5GQ Gene Hoots - Pay Attention to the Thin Cow

Gene Hoots is the chairman of CornerCap Investment Counsel, an advisory firm that he co-founded in 1989.  He has worked in finance and investments for over fifty years.  His career in the corporate world included 21 years with R. J. Reynolds Industries where he spent a decade managing that company’s $4 billion employee benefit and savings plan investments.

Have Americans had it too easy for too long?  What does the word “duty” mean to you, and why is it so important?

What was it like leaving the corporate world and starting your own business? Are there any lessons you learned that would be helpful to others who want to start an investment business?

You presided over RJR’s massive pension plan in the 1980s.  What was it like there?  What do you think about the M&A world having been so close?

Who was Malcolm McLean and how did you meet him?  What was so special about him?

What lessons did you learn from the late 90s tech bubble?  Do any of them seem especially pertinent to today?