Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to reflect on the many blessings we receive. My year has been filled with love fromfamilyand friends. I enjoyed watching my junior partners and ourteam grow. I am gratified to see their passion and dedication grow as they share and oversee many duties of Professional Money Management (PMM).
Although we have experienced tremendous growth in commonly coveted industry metrics, such as assets under management, our team at PMM measures excellence by identifying and providing solutions for potential “train wrecks” that may change our client’s lives in a blink of an eye. I am proud to say we have made tremendous progress in that regard.
One thing I have learned over my thirty-eight (38) years in this profession is that one must be a lifetime learner. The education in this profession is never complete. It is an on-going pursuit that we are devoted to.
Our Junior Partner/Director of Client Experience, Jacob Hostetler, is working hard to streamline processes at PMM. Look forward to the many projects we are bringing to fruition in 2025 to make your client experience more enjoyable and meaningful.
Brandon Leeder, Junior Partner/Operations Manager, has assumed full responsibility of PMM finances. Brandon is currently working through additional coursework to further his financial planning profession. We look forward to his future success.
Greg Holzer, CFP®, has assumed securities trading responsibilities and as many of you may attest, has done an admirable job. Greg’s talent and passion for financial planning is evident and we look forward to seeing how far his talents take the team at PMM.
Our team at PMM has embodied the famous Confucius quote in 2024, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”. Although I truly enjoy my work more than I ever have, we all know the end to our story, and it is good to know that the team at PMM is ready, willing and able to meet the challenges life will present to us all, for years to come.
Many of the initiatives we implement at PMM are ideas that we gather at industry conferences. We were pleased to attend two (2) LPL conferences this year.
We attended the colossal LPL FinancialFocusconference in August at San Diego’s conference center. It is a chance to share ideas with the brightest individuals and financial planning firms in our industry. Also, it is a chance to reenergize our commitment to why we do what we do.
We heard Magician, former NFL long-snapper, and domestic violence survivor, Jon Dorenbos, share his insights for living with conviction and empathy. If you have a chance, I highly recommend his book “Life is Magic.” It encourages gratitude for the challenges each of us face in life. For it is through these challenges that we learn and grow. The book can be found on Amazon and the audiobook on Spotify’s podcasts. It is well worth the time.
Our PMM team was deeply honored to be invited to the LPL Financial Elevate conference in Houston, TX. Only two hundred and fifty (250) of the twenty-three thousand (23,000) LPL Financial advisors are invited. LPL Financial invites the fastest growing firms in the nation to learn from industry leaders and share ideas with the best and brightest at LPL Financial. We found our footing quickly at LPL Financial as our PMM team is one of the few financial planning firms to be invited two (2) years consecutively.
The year was filled with more funerals than weddings, but that is to be expected at my age. My Hostetler family was saddened to lose my Aunt Newana “Wanee” Krofta this year. I am grateful for her unconditional love. In fact, I truly believe that my lovely aunts were and are the source of all the love in our extended Hostetler family. I am truly blessed to have them in my life.
It was delightful to host my Aunt June and long-time family friend, Mary Miller, tocelebratetheir 97th and 95th birthdays, respectively. They are both in good health and their mental acumen sharp. They are an inspiration to all that know them. For those who have scoffed at our cash flow projections that assume you live to age 95…there you go!
Many of my Hostetler relatives enjoyed a 4th of Julycelebrationat my cousin Anne Miller’s River home that sits majestically above the Allegheny River. We celebrated the life of my Aunt Wanee and my eldest brother’s and sister-in-law’s, Ralph (Brent) and Stephanie, 50thWedding Anniversary.
The highlight of the year was PMM Junior Partner Brandon’sweddingto his lovely and bright bride, Brooke. Our PMM team was a big part of the wedding ceremony. Greg served as Best Man. Jacob was a Groomsman, and I was honored to serve as the Officiant of the wedding. And of course, Brandon made for a very handsome groom. It was a lovely wedding, and they enjoyed a fabulous honeymoon in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We welcome Brooke to the PMM family and look forward to watching their love and marriage grow.
2024 was a year to reconnect with “old friends”. For those of you that do not know, I attended Edinboro University from 1980-1982 and graduated from West Virginia University in 1985. I am grateful for the friendships I enjoyed during those years and incredibly happy to reconnect with friends from those formative years. I am proud of the people we have become and thankful for the positive influence each of those friends had on my life.
My talented and creative daughter, Danielle, continues to hone her skills as ahair stylist at Eric Smith’s salon in Greensburg. She and Jacob share a house together with their threecats. Seeing that I am allergic to cats, I wonder if they are sending me a message 😊
My wife, Toni, has not retired yet. At one point, she retired for a week and decided to return to her job as a sales representative for WHJB radio in Greensburg. Toni isdoing welland enjoys taking care of ourtwo doggies. She is patiently waiting for grandchildren. In the meantime, she is enjoying two new additions to our family. Our nephew, Derek, and his wife had their first baby,Penelopeand our niece, Taylor, and her husband had their first baby,Colin.
Toni is scheduled for hip replacement surgery on December 3rd. She has a wonderful team of doctors, and we are hoping for the best possible outcome. I will be out of the office for several days to help with her recovery.
We feel so blessed to have so many seeds of joy in our lives. You are a big part of the joy in our lives. You are the reason we bring passion to our work every day. We are thankful for our blessings this year and look forward to meeting the challenges of the new year with inspired passion to be the best team. We look forward to seeing you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dan