Family Values
by Genevieve Valentine, J.Valentine, S.White, M.Vera, E.Duarte, & G.Costa

Matt Vera:

When John Valentine spoke about the world of investments, it sounded almost magical. It was 1997 and I was interviewing John for a school project. We discussed covered call writing on Chevron stock. I fell in love with the mathematics behind covered calls. He stressed the importance of being ethical, loyal to your clients, and how having a strong work ethic makes you a better man. I vividly imagined a profession where I would help individuals leave a financial legacy to their children and grandchildren. In 1999, I didn’t exactly know how I would achieve this, but I knew I wanted to learn and wanted to join John’s team.

Later that year, I began shadowing John Valentine. I will never forget sitting in a meeting where he and a Chevron employee were discussing the upcoming Chevron-Texaco merger. At the time, I didn’t understand the magnitude of this merger. When I entered into this field, Chevron had a finance reorganization, the Ortho Division sell off, a pipeline reorganization, a credit service reorganization and like I mentioned before, the Chevron and Texaco merger.  I learned quickly that life events affect a person’s attitude toward investing. Changes in corporate Chevron directly influenced the way I help people financially prepare for life’s unexpected changes. People make decisions based on the cultural and history surrounding them and I must acknowledge their life story when discussing finances.

In fact, it wasn’t until 2002 when I was given the opportunity to tour the 38th and 40th floors of 575 Market Street that I fully understood the rich history of Chevron. There were oil paintings, displayed artifacts from around the world, and pictures of Ex-CEOs, presidents, and kings.  These objects enriched my desire to learn more about how to better serve our Chevron clients. I wanted to be a part of their world and create our own Chevron Family Tree.

I find it ironic now, but later that year, I was updating a client’s file, which included notes from Scott Burbank dating back to 1996. It was then that I realized I was somehow already a part of Chevron’s/Valentine Capital’s history. I don’t know how it happens, but one day you wake up and realize that you have evolved into a human being influenced by the history surrounding you.

In 1999, I thought 2009 was a lifetime away. But now sitting in 2010, I see how time flies when you are determined to help people successfully transition from one part of their lives to another. Just like the Chevron-Texaco merger, I have emerged into a man who is grateful to be a part of this team’s growth.  

Steve White:

When Genevieve asked me to jot down my thoughts about Valentine Capital, the first word that came to mind was “family”. I started working for the Valentine firm in 1994, just 18 months after my accident, and was one of the original 4 team members. I have seen this firm transform from one man’s vision to a bustling team of 20+ people servicing hundreds of clients across the United States. I believe a great deal of our success is due to our close family environment. Just like any family or any market, there are ups and downs. But at the end of the day, we are a team with a goal: “Providing the best service for our clients.”    
 
I was an underprivileged, disabled father, when I joined this team. VCAM not only helped me become a more productive, successful individual; it gave me a family. The Valentine family (my now extended family) has literally opened up their doors to me.  I have participated in weddings, birthdays, baptisms, super bowl parties and holidays. I have been very fortunate and am proud to say that I work with and for a passionate, supportive, devoted family---my family.

I take great pride in being the team mate that runs our AXYS/Advent program. I love people and working with and for our clients. I enjoy coming to work because I get to help our clients and provide support to my team.  

Ed Duarte:

225 Bush Street and 575/555 Market Street, San Francisco—those are addresses I will never forget.  I would say that my career with Valentine began within a 1 mile radius of the Chevron SF Headquarters.  It was 1993. John Valentine and I would take BART from Fremont to the Montgomery Station, stop for coffee at Java Coffee Shop, and then make our way to prospective client appointments. We were a small boutique firm educating Chevron Executives on what made us different from any other firm. We weren’t the everyday stock brokerage. Valentine was the underdog, with a vision to educate investors on an institutional approach to investing. I think one of my favorite bits of knowledge that John would share with our prospective clients was how our custodian was also the underwriter who issued bonds to Chevron and of course, the fact that my father was in the oil industry for 55 years, dating back to 1938.

Valentine moved our office to San Ramon in 2000. I will never forget the excitement I felt when Chevron relocated its corporate headquarters from San Francisco to San Ramon in 2002. Although the days of BART rides were over, it is nice to know that our time spent bustling from Fremont to SF was the ground work of what Valentine became. Just like I am proud to say that this firm started off with hard work, sweat and tears, and many BART passes. John never shied away from a “no”. Instead he would ask “What can I do better?” VCAM is about educating, informing and doing our best for our clients. In the almost 20 years I have been associated with VCAM, we have never swayed from providing the best service possible.

Greg Costa:

I met John Valentine 12 years ago when I was a mutual fund wholesaler calling on 5000+ financial advisors from central to northern California. I worked with many advisory firms, and yet after most of my Valentine appointments, I would call my wife and say “Honey, there is something different about this firm.” I was intrigued by the business philosophies. Valentine used nonadversarial methods of acquiring and maintaining clients. There was a strong bond and relationship alignment between Valentine and companies like Chevron and American Airlines. The team approach was structured after Chevron’s structure (Key Job Responsibilities, alignments, initiatives, Chevron business consultants). Innovative portfolio designs and allocations were a priority and of course, clients’ needs always came first.

