Last Updated on Apr 1, 2020 by James W
Wealth management is mainly all about focusing on making the most of the money that you have accumulated, and in order to achieve this aim it often means trying to find a suitable professional who can guide you through all of your options, together with respecting your privacy alongside supplying sound advice.
Whether you contemplating the idea of buying a French luxury property and want some pointers on the best way of doing this in the most efficient way, or want to discuss your retirement options, it helps to know just what to expect from your wealth manager.
Not just for the millionaires
The mere mention of wealth management may well make you think that this is a facility that is the preserve of the rich and famous, but the fact of the matter is that wealth management is a diverse market, meaning you can find someone suitable to meet your needs and your financial situation.
A wealth manager could be someone who offers you execution-only stockbroking advice, or they might be able to offer to put together a bespoke portfolio and a holistic approach to financial planning.
Not all wealth management services are about offshore tax planning and complex structured advice for multi-millionaires, so you should be able to find a service that offers what you want, so that you can make the most of the money that you have accumulated.
Achieving your financial goals
If you have managed to amass a reasonable amount of money, the first point is that you probably have a reasonable level of ability in handling your finances, but you can’t be expected to have a level of expertise in all aspects of investing, which is where a wealth manager should be able to fill in the gaps and help you achieve your financial goals.
A good wealth manager can be expected to provide you with a professional, and in some respects a personalised approach, on how to not only grow your money, but also protect it.
The term wealth management covers a variety of different potential scenarios. Whether you want mortgage advice, information on tax planning, or how to invest in fine art or wines, these are all areas of investing where you should be able to connect with a wealth manager to meet your interests and needs.
Costs
You can expect to pay a fee for receiving professional advice, which might be a fixed annual premium, a percentage of your portfolio, or maybe a commission-based fee structure.
Some wealth management firms might have a minimum investment requirement, while other firms don’t have any rules in that respect and will offer advice regardless of their wealth, provided they understand and agree that there will be a fee to pay for their help.
Loyalty and confidentiality
Once you have found a wealth manager and agreed on a fee structure, you can then expect to discuss your personal financial affairs in the expectation that your wealth manager will treat the information with the confidentiality it merits, and they can also be expected to demonstrate a fair degree of loyalty towards their clients, often acting as a bridge between yourself and other entities such as accountants and tax specialists.
Wealth managers are estimated to direct the flow of at least $20 trillion of assets, and there should be no reason why you can’t be part of that action, if you want to try and make the most of the money you have accumulated.
Eleanor Brady is an investment banker. Her articles appear on a growing number of sites and usually focus on property investment along with wealth management.
