by an investor and friend of mine why I started RedLeif Investments.
My response was a quick one: To help provide investors with a private equity return with a bond type risk. He then stated that this is the reason that I started the fund for my investors, but he was asking why I started the fund for myself. After a good amount of time thinking about, if you care to know my answer continue reading.

RedLeif Investments was born out of a youth spent in a rural environment, where tending a garden and mowing over an acre with a push mover where part of life. I know that this may seem like an odd place for a financial management company to start. The reality is that we bring are youth and the lessons learned into adulthood.

From the earliest I can remember, I helped my grandmother in the garden. This is where I learned patience, hard work, and the appreciation of watching something grow that I had a small hand in. At the end of the day, if you worked hard and did a good job you and the family enjoyed the fruit (and vegetables) of your labor. There were other lessons learned of course, but these are the ones that have help shape my entrepreneur spirit.

The other thing that I learned at about age nine was the concept of the market and investing. Seems young I know, but my father worked for Kroger grocery store and received stock. So, on Sunday afternoons we would buy a paper and check his Kroger stock. Over a year and a half we watched it go from $9 dollars a share up to $17 a share. This is the point when I became fascinated with the idea that you could place your money somewhere and come back later and it would have grown. This of course is a very naive view, but I was only nine.

My appreciation of watching something grow and my fascination with the markets has ultimately brought me to the formation of RedLeif Investments.