Top Bay Area Financial Advisor Celebrates 50-Year Legacy in Financial Services
"The key to success in financial services is knowing the past – the most expensive words on
"Despite those declines, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed from a low of 689 in 1971 to over 26,000 in 2018," continued Hillis. "After 50 years, I still learn something new every day and still come to work exhilarated. I constantly remain optimistic about the future and look forward to the coming years."
According to Hillis, he has seen just about every mistake that investors can make – and witnessed the effects of fear and greed – as well as observed key tactics that make investors successful.
During his 50-year career, Hillis has seen current events, market movements, regulations and new technologies spur watershed changes within financial advisory. To truly understand the industry, it's important to be familiar with the industry's profound evolution over the past 50 years.
"When I entered the industry, everyone was a stock broker and financial planning didn't exist," said Hillis. "In 1968, investment choices were quite limited and commissions were fixed and very high. Each firm used the same commission schedule and it was non-negotiable. For an investor to get an active stock price he had to call a stockbroker."
Below is an outline of Hillis' five-decade career in financial services, written in his own words. It includes his overview of the decades, highlights historic events and related impacts on the market, and spotlights industry milestones.
- 1968 to 1979
- 1980 to 1989
At the start of the 1980s, interest rates were incredibly high. The prime rate was 15.26 percent and money market funds were paying 12.68 percent. The average mortgage rate was over 17 percent. (I was fortunate, I got my mortgage at 16.7 percent.) The Dow finally broke out of its era of stagflation and closed at a new high of 2,662.95 in 1987.
- 1990 to Present
The Dow hit 3,000 in
From 1997 to 2001, there was wild speculation in the markets. Speculators were rushing into stocks that never should have gone public. Day trading became the rage, until day traders lost everything. I remember a comment in the newspaper that said if you were 25 and a millionaire, now you are just 25. In my 50 years, I have never seen a day trader consistently make money. It is impossible. You have to be right too many times.
From a low of 7,891, the Dow recovered to reach a high of 12,820. The financial crisis hit and the market dropped to 6469.
Many in the industry struggled to recover from the dot-com collapse and survive the financial crisis. We survived and flourished by using a proactive approach to controlling risk, having a sell discipline and proper asset allocation strategy.
By 2014, my practice had grown to servicing over
I believe the next five years have the potential to be some of the most dynamic years in my career. I plan to stay actively involved.
"I am dedicated to passing along my knowledge and five decades of experience to the next generation of advisors," said Hillis. "This means inspiring more Millennials to embark on careers in the industry and empowering them with the knowledge they need to succeed."
"If new and incoming advisors only take away one lesson from my career, I would advise them to stay bullish on the stock markets and be patient," continued Hillis. "Despite market volatility, prices have historically gone up over time."
Hillis currently mentors
After starting his career at a large brokerage, Hillis moved into the independent advisor space where he felt he could better serve his
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Read the full story at https://www.prweb.com/releases/2018/06/prweb15575639.htm
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