Helen Rake: Money and Dreams

"What does money mean to you?" Helen Rake asks. The question encompasses a hundred answers, a thousand hopes, a million dreams.

Clients who come to Helen Rake of The Pinnacle Group for professional financial planning might be stumped by some of her questions, but they can rely on her guidance to find answers. Helen's career in the financial services industry started in 1999 with American Express Financial Advisors. As a para-planner professional, she developed and constructed comprehensive financial analyses for American Express clients. In 2000, she completed national and state examinations and a stringent training program with American Express to became a fully licensed Financial Advisor.

In February 2001, Helen joined The Pinnacle Group's Financial Services Department. She specializes in helping individual and business clients develop comprehensive planning strategies to accomplish their unique financial goals. This includes analyses in the areas of retirement, college education, life insurance and risk needs, investing, asset allocation, and business-qualified planning strategies.

Aware of the ever-changing financial environment, Helen is continuing her professional development by working toward the prestigious Certified Financial Planner and Life Underwriter's Training Counsel designations.

While she relies heavily on training and experience, Helen knows the clients' perspective is the most important. What are their goals and aspirations? She's careful to note the difference. Goals are grounded and attainable - a stable retirement, a child's education, a second career. Aspirations are attainable embellishments - early retirement, a Harvard education, two years on an archeological dig in Egypt. By listening to each person's needs and desires, by asking probing questions, by taking stock of income, assets, debt and insurance, she can design a program that fits within her clients' means and lifestyles.

Helen particularly enjoys working with women. During their lifetimes, women still earn less than men, making them less likely to have acquired adequate retirement funds either from retirement plans or Social Security. On top of that, women tend to live longer than men. They often have to make do for longer with less. Helen seeks out opportunities to lecture women's groups to raise their awareness of their own personal needs.

But, by no means are men left to fend for themselves. Helen likes to start working with both men and women as early as possible. She wishes she could reach more newly-weds and couples before they begin planning a family. She designs her initial consultations and assessments to include both partners. She likes going to her clients' homes so she can get a truer sense of their personalities - flamboyant or conservative, edgy or traditional.

Personality characteristics often translate to investment styles - risk taker or risk averse. "My client's comfort level is an important consideration," Helen says. She believes it is her job to watch a clients' portfolio in relation to their comfort and the market's volatility. As the market changes, she changes her recommendations. When the Dow plummeted, she called every one of her clients to discuss changes in their allocations, even those clients whose regular reviews were a long way off. "Many chose to stay with the plan we'd originally developed; some chose to place assets in more conservative funds. What was important to me was to let each one know they had options," Helen explains.

She also watches for changes in her clients' lives. Is there a new baby? A promotion? A serious accident? Has the mother-in-law moved in? Has the mortgage been paid off? "Significant changes in my clients' lives calls for changes in their financial plans. I won't know of those changes unless I talk to them," she says. Anyone who works with Helen agrees to the occasional phone call and the regular (at least twice a year) consultation.

Helen admits that such frequent use of her services sounds costly, but it's not. Rather than charge based on a percentage of a client's income, she charges a flat hourly fee. Her initial fee can range from $100 to $500, increasing from there based on the complexity of the client's plan. "Basing my fee on an income percentage tends to favor wealthier individuals, but everyone needs my type of services. I don't want the people who need me most to be put off by cost." She also gets commissions, and when clients like what she does for them, she gets referrals.

What do clients pay Helen for? Her expertise and her ability to do what most avoid. She identifies obstacles such as inflation, taxes, lack of risk management tools, disability and death, and the biggest obstacle of all, PROCRASTINATION. Helen helps clients identify and prioritize goals, gather information, analyze current situations and personalize a long-term plan. Helen files the forms, makes the copies, talks to the fund managers, finds the best rates and the sound investments. She sends the faxes and always has a stamp on hand.

Why does she like to do all the things many others find tedious? Helen describes how she got hooked. "I worked and trained with an excellent financial planner who really loved his clients, working with them for so long he considered them friends, almost family. He liked the thrill of the market, the study required to design an appropriate plan, the pride of long-term returns, but he loved best when clients came in having reached a personal goal, when they retired or their child graduated from college. That's what I want," Helen says with anticipation.

"I want to be there in 20 years the day Mrs. Jones comes in and says, 'We did it!'" Helen wants to be there when the questions are answered, hopes are fulfilled and a dream comes true.