Don Davey, President, Disciplined Equity Management
Invest: spoke with Don Davey, president of Disciplined Equity Management and former Jacksonville Jaguar, to discuss what makes the city a vibrant opportunity for wealth management and greater economic development. “From day one, we have made our DEM “Spartans” the center of our universe and challenged ourselves to solve their problems and achieve their most cherished goals,” he said.
What have been your key takeaways from the past year?
We celebrated our 25th anniversary last year and I used that as an opportunity to assess what I want DEM’s next 25 years to look like. Our business has evolved over the years, moving upstream to larger clients with more complex financial planning issues. In addition to servicing our existing high net worth clients, we are building a DEM Family Office to service ultra-high net worth families as well.
How did you start Disciplined Equity Management?
When I was playing for the Jaguars, I began informally helping my teammates with their finances. That served as the genesis for the creation of DEM. Early on, I thought I would only work with NFL players, but the business quickly evolved after I retired. While we still have our core group of professional athletes, we now service many more business owners and professionals around the country. Our clients tend to be relatively young, have substantial assets, and require creative solutions to their complicated financial situations.
What makes Jacksonville a lucrative place to set up shop?
As a member of the inaugural Jaguars team in 1995, I remember how the city embraced us so passionately from day one. I immediately felt a part of this community, so it felt natural to make this home after I retired. Jacksonville is also a great business community with some incredible success stories. I had the privilege of meeting the founders of Firehouse Subs shortly after they opened their first location and have watched their story unfold from day one. They went from borrowing money to make payroll in the early days to ultimately selling the company for a billion dollars a couple of years ago. Theirs is one of the greatest American business success stories of all time, and it all happened right here in Jacksonville.
What are some of the highlights of what is going on in Jacksonville right now?
Jaguars owner Shad Kahn is investing heavily in the community, and I am excited to see how the new stadium and Shipyards project will impact the region. Ironically, his Shipyards project will be anchored by a Four Seasons hotel with an oceanfront beach club right across the street from my office in Neptune Beach. This will be a great addition to not only downtown but the Beaches communities as well. And even with all the growth Jacksonville is experiencing, we are still not seeing the congestion, traffic, or housing problems that other Florida cities are facing.
How does DEM give back to the community?
Charitable giving is part of DEM’s DNA, and we work closely with some amazing local nonprofits that are near and dear to my heart. For example, we have helped the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation donate over $80 million to first responders around the country since their inception. We have helped the IRONMAN Foundation donate over $60 million in their race communities. My former coach Tom Coughlin founded the Jay Fund, a charity that benefits families dealing with childhood cancer. I love that DEM has not only delivered great outcomes for our clients and created great careers for my team, but also helped make Jacksonville a better place to live as well.
What distinguishes DEM in the Jacksonville market?
From day one, we have made our DEM “Spartans” the center of our universe and challenged ourselves to solve their problems and achieve their most cherished goals. All of our clients need help with financial planning: saving, investing, taxes, estate planning, etc., But what makes DEM unique is how we help our clients in all aspects of their lives. I used to think my job was to make as much money for our clients as possible. But I have learned that my job is to make my clients’ lives better and easier. Because this means different things for different people, we are constantly implementing and/or creating creative solutions. By improving the quality of our clients’ lives little by little, year after year, we create lifelong relationships.
How does DEM approach cybersecurity?
The SEC has been emphasizing cybersecurity for investment firms for the past few years. Fortunately, we have been proactive by investing a lot of time, money, and resources in our IT infrastructure, software, and internal controls. As a safeguard, we have our IT consultants run periodic random penetration tests to verify our systems are protecting our client data as designed. Cybersecurity is something we take seriously at DEM and test repeatedly for the protection of our clients.
