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Blog Ideas

Hi Everybody,

I need your help to improve my blog.  

Please call or email topics you’d like to see in 2017 about personal finance, investments and all-things money.  I’ll probably still sneak in some market comments but want to be sure I cover what’s on your mind.

Next year should be fertile ground on taxes, healthcare and interest rates.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some de/re/un-regulating in investments too.

Don’t be bashful!  Let us know your burning financial questions and I’ll do my best to get you answers.

Thanks and Happy New Year, Skip

Bonus Blog:

The HWM blog morphed out of my original market letter.  I’d write painstaking research comments and ask clients what they thought.¹  Most said they couldn’t care less and to just do what I thought was best.  There has been more interest in recent Wall Street skullduggery but after a while, people either get it or they won’t.

I do this all day long and forget that not everyone knows what I take for granted.  Demand more!  If you can’t get straight answers anywhere else, let’s see what I can do.  Personal questions are answered privately.  sh  

¹ I sent a market comment to my former partner at Merrill Lynch for proofreading.  He wrote back:  “This is brilliant!  It’s too bad nobody will read it.”  I thought about just stepping on a rake a couple times because it would be faster and probably less painful than scrapping the newsletter.  The comment never saw the light of day and the blog was born.  I still have the rake for emergency editing, though.

$8 Advice

Have you noticed the discount brokerage firms from before the meltdown are now in the financial advice business? 

It makes sense. 

Those firms know exactly how well or badly their clients did.  Ten years of trading hot-tips at eight bucks a pop didn’t work for everybody.  Either you help them pick-up the pieces or someone else will.

I don’t know if this is an opportunity for me.  We haven’t seen a lot of do-it-yourself investors over the years.

The ones who figured it out don’t need my help.

The ones who didn’t figure it out would rather show me a prickly rash than their portfolio.  It’s hard.  

When they do show me (their portfolio, that is), it’s usually because she decided they are not going down with the ship.

Bottom-line; a lot of people never developed the skills and confidence to manage their own investments.  There must be millions of them for the discounters to completely retool their marketing and operations from trading to advice (well, robo-advice, that’s another can of worms in a previous blog).

If you are in that leaky boat, look for an experienced advisor – someone you can look in the eye.  

Talk goals first, investments second.  If he starts with investments, keep looking.  When you get to your investments, relax – we’ve seen worse portfolios than yours.

I’d steer clear of junior 800-number advisors.  This is a tough business with a wicked learning-curve.  

Find someone who always knew you needed help.

Ask a friend who she uses.  You can call me.  Do your homework.

For heaven’s sake, pay for the quality your family deserves. 

Good luck.  sh

PS:  Please forward this to recovering traders you love.  They will thank you someday.  sh 

The opinions expressed here are those of Skip Helms and do not necessarily reflect those of LPL Financial or anyone else. It is not possible to determine the top or the bottom of the market. Investing involves risks, including the loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Please consider potential transactions carefully and read all appropriate materials before investing or sending money. No strategy assures a profit or protects against loss. Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA / SIPC