A Note From Marc Lichtenfeld: Today, Wealthy Retirement is excited to welcome Rob Morgan, our new Bond Strategist.
Rob is an accomplished bond fund and portfolio manager who comes to The Oxford Club from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
He’s also an experienced analyst, appearing in more than 700 television segments commenting on the economy and markets.
Rob will also be joining us in The Oxford Income Letter, where he’ll manage the Blue Chip Bond Portfolio, and in Oxford Bond Advantage.
Below, Rob will share how his background prepared him to take on everything from undersea nuclear reactors to a $3.5 billion portfolio. You’re in excellent hands – so please join us in welcoming him to Wealthy Retirement.
There are a few key differences between a bond portfolio and a nuclear submarine – most importantly that one should always stay above water.
My name is Rob Morgan, and I’m excited to come aboard as Bond Strategist for Wealthy Retirement.
The most important similarity between bonds and subs, though, is that trust is key for running them. For that reason, I want to take some time to introduce myself so that you can learn a little about me.
I’m a New Englander by birth – born in Concord, New Hampshire. I lived in nearby Pittsfield for the first 10 years of my life.
My parents were from the South, though, and about that time they got tired of shoveling snow! (Something many of us can probably appreciate as I write this in January.) We moved to just northeast of Atlanta, where my father was a professor at a small college.
From there I attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and studied math. I also earned an MBA from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. I was on an accelerated program, so I earned both degrees in five years instead of the usual six.
(Maybe you can tell I believe in saving time as well as money.)
I attended Vanderbilt on a Navy ROTC scholarship, and after I graduated I was commissioned as a junior officer in the Navy’s submarine force.
I spent the next year and a half in the Navy’s nuclear engineering program, first learning the theoretical side of how a reactor on a submarine works and then learning the practical applications before finishing off the training with submarine school.
I was then stationed for the next three and a half years on the USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN 624). Technically we were based in Charleston, South Carolina, but for most of my tour the sub was based in Holy Loch, Scotland.
Back to the similarities between a bond portfolio and a submarine… It also takes experience to lead them.
The Navy rounded out my studies by providing great management training, so for the first 10 years of my investment management career I rapidly worked my way up the ladder.
My business education prepared me to manage portfolios – and the Navy prepared me to manage people.
I served trust banks not only as an analyst, portfolio manager and client relationship manager, but also as a manager of individuals in those roles. This led to a role managing a taxable bond fund with $160 million in assets.
I moved to Pennsylvania at the 10-year point in my career to lead – for the first time in my career – an asset management group of a trust company with $3.5 billion in assets as chief investment officer.
In the 20 years since then, I’ve held comparable roles with broker-dealers and registered investment advisors. I’ve made more than 700 appearances on CNBC, Fox Business News and Bloomberg TV and radio segments discussing the economy and markets – so maybe you’ve even seen my work before.
But I had my greatest success as a money manager. And after having great conversations with the awesome staff at The Oxford Club, I decided that it was time to reenter the bond world, this time from a different perspective – rather than managing folks’ money, empowering them with the tools they need to take on the market themselves.
I find the idea of helping you make the most of your hard-earned savings very energizing, as well as the best use of my time.
I’m passionate about helping people however I can – so I’m involved with charitable work as well. I lend a hand to a religious foundation that manages $100 million in assets for 400 churches by overseeing the investment manager and helping the churches raise additional funds.
Finally, I’m married with two stepsons who are out of college and living as young men away from home. My wife and I live on a golf course in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
In addition to golf, we enjoy tennis and skiing. We are also avid travelers, and I’ve been to five continents and 47 states.
I don’t look like it, but I played football through high school and I’m a fan of the four major American sports. I was living in Nashville, Tennessee, when the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans in the NFL and when the Nashville Predators started up in the NHL.
I’ve been a season ticket holder of both franchises “since day one” and remain one today. Quirky? Probably! Loyal? Absolutely!
Which leads me to the last similarity between a bond portfolio and a submarine: In the end, it’s all about staying true to the people you’re serving. Hopefully I’ll get to meet many of you in the days and weeks ahead! Feel free to say hello in the comments so I can get to know you as well.
In my next column, I’ll tell you more about my work with the bond fund.
Good investing,
Rob