Bullish on Bishop Ranch

Business: American Investors Company

Founded: 1966

Number of employees: Twelve in Bishop Ranch; 110 independent agents in additional locations.

Financial services
American Investors Company is a full-service investment firm offering everything from stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, to real estate and retirement planning. The firm has representatives serving businesses and individuals primarily around Northern California.

Bay Area loyalty
Like its president, Cal Yee, American Investors Company has always been in the Bay Area—before relocating to Bishop Ranch in 2004, the firm was in Dublin. Yee was born and raised in Oakland, and when he isn't busy with work at Bishop Ranch, he likes to spend time with his grandchildren and he like to fish, both locally and out of state.

New digs, new considerations
When considering a new location, Yee says, "I didn't have a hard and fast list of must haves. Price, quality, location, and security were all big considerations. I was also looking for a ground-floor location with windows and a space that had a good heating and AC system because we had problems with that in our previous space.

Work and play
"Bishop Ranch's central location is a big benefit because a lot of our employees are located in the East Bay," says Yee. "I also appreciate the cooperation we get from the management—whenever we have a problem, they are on top of it. Plus Bishop Ranch offers other amenities: Fourth of July fireworks, a Christmas tree lighting, free BART service, and so on.

"My employees and I also take advantage of Bishop Ranch discounts. For example, they offer a discount at North Star for the 2007 ski season. And the staff especially enjoys the See's candy discount at Christmastime. Discounts like that are always coming up and we always appreciate them."