Find Financial Advisors for Bell Textron Employees & Executives: Q&A Insights from the Experts

What is most important to me is service. Not just customer service, but the type of service Jesus demonstrated when he washed feet. Service takes effort and humility. Without those two things, it’s just lip service.

I ask questions to get to know people, not transact with them. I ask questions like this: “What is most important to you?” Some clients may pause and ask to qualify the question. Others have an answer. That’s why I ask, because financial planning drives the boat to get you to the shoreline of your life’s destination.

A couple other questions: “What keeps you up at night?” “What are the biggest challenges that you’re facing right now?” “What would need to be true in a year or two for the season to go well?”

I’ve also learned that one spouse is usually the point person for the finances. So, I look to the other spouse and ask, “What do you think about all of this?” Their answer will likely come from a different angle.

Small talk and deep questions are my specialty as an Army Reserve chaplain. I heard from a financial services leader that financial advisors are like “counselors with calculators.”

Why would you want to contribute to a Health Savings Account? I encourage contributions to these accounts because of triple-tax savings. If you don’t know what that means, it may be worth reading up on.

Bottom line: it includes favorable tax treatment on contributions, on the growth of the investments in the account, and when used for qualified medical expenses. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Again, it’s based on your situation. I don’t contribute to one because my healthcare plan is through the military, which is pretty good, too. For families who pay healthcare bills out of pocket, it might be a good long-term investment account.

Please review your employment contract and benefits. The grass is NOT always greener on the other side.

I recommend consulting with Human Resources if a manager or supervisor doesn’t align with how you want to be treated or exhibits counterproductive leadership tendencies.

The correct military terminology is “counterproductive.” The previous military term was “toxic leader.” There are ways to work around the situation if your boss is not friendly or helpful. You have resources.

I learned at TCU that people are more likely to leave their job based on their relationship with their direct supervisor than they are based on other factors such as compensation, culture, benefits, mission, etc.

Make sure you have runway to pay the bills because inflation has not helped the situation. Lastly, take your time. As Dr. Jason Selk said, “There’s always a solution.”

Prior planning prevents poor performance. This is a military maxim for a reason, and the reverse corollary is also true. Poor planning generally gets poor results. Many employees simply don’t have the bandwidth to plan properly for their retirement, although an employer retirement plan can help model their retirement savings, investment allocations, risk tolerance, and, potentially, how long the money will last.

I feel like a broken clock. Some people are forced to retire through lay-offs, health issues, or family caregiving. Others choose to retire.

It depends on when they retire. It depends on how well they managed their expenses and protected themselves from the lifestyle monster. If they paid off their house, have minimal to no debt, and lead a modest lifestyle, they’ll likely have flexibility and peace of mind.

If they chose to take expensive vacations, buy heavy-duty monster trucks with 28” jacked-up tires, and eat out all the time, it might be a different conversation.

The transition is real because you feel it. You’re living off a nest egg and Social Security benefits and whatever other assets and income options you have at your disposal.

In my experience, one spouse or partner generally handles the financial activities. It’s important, though, for those who are married or have a partner to be on the same page.

Talk with a financial professional, not someone who wants to sell you products, but a fee-only fiduciary.

As a Certified Financial Planner®, I am required to put the interests of my client ahead of my own and my firm’s interests.

As an Army Reserve chaplain, I put the interests of my Soldiers ahead of my own, not because I have to but because I’m called by God to do so.

Are you a fiduciary? Period. Even if they say it, trust but verify.

Here’s how you do that:

1. If I roll over my assets to your company or investment management, who gets paid?
2. How do you get paid?
3. How much do you get paid from this transaction?
4. What experience do you have working with Bell Textron employees?
5. How much experience do you have in the financial services industry?
6. Are you a Certified Financial Planner?
7. What other qualifications and designations do you have?

You are literally interviewing this person or team because they are going to advise you on important financial and life decisions.

Let’s talk about overconcentration. You may or may not have heard about it. It’s when you have a concentrated position (think frozen orange juice concentrate), and it generally negatively impacts your portfolio’s diversification. Diversification is a good thing; overconcentration is not. That’s why you put water in the orange juice concentrate to dilute it.

Be advised that Textron shares track the whole company, not just Bell (Helicopter). Just something to think about. Not making a definitive statement.

Job security is always a risk, a concern. Bell Textron is not a Silicon Valley tech startup. It’s been around the block once or twice – in the air.

I’m familiar with the defense tech-startup space. I would argue that you should work hard and make yourself so indispensable to the company that it would be insane to fire you.

Even with good results and getting fired, you would have a good resume to get hired somewhere else. Or if you worked with a good financial planner, you would have a nice emergency fund because they would tell you to live within your means and not do what all the people in Dallas do and buy fancy cars, boats, and jewelry.

Planning is key. Pensions are simply a formula. Every ERISA employer plan has its own rules. You have to know the details and follow the rules.

It’s surprising to me how many people don’t read the fine print. I’m guilty of this myself. However, I have a qualified Reserve Component retirement through the Department of Defense. I received the letter, so you know it’s genuine.

I’ve interacted with Bell Textron employees through my military service and in Tarrant and Parker counties. Bell is not just a helicopter company. It integrates into medical, rescue, and military services. The MV-75 is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

Our kids go to the same daycare. We see each other at the park, and our kids go jump in the creek. This is community, not a transaction, not a one-sided dynamic, but a relationship, a commitment; I guess you could call it doing life together.

I’ve served in the Army for 22 years + counting. I take a planning-first approach, not a commission- or product-based approach.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.

Here is a free Veteran Financial Blind Spots Assessment. It takes about 3-5 minutes to complete.