Lesson No. 1
How you achieve a result is as important as the result itself. M. Ancher and his staff put as much effort into creating a magnificent dining experience as chef Solivérès does in preparing world-class cuisine. Taillevent blends the two for the enjoyment of its patrons.

In our business, it is easy to focus too much on performance. As asset managers, we produce two things for our clients—an investment return and the experience that goes along with achieving that return. If clients can’t tolerate the feeling that comes with being invested in our portfolios, they won’t remain clients long enough to get the benefit of our good performance.

Lesson No. 2
Consistency is at the heart of excellence. I have had two meals at Taillevent separated by 42 years and they were the two best meals of my life. It has been ranked among the best restaurants in the world for decades. The staff labors lovingly over every meal they serve and care about the experience of every patron who walks through their door.

In our world, consistency is important, too. Our mission is to manage each client’s wealth over the course of his or her lifetime and help clients meet all their financial goals along the way. Being spectacularly right sometimes but spectacularly wrong at others does not build the level of trust necessary to fulfill that role. Clients walk when they lose faith in the process.