Steven Halko

After hanging up his skates in 2003 – following a successful, seven-year professional hockey career – Steven joined Merrill and has never looked back. Instead, he has helped a loyal and growing clientele look forward to meaningful goals he’s helped them identify and fulfill.
 
Today, Steven is celebrating his 23rd year at Merrill and relationships that span two and three generations of families in more than 20 states. Many clients are physicians and business owners. Others are couples and families building wealth over time who benefit from his care and consideration throughout their investment lifetimes.
 
“I find clients stay with me and refer others for specific reasons,” Steven says. “They know I serve their best interests and that my advice is grounded in facts and the results of proven strategies. I’ve also been there when clients lost a spouse or a job and needed my sensitivity in suggesting next steps. It feels good to guide people through critical life transitions – up to and through retirement, for example. The postcards on my wall remind me of the trust I’ve earned and the role I play.”
 
Steven is a highly credentialed advisor whose rigorous and ongoing training allows him to provide clients with an extra measure of knowledge and know-how. He holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, CFP® certification from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, as well as the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® (CPFA®), from the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA).
 
Steven’s rigorous, planning-based approach allows him to appreciate clients’ mindsets and motivations. He often asks, “What do you hope happens in your financial future? And what do you fear will happen? What’s your experience as an investor? What did you learn when you were young that may influence you today? What are your expectations? Let’s make sure they’re realistic, so we can agree on a solid strategy.”
 
When it comes to investments, Steven’s long-term perspective is driven by how much clients will need given a 25- or 30-year time horizon, future health care costs, tax consequences and other factors. Each client portfolio he crafts is diversified, but equity-based – based on input from outside managers who he not only carefully vets, but uses for his own personal portfolio.
 
To align tax-minimization and estate planning strategies with those of clients’ other advisors, Steven often acts as a point person – coordinating the efforts of their CPAs and attorneys. In addition, he offers clients ready access to Bank of America specialists for banking needs, as well as residential and securities-based lending.

Following graduation from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor – where he captained its National Championship hockey team in 1996 – Steven enjoyed a successful, seven-year professional hockey career in the NHL (155 games) with the Carolina Hurricanes and various teams in the American Hockey League.
 
Longtime residents of Morrisville, Steven and his wife, Sherene, were both scholarship athletes at University of Michigan (hockey and field hockey). They have two adult sons who both live and work locally in the Raleigh area. Over the years, Steven had coached both sons in hockey as well as numerous youth and adult hockey players learning the sport. Steven has not strayed from the ice since his hockey career as he is now an avid curler with the Triangle Curling Club.