I was the first fully remote employee at Ritholz Wealth a decade ago.
It was a strange experience after working in an office setting around other people all the time in previous roles.
There are pros and cons to this experience. Working in an office alone supercharges my efficiency. No one barging into my office. No unnecessary small talk about weekend plans. No time wasted with chit-chat before or after meetings since they’re all on Zoom now.
But there are trade-offs to this efficiency.
You miss out on the valuable social time that comes from being around your colleagues on a regular basis that you can’t recreate on a video call.
The same is true of client relationships. Technology makes it much easier and less time-consuming to have meetings. You don’t have to get ready, drive to an office, find parking and then go wait in an office for your meeting. It saves a lot of time and the fact that the pandemic made this more acceptable has made all of our lives easier in some ways.
But you still need some face time which was something we talked about when I first went remote. So I’m on the road once a month or so. We have employees and clients all across the country so we make it a point to get out and see people throughout the year.
It’s a great way to meet with clients, prospects and colleagues. Plus it’s a wonderful way to socialize and catch up on all of those things you miss when you work remotely.
One of those places is Chicago, one of my all-time favorite cities.
And it’s even better in the summer — we’re talking a 25% premium when the weather is nice.
In early-June, we’re celebrating the grand opening of our brand new headquarters in Chicago at the Morton Salt Shed:
It’s an awesome spot.
They have brand new offices, a lounge, a Goose Island Pub, and two sweet music venues.
We’re meeting with clients and prospective clients on June 2nd and 3rd. Barry, Michael and Josh will all be there along with dozens of other advisors, client service associates and tax experts from Ritholtz Wealth Management.
We’ve held several of these events over the years, and they’re always a great way to meet various team members and gain a better understanding of how we work with wealth management clients.
Please email info@ritholtzwealth.com to schedule a time to meet with us (with Chicago in the subject line).
You can also reach out to us here.
We will also be doing a live podcast on Tuesday evening (6/3) at 6 pm CT at The Chop Shop:
It’s Josh, Michael, Callie, the CEO of Morningstar (Kunal Kapoor) and me. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
You can get tickets to the event here.