When I was asked to join the Valentine Team, I was honored. I was a seasoned professional. I was/am of the Chevron/American Airline demographic. I relate to them and they relate to me.  When I joined that team, I didn’t know that I would learn more about financial planning and about being a team player than at any other point in my career. Valentine Capital prides itself on educating themselves on every investment opportunity out there. We throw ideas off each other. We think outside of the box. We use each other as a sounding board. My perspective on the investment world and on how meticulously a team can work together has greatly increased. I am a smarter professional for working with and alongside John Valentine.  

John Valentine:

From the time my first son Zachary was born, I have been passionate (like most parents) about trying to capture every moment of his life. I have boxes and boxes of pictures, as well as a scrapbook holding precious childhood moments such as:  his first drawing, his kindergarten graduation certificate, and a copy of his first football award. I am the typical proud father. In addition to mementos, I have a wall in my home that tracks his height growth in comparison to his siblings. For those of you who remember our Fremont office, I also had a wall that marked Zachary’s growth. Every couple of months, from the time he was a toddler to us relocating to San Ramon, Steve White, Ed Duarte, and I would track Zach’s height. On that same wall, we daily indicated Chevron’s stock price. At the time, we marked the wall for sentimental purposes. Although now looking back, I am astonished of how different the pencil marking of Zach’s growth contradicts that of the markings of Chevron’s stock growth.

Chevron’s stock has had its ups, flat points, and a few big downs. Corporate changes and global conditions will do that to a stock price. In 1984, Chevron merged with Gulf, which nearly doubled its oil and gas reserves. At the time, this was the largest merger in U.S. history. Nearly 10 years later, Chevron merged with Texaco forming ChevronTexaco and in 2005, Chevron officially returned to its original name Chevron Corp and acquired the Unocal Corporation, which strengthened Chevron’s position as an energy industry leader. Undoubtedly, the retirement of Dave O’Reilly after a 41 year career (9 of those years as chairmen and CEO) and being replaced as Chevron CEO by 52 year old and fellow UC Davis alum John Watson is an exciting event for our firm.

We can’t deny that over the last 20 years or so, Chevron stock movement has been volatile.  Chevron stock had limited or no growth between 1981 – 1989, 1993 – 1995 and again in the end of 1997 to mid 2002. Chevron hit the $100 mark in 1994, 2004, and 2008 and almost broke $100 in 1993 and 1997. It split 2 to 1 in 1994 and 2004.

 I think of stock splits as growth spurts that eventually result in a plateau. Paradoxically, my son Zach had similar growth spurts over the years. I also think the highs and lows of Chevron’s stock mimics the highs and lows of parenting.  When you acquire a company’s stock, just like when you become a parent, you are investing in the future. As both an advisor and parent I have valued discipline, company/family fundamentals, consistency, good health, and strong relationships. However, there are also times when tough love is necessary. As Zachary has matured and grown over the years, so has Chevron. When I look at the pencil markings of my son’s height and daily tracking of Chevron’s stock, I know that I don’t simply have pencil markings on a wall. I have a visual depiction of growth and change.

Both hit 71: Just the other day, my niece Genevieve pointed out how tall Zach was getting. Thus, I was spurred to check my now 16 year old’s height. At of the end of day February 12, 2010, Zach stood a whopping 71 inches (5’11”).  As of the close of market February 12, 2010, Chevron closed at 71.01 (www.yahoofinance.com).  Ironic? Or just another representation of how parenting and investing parallels each other?

Genevieve Valentine:

I started interning for my uncle the summer of 1994. I was 14 years old and in between my freshmen and sophomore years in high school. To be honest, I didn’t know what I wanted to be or do when I grew up. I did know that I loved hanging out with my uncle John, so I asked him for a summer job. I appreciated working alongside him and many of the people I knew since my childhood. Thus, I worked every summer thereafter until I transferred to Saint Mary’s College and became a full-time employee in 1999. I fondly remember all of the beautiful greeting cards I received from a number of our clients both for my high school graduation and 4 years later when I graduated from Saint Mary’s. I literally grew up within the four walls of Valentine’s office.

Just the other day, one of our clients said “Genevieve, you know I have had the great opportunity of watching you grow into the young woman you are today. I have known you nearly 15 years.” To be candid, I was there when this client retired, sat nearby when he buried his wife, and saw nearly all of his retirement travel through postcards. When I stop and think about how long I have participated in my family’s business, I realized that many of our clients participated and shared in my life. I have been groomed not only by my family values, but of the values of our clients. I am strategic, a problem solver, a facilitator, obsessed with setting goals & achieving those goals, and think in pros and cons/rows and columns.  I am inherently a child of the Chevron culture, largely because my fundamental young adult years entailed being surrounded by Chevron retirees.

  I’m not mathematically inclined. I’m not one who loves the stock market. Thus the daily tracking of Chevron’s stock price on our office walls didn’t change my life or the way I see the world. But the faces of Chevron and the wisdom and advice I have been given from our clients has greatly improved my life.

Conclusion:

What I learned from reflecting with my Valentine family is that our hopes and dreams, our goals and plans, our aspirations and confidence make up who we are. We are a product of our past, but we are also defined by our future.

Here at Valentine Capital, we are serious about our vision. We use our past successes and failures to help us become a stronger, better, more productive firm. We have been blessed with great relationships and memories with each other and with our Chevron and American Airline client family.   But more importantly, we are happy to share and embrace new members.  If you haven’t yet been a part of our rich history: “We look forward to welcoming you to the VCAM family.”