The 680 Board of Directors

Dear Clients and Friends,
The 680 Group has been the central focus of my professional life for nearly five decades. Over those years, I have learned that one of the greatest responsibilities I have to our clients is to make certain that the firm we have built is not dependent upon any one person—including me.

Today, I am fortunate to have two of my daughters working alongside me, as well as longtime colleagues Jana Burke, Beth Mellie, and Robin Mellie, my executive assistant, who somehow manages to keep me—and many other things— on track. Together, they represent a depth of experience, commitment, and continuity that I am enormously proud of.

But there is another part of The 680 Group that many clients may not know as much about: my Board of Directors.

For a firm of our size, having a group like this is unusual. I created it very intentionally.

These are not employees of The 680 Group, nor are they here to sell anything to our clients. They are highly experienced professionals whose job is to challenge me, hold me accountable, examine how we operate, pay attention to our people and our business, and tell me when they believe we should be doing something differently or better.

They bring an independent set of eyes to the firm.

I have known John Rhett for 47 years. During his career, John has been a branch manager and held significant leadership responsibility at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. Vince Caine has spent much of his career training and advising financial professionals and has served as a branch manager with both Smith Barney and Stephens, where Vince and I worked together. Our board members have substantial businesses of their own, consulting with and training financial advisors across the industry. With The 680 Group, however, their role is different: they are here to advise us, oversee us, challenge us, and help protect what we have built.

Why does that matter to you?

Because permanence matters.

I want our clients to know that The 680 Group is not simply “Cosmo and his clients.” It is an organization—with a family committed to its future, experienced professionals serving our clients every day, long-tenured colleagues who understand our culture, and an independent board helping make certain that we remain disciplined and accountable.

Much of my life’s work has been about knowing our clients, knowing the professional investment managers we employ, and understanding how to bring the two together in a way that gives our clients confidence in their financial futures. An equally important part of my work now is making certain that this knowledge, culture and responsibility continue for decades to come.

I still intend to be very much involved in The 680 Group and with the people I have had the privilege of serving. But I also want you to have confidence that what we have built is larger than me.

The permanence of The 680 Group rests in its people, its culture, its processes, and the accountability we have deliberately put around all three.
My daughters, our longtime team, and my Board of Directors are all part of that promise to you.

Thank you, as always, for the trust you have placed in The 680 Group and in me. Protecting that trust—and making certain it continues well into the future—is one of the most important responsibilities of my life.
Warmly,
Cosmo Boyd
The 680 Group

Just in case you are wondering I am not going anywhere. – Cosmo