Personal Wealth Management for Affluent Investors

Personal wealth management is a type of service that has the potential to provide great value to affluent investors. As said in our detailed guide for individuals that have over $10 million in liquid assets, affluent individuals rarely have the time and energy to manage all of their sizeable wealth. Mismanagement of this wealth often leads to unnecessary losses. Firms like Pillar Wealth Management can unload the burden of investment and asset management off the shouldersof individuals with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets.

Before we get started, we understand that you may not have enough time to read through the whole article to get the information you need. If that’s the case, you can book a free consultation with us, and we’ll explain how our personal wealth management strategies can help you.

Without further ado, let’s explore what exactly wealth management is.

Table of Contents
What is Personal Wealth Management? What Are Personal Wealth Management Services? When Do You Need a Personal Wealth Management Firm? Selecting Personal Wealth Management Firms Conclusion

What is Personal Wealth Management?

Personal wealth management is very distinct from other types of financial advisory services for a myriad of reasons. While most people assume that personal wealth managers provide the exact same service as a private bank, investment advisor, etc., the truth is that their services are very distinct.

So, what is personal wealth management?

Wealth managers are seasoned financial advisors who provide a complete financial package for affluent investors. As detailed in our guide for investors who have more than $10 million, personal wealth management firms will exclusively work with a limited number of clients to provide financial advisory services, investment management services, and a whole lot more! Their role is to help preserve and grow your wealth in a way that helps you meet your long-term goals.

Wealth managers use their expertise and comprehensive experience in the field to provide a holistic set of services for affluent families. Managers at Pillar Wealth Management don’t just provide financial or investment advice. Rather, we help our clients effectively manage every single aspect of their financial life efficiently and effectively.

The free copy of our hardcover book, “The Art of Protecting Ultra-High Net-worth Portfolios and Estates – Strategies For Families Worth $25 Million To $500 Million”is a great guide for ultra-high net-worth families looking to explore the benefits of personal wealth management.

When looking for personal wealth management help for high net-worth families, it’s important to know the services you should expect from a wealth manager. We’ll explore some of them below.

What Are Personal Wealth Management Services?

Understanding personal wealth management services will arm you with the knowledge to recognize whether you need the help of a wealth manager. Since there are various types of financial advisors, a wealth management firm’s services may not be appropriate for everyone.

Without further ado, let’s explore some of the personal wealth management services you should expect.

Investment Management

Investment management is a service offered by investment managers and wealth managers alike. It constitutes the management of your whole portfolio of investments in different kinds of securities. This includes choosing what securities to hold, buy, or sell as well as decisions regarding your asset allocation.

At the end of the day, your investments will be your source of income and your lifeline when it comes to growing your wealth.

While both investment managers and independent wealth managers provide investment management services, their approaches often differ. Typical investment managers tend to be active money managers, and they aim to earn aggressive returns by using several tactics to time the market. They will frequently move your investments around in an attempt to do so.

On the other hand, most competent wealth managers will tend to put more emphasis on passive money management and risk minimization. Passive money managers will likely not move your investments around much and focus on long-term returns.

Active vs. Passive Money Management

While some great active money managers can successfully time the market (even then not always), most managers will find it almost impossible to consistently beat the market. Not only will they be putting your portfolio under undue risk, but they will also incur higher costs and may even get lower returns than a passive manager.

When your investments are actively managed, their returns are classed as income. This means that you end up paying the 37% income tax on your returns from active money management.

On the other hand, passive managers set up your investments in a way that minimizes risk and optimizes long-term returns according to your goals. They prioritize consistent and efficient asset allocation above simple diversification. When your investments aren’t touched for over a year (like in passive management), their returns are classed as capital gains. The capital gains tax is 20%. That means you pay 85% less as taxes with passive money management! You can find more details on the differences between wealth managers and typical financial advisors in our ultimate guide.

Plus, passive money managers often end up earning a higher return than active managers in the long run because they don’t try to beat the market. If you’re interested in learning more about how we perfect your investment portfolio, book a free meeting with us today.

Retirement Planning

A lot of people looking for personal wealth management help for high net-worth families usually do so when nearing retirement. For many high net-worth and ultra-high net-worth clients, their wealth will become their only source of income after retirement. They need efficient and safe management of their wealth to ensure that they can sustain the lifestyle they want.

Pillar Wealth Management works helps you establish your goals regarding the post-retirement lifestyle and income you need. Our experts then use their wealth of experience to create a roadmap that allows you to attain those goals without putting yourself under any undue risk.We will help you calculate expenses, execute a savings program,identify income sources, and manage your wealth, assets, and risks.

Our wealth managers want you to live stress-free and without ever having to worry about losing your money. Interested to learn how we can make your retirement a comfortable one? Get in touch with us for a free chat.

Insurance Planning

Insurance planning allows affluent individuals to get an important safety blanket to protect their wealth against disasters or other such circumstances. Pillar Wealth Management experts help you identify the best insurance coverage with regards to your current risks.

Selecting insurance plans is a complex activity. It’s very normal to end up with too little coverage or with more coverage than you need. The first case leaves you exposed, and the latter incurs unnecessary costs. Wealth managers can help you find the sweet spot for insurance coverage.

