2020: Under Further Review

In our last edition of the Quality Investment Report we focused on the risks faced by surfers like Tom Brenner who like to surf big waves. In our most recent edition we hone in on Mark Halby who may be doing something even riskier than surfing big waves. For the last nine years Mark has been a high school football referee and a college football back-judge. With youth and college sports being hyper-competitive and crazy sports parents feeling very comfortable unloading on officials when they don’t like a call or penalty, we were curious to sit down with Mark and learn why he enjoys it so much.

Mark mentioned that he sees a lot of similarities between his crew of officials and the team at DLK.

“We each have a role to play, when a flag is thrown everyone’s voice is allowed to be heard in the huddle as we all have a different vantage point on the field. Each official’s voice and point of view is given equal weight by the referee who then becomes the mouthpiece for communicating the infraction. Humility in the pursuit of getting things right is paramount for our crews, everyone realizes they may have seen something but also missed something else. Getting the group’s point of view really makes a difference.”

The team at DLK has a similar set up. The processes for serving clients and asset selection sets up the framework for the running of the business. Much like the rules of a football game, DLK’s rules-based framework allows each member of the team to do their part, and then depending on who is the primary relationship manager for the client, that person ends up being the referee who handles the communication.

Mark finished our interview by pointing out some additional parallels between officiating and investment management and financial planning.

Pre-Snap Routine

“I need to have a mental checklist at the beginning of every play. I also have a consistent process regardless of the result or outcome of the last play, my pre-snap routine is the same for the next upcoming play.”

Separate players
Count the defense/offense
Confirm down, distance
Line to gain
Identify the formation and locate your key or area of responsibility
Check clock

Remaining Neutral and Calm in Turbulent Times

“When the game gets heated or comes down to one final play, it’s important to be able to remain neutral. I need to keep to my routine and not allow emotions or crowd noise to influence my action or decisions.”

Working as a Crew

“We must rely on information from others, especially as a referee. When I’m watching the quarterback, I don’t get to see what happens downfield. You learn to rely on your crew mates to paint that picture so that you can correctly enforce a penalty. Each crew member has a job, and the more we trust that each of us will do our job for the more successful the officiating crew.”

Mark Halby clearly loves the craziness of being a referee and we hope you agree that having such a levelheaded professional on the team at DLK has been a great addition.

Client Centered, Quality Focused. We are an independent, employee owned investment advisory firm with institutional quality practices that are applied to all aspects of our business. Our disciplined and balanced approach allows us to focus on the most important aspect of our job: creating long-term value for our clients. DLK is a diverse team of professionals who have experience in multiple areas of investment management, on both the advisor and client side.