Blog

August 6, 2025 - HighGround was pleased to have four interns with us this summer. We recently sat down to learn more about our Investments intern, Luke Moore, and his experience working at HighGround.

Where are you from? What school do you attend, and what are you studying?

I’m from Amarillo, Texas, and I’m currently a senior at Dallas Baptist University (DBU). I will graduate this December with a B.B.A in finance.

What brought you to HighGround?

I first connected with HighGround at the DBU career fair, where I met HR Director Carol [Nicols] and several others from the team. I also knew a couple of other HighGround employees from their time at DBU.

Honestly, HighGround wasn’t initially on my radar as I searched for summer internships, but looking back, I think it was meant to be. What immediately stood out to me was the firm’s faith-based mission and values, which aligned with my own. I was also excited about the opportunity to gain exposure to a wide range of asset classes through various meetings with fund managers. This is exposure and experience that I wouldn’t have been able to get at most other firms.

What all did you do in your time here?

During my time at HighGround, I had the opportunity to engage in numerous projects that gave me hands-on experience across asset classes. I participated in dozens of fund manager meetings, where I gained a ton of exposure to both public and private markets. One of my big projects was a liquid real assets scenario analysis, where I evaluated how a portfolio of five Liquid Real Asset Indexes would have performed across four distinct historical market environments.

I also worked on projects like a hedge fund manager sourcing project, conducting a distribution analysis to determine whether net inflows into our HighGround funds were enough to cover the quarterly distribution rate, and recommending ETF replacements for several mutual funds for efficiency purposes.

What have you learned in your time here? What’s your biggest takeaway?

The internship gave me a very solid foundation in both the language and structure of investing. I gained valuable hands-on experience with industry wide tools like FactSet, Bloomberg, Morningstar, and Excel that will directly translate into my future career, so it was great to get familiar with them.

I also became much more fluent in investment terminology and participated in fund manager meetings. [Director of Public Markets] Steve Thieme and [Director of Private Markets] Philip Godfrey helped me understand all the information they would throw at us in the meetings. I developed a deeper understanding of alternative investments, especially hedge fund strategies. I also got to learn about private credit and private equity.

What is a favorite moment from your time at HighGround?

It’s hard to pinpoint a single favorite moment because there were so many highlights, but what stood out most was how intentional the investment team was with me throughout the entire internship. From day one, VP and Chief Investment Officer Helge [Rokenes] emphasized that this would be a true learning experience where I’d have the opportunity to contribute meaningful work, not just complete busy tasks. That mindset created an environment where I could grow, learn and feel genuinely valued as a member of the team.

I also really enjoyed the culture at HighGround, which will be hard to beat! Whether it was getting to know the other interns through daily collaboration, celebrating personal milestones with staff, or even having fun off-site experiences like the escape room, there is a big emphasis on community.

We focus on strengths at HighGround and utilize the CliftonStrengths assessment. What are your top five strengths?

My top five strengths are Futuristic, Competition, Focus, Strategic and Achiever.

This was my first time taking the CliftonStrengths assessment, and I was shocked at how much it helped me better understand how I naturally work and think. Understanding this allowed me to approach tasks more efficiently and intentionally. Going over my strengths with Carol, I realized that each of these strengths complements the others, so I’ve tried to be super intentional about leveraging each one of my strengths to do so.

My Futuristic mindset keeps me motivated and focused on long-term goals, while Strategic and Focus help me determine the best path to get there without getting distracted. Competition and Achiever push me to set high standards for myself and allow me to always strive to meet them. It’s been amazing to see how these traits work together and recognize how I can contribute within a team and approach problem-solving.

Which of the HighGround core values resonates most deeply with you and why?

Two values that have resonated most deeply with me during my time at HighGround are Servant-Hearted and Professional Excellence. Through this internship, I’ve learned even more about the importance of servant leadership. Leadership isn’t just about making decisions or telling other people what to do, but ultimately, it’s about serving those around you. HighGround exemplifies this value perfectly and has almost completely reshaped the way I view leadership. Getting to see CEO Jeff [Smith] consistently stepping in to serve, even in situations where he could have easily let someone else handle it, was inspiring.

Professional Excellence also stands out to me. In my own life, I try to approach everything I do with excellence. This could be in academics, work or relationships. I believe that nothing in life is worth doing unless you’re willing to do it to the best of your ability, and HighGround is very intentional about holding us accountable to that belief. 

How do you like to spend your time? What are your hobbies or passions?

I love playing guitar and golf. Guitar has been a passion of mine for a long time, and my roommates and I even considered starting a band at one point. Golf is something I’m always trying to get better at. I’m not the best golfer, but as long as I don’t lose too many balls, I consider it a good day on the course.

 I also stay active on DBU campus. I try to participate in almost every intramural sport at DBU, with basketball being my favorite. I’m also heavily involved in my fraternity, where I’ve served on the executive council for the past two years as Service Ambassador. That’s been a meaningful leadership opportunity and a big part of my college experience. I was also a part of the most recent cohort of Presidential Fellows at DBU, which gave me the opportunity to meet frequently with business and community leaders.

What does the future hold for you?

HighGround has been instrumental in helping me better understand what career I want to pursue within finance, which is a huge reason why this internship is so unique. I’m still figuring out exactly where I fit best and what I enjoy, but that’s part of the process. Ultimately, I hope to land somewhere that will help me develop not only professionally, but personally and spiritually as well. God has continued to open and close the right doors, so I’m looking forward to where He leads me next.