Estate Planning

Estate planning is often a sensitive topic, and people often avoid talking about inheritance. However, it is a reality that everyone has to face, and it’s always best to get your inheritance plans ready as early as possible.

Pillar Wealth Management professionals can help you put everything in place so that your heirs can receive their share without any problems. Though it may seem like an easy and simple process, estate planning can be very complex and tricky to navigate. There are inheritance taxes and other such costs your beneficiaries may have to contend with. Personal wealth management firms can help you plan your inheritance in a way that minimizes these taxes.

Taxation Advice

High net-worth and ultra-high net-worth individuals currently fall under the highest tax brackets in every category. If that’s not enough, many advisors are unable to identify some of the unnecessary taxes that many investors are often paying.

We analyze your current incomes, expenditures, and investments to identify areas that currently incur unnecessary taxes. We then provide comprehensive solutions to reducing those taxes and protecting your wealth. Cost and tax reduction are something ignored by many advisors, but we feel it is a critical paradigm shift that optimizes portfolio performance. You can learn more about the other paradigm shifts in our guide here.

More Services

If we started to list all the personal wealth management services, we’d be here a very long time. The crux of the matter here is that wealth managers will address almost all aspects of your financial life and help you live with financial serenity.

When Do You Need a Personal Wealth Management Firm?

Personal wealth management firms can provide tremendous value to affluent investors by managing all aspects of their financial life. However, their services may not be appropriate for everyone, and some individuals may only need specific financial advisors to do the job they want.

So, when do you need a personal wealth management firm?

The answer to this question can be very complicated. However, here are a few circumstances in which the services of wealth managers can be valuable.

-You are an affluent investor who is unable to properly manage their wealth. -You would usually need to have at least $1 million in liquid assets to qualify for wealth management services.

-You want to protect your wealth against losses, costs, and taxes.

-You are about to embark on a major life event. This includes a business sale, retirement etc.

-You want to have a stress-free life and live a certain lifestyle.

-You want to make sure you preserve your wealth for your heirs.

-You don’t feel like you’re getting the most out of your investments.

Should these situations apply to you, it would be wise to contact a personal wealth management firm like Pillar Wealth Management to start planning ahead.

Selecting Personal Wealth Management Firms

Finding the best personal wealth management firm is essential. A bad advisor can be just as life-changing as a good one – though there will be quite a difference in the nature of the change you experience.

Use some of the tips mentioned below to pick out the best from the rest.

Find Advisors Who’ve Worked with Individuals Like You.

When you’re a high net-worth or ultra-high net-worth individual, your wealth is already under a lot of risks. You have more to lose than others. You shouldn’t have to take on extra risk by handing your portfolio over to an individual who’s just starting to learn the trade.

Experienced advisors will know all the potential nuances of managing a wealth of your size. Always go for companies that have a track record of success with investors of your caliber.

Find Advisors That Prioritize Asset Allocation

A consistent and efficient asset allocation is the core of any investment or portfolio management strategy. Though most people believe diversification is enough to minimize portfolio risk, it very often isn’t. If you’ve diversified your portfolio by investing in 30 different tech companies, a slump in the tech industry will send all of them tumbling.

Pillar Wealth Management experts have found that an effective asset allocation in cash, equities, and bonds is needed to prevent extensive losses during adverse economic events. Our guide on maximizing portfolio performance provides more information on this topic.

Find Advisors Who Invest Without Emotion

Emotions and investments make the worst couple. They do not go well together at all, and most advisors know this. However, the difference can be seen in whether an advisor has a system in place that allows them to remove emotion from the investment equation.

For example, Pillar Wealth Management uses a whole roster of components to objectively ensure that our decisions are not impacted by emotion at all. The Efficient Frontier allows us to anchor your portfolio to a position where it achieves the optimum balance of return and risk. At the same time, the 1000 Scenario Stress Test allows us to pit your portfolio against the worst future circumstances. We aim to get your portfolio to a point where it exceeds your goals in over three-quarters of these scenarios.

Use a Fiduciary Wealth Manager

This is a critical step for finding the right personal wealth management help for high net-worth families. Fiduciary managers, like Pillar Wealth management, have a legal obligation to attend to your interests only when dealing with your wealth. They will not entertain any conflicts of interest and will make every step of the process transparent.

We advise all affluent investors to only go for fiduciary wealth managers when getting financial advice.

Conclusion

Personal wealth management is an important topic of discussion for affluent investors. The right advisor can help grow and protect your fortunes in a way that helps you live the way you want. They can help you sleep peacefully at night, without a single worry about losing your wealth. Understanding some of the details provided in this article can help you pick the right wealth manager for your particular needs.

For investors with liquid assets worth between $5 million and $500 million, Pillar Wealth Management could be a particularly smart option. Join several other happy investors by scheduling a free meeting with us today.

Authors

Hutch Ashoo

Chris Snyder

To be 100% transparent, we published this page to help filter through the mass influx of prospects, who come to us through our website and referrals, to gain only a handful of the right types of new clients who wish to engage us.

We enjoy working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors and families who want what we call financial serenity – the feeling that comes when you know your finances and the lifestyle you desire have been secured for life, and that you don’t have to do any of the work to manage and maintain it because you hired a trusted advisor to take care of everything.