About The Author
My name is Peter Lipke and I am not a Certified Financial Planner or a Registered Investment Advisor. Who I am, is a man that has worked hard for many years and made (and lost, like many investors) money. A graduate of Syracuse University with a BS in Math and an MBA in Marketing/Finance, I found myself at the age of 46 being “retired”. The company I was with was sold and that was the end of my career.
Recognizing that I needed to make a change in my life, I decided to pursue my hobby of “playing” in the market and become serious. As many of you may remember, the last half of the 1990’s was a unique period in time. Nearly anything an investor placed their money in, the value went up. No matter that many companies had no earnings or were selling at huge price/earnings ratios. When the party ended, it caught most people by surprise and with significant losses. I found myself in the same position even though much of my money was invested in such solid companies as Home Depot and General Electric. The market cared less and shares in companies such as these were cut in half. But, losing money was the best education I could get!
So a new strategy was required. I had the good fortune of hanging on to enough money that I could meet and gain the help of some good advisers who pointed me in the right direction. It is with their encouragement that I share what I have learned with you.
Wall Street is all about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, commodities, trading, etc. For retirees like myself, the name of the game is preservation of principal and generating income. On these subjects there’s very little objective information. Where do you go to get specific information on putting together a portfolio of good income investments? Personally, I found nothing out there, so I decided to do it myself.
I have spoken to experts about my plan and they agree that what I am doing will work, because it has worked in the past. Now, if you have a large estate, more than $200,000, I encourage you to meet with a fee-only financial advisor, one who will charge you a fee for objective advice and who can properly diversify your assets among different investment vehicles.
This site will offer you a free shopping guide for good financial advisers throughout the country. But if all you need is some guidance for some of your money and you want to control the money yourself, then you have come to the right place.
I am confident because I have learned from some great teachers and even better because I have done this with my own life savings. So before some broker, television guru, companies offering you a free lunch or dinner, insurance agent selling you an inappropriate annuity, check this out first.
Thank you and good investing!
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