Financial Advisory Services: All You Need to Know

Most financial advisory services only serve clients of a certain caliber because of the special needs their wealth demands. For example, Pillar Wealth Management only services individuals with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. That’s because we want to provide our complete attention to these clients and make sure we do everything possible to achieve their goals.

Ready to learn more about financial advisory services? Let’s take a look at the things you need to know.

Table of Contents
What are Financial Advisory Services? What Services do Financial Advisors Offer? How Do You Know If a Financial Advisor is Legit? Last Few Words on Financial Advisory Services

What are Financial Advisory Services?

If you find yourself asking, “what are financial advisory services?” you need to understand that there is a huge difference between financial advisory services and the best financial advisory services. Let’s discuss what we mean by this in detail.

Financial advisors are qualified professionals that give you advice on how to manage your money and assets. Providers of financial advisory services include a whole host of individuals like certified financial planners, wealth managers, investment advisors, and certified public accountants.

You can find financial advisors at many different institutions, like publicly traded companies, large banks, partnerships, independent firms, and as solo practitioners.

Most financial advisors are not required by law to be officially certified with the SEC to offer advice on money and asset management. Most financial advisors get some sort of training related to the type of financial service they offer. For example, a tax consultant should be an expert in tax preparation, so they can provide the right advice. Likewise, a financial advisor specializing in investment management should have expertise in both stock trading and retirement planning.

Many financial advisors are not necessarily trained to handle all types of services related to money management. They instead choose to specialize in one or more of these areas. Though many providers of financial advisory services only offer specific expertise in one area, that isn’t what the best financial advisors do.

How Are the Best Financial Advisors Different?

The best providers of financial advisory services don’t just invest your money in isolation – they help you preserve, grow, or manage your money and assets according to your life goals. Not only that, but they also help you form those goals by carrying out an in-depth analysis of your current position and future aspirations.

In short, financial advisors help to sustainably grow your wealth in order to achieve your short-term and long-term goals while protecting your assets as well. If you want to learn more about this, then check out our ultimate guide to choosing the best financial advisor.

As a high net worth or ultra-high net worth investor, you deserve to work with only the best. If you’re an ultra-high net investor with over $25 million in assets, you may want to request a 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 to learn how you can work with the best advisors to protect your assets.

At Pillar Wealth Management, our experts use their 60+ years of combined experience to manage your portfolio and optimize it to meet your needs if you’re an individual with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. Want to discuss your life goals? Schedule a free chat with us on our website.

Which Type of Financial Advisor Is Best for You?

	Human Advisor	Robo-advisor	Digital Advisor
Services	Holistic financial advice, including budgeting, estate planning and investing	Investment advice only	Different levels of service based on your assets under management
Typical Fee	1%	0.24% to 0.50%	0.89%
Best For	Anyone who wants to meet with their advisor in person; clients with complex circumstances; high net worth clients	Anyone who prefers a fully automated online experience with no consultations; clients with simple finances; low net worth clients	Anyone who wants a mostly automated digital experience, but the opportunity to speak with an advisor online or by phone

Which 5 Financial Advisory Services Are Essential?

1. Investment Management
2. Risk Management
3. Retirement Planning
4. Estate Planning
5. Tax Management

As we said earlier, many providers of financial advisory services will offer various services. Some will offer them in isolation, while the best advisors will give you the comprehensive package you deserve as a high net worth or ultra-high net worth investor.

Though we can’t speak for anyone else, we offer a vast range of services at Pillar Wealth Management. Here are some services we offer.

1. Investment Management

The investment management at Pillar Wealth Management is not one you would typically find anywhere else. Thanks to more than 60+ years of combined experience in working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors, we understand that success for you isn’t about earning an arbitrary return percentage per annum but rather about achieving all your life goals.

We help you do this by allocating your assets in a way that minimizes losses and optimizes portfolio performance. By optimizing portfolio performance, we refer to a rate of return that allows you to live the life you want without ever worrying about losing your money. Interested to learn more about portfolio performance? Read our helpful guide by clicking here.

At Pillar Wealth Management, we study every detail of your life to help you establish your goals. Once that’s done, our experts draft a cohesive financial plan on how to achieve them.

2. Risk Management

High net worth or ultra-high net worth individuals who invest their assets in different markets face a whole host of risks. You can face both diversifiable and non-diversifiable risks. Non-diversifiable risks affect the entire market and can prove difficult to avoid completely. Smart financial advisory services providers realize that it’s almost impossible to always beat the market.

The most you can do is try to reduce the effects of these risks on your investment portfolio. When it comes to diversifiable risks, you can avoid this through smart investment strategies.

Pillar Wealth Management uses a number of strategies to control your investment risk. We regularly conduct a 1000 Scenario Stress Test on your portfolio to gauge its performance against all kinds of future possibilities. This includes the worst-case scenarios, like multiple recessions, natural disasters, and other drastic changes in the economy. We ensure that your portfolio falls in the 75% to 90% confidence level – we call this the Comfort Zone. When your portfolio falls in this range, it means that it will EXCEED your goals in 75% to 90% of scenarios. Read our guide for investors with $10 million to learn more about the importance of risk management to live the life you want.

3. Retirement Planning

You’ve worked hard throughout your life to be successful and get to where you are. You deserve to work with a provider of financial advisory services that understands your position and can help you protect your wealth and live your life at the same time.

Once you retire, you’re going to rely on passive income from your investments to keep living the life you want. At Pillar Wealth Management, we understand that you want to spend your retirement comfortably with your savings and not burn through them immediately.

Our experts will carefully study your asset portfolio and form a realistic strategy to safeguard and grow your wealth. Why settle for a ‘good enough’ retirement when you can have a great one? Read our guide to learn more about strategies that can enhance your portfolio.

4. Estate Planning

Estate planning is often an integral part of our future goals and plans. The whole process is by no means simple and requires expertise from financial advisors to get it right. The process is complicated because you do not just have to leave enough wealth to be distributed smoothly to your beneficiaries, but you also have to make sure you can grow it enough now to support your lifestyle.

At Pillar Wealth Management, we can help individuals with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets secure and protect their wealth so that their heirs do not have to worry about their financial security. Our financial advisors can also support you with any philanthropic plans you may have. Schedule a free chat via our website today to find out more.

5. Tax Management

When it comes to answering “what services do financial advisors offer?” this is perhaps one of the most important aspects for high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals.

As someone who already qualifies for the highest tax bracket, you can’t afford to lose any more money than the absolute bare minimum on taxes. Our experts realize that earning a high return is meaningless if you have to pay higher taxes.

For instance, any short-term capital gains from active money management are classed as income and incur a 37% tax. Conversely, the long-term capital gains tax rate is 20%. See the difference? Pillar Wealth Management realizes how important saving these costs are. We can help you plan and save on your taxes efficiently.

These are only a few of the services we provide. If you’re interested to know more about how we can help you, visit our website and schedule a free meeting with us.

How Do You Know If a Financial Advisor is Legit?

1. How Do They Plan to Meet Your Goals?
2. How Do They Allocate Assets?
3. How Do They Plan to Manage Your Expenses?
4. Do They Offer Fiduciary Services?

When you are looking for a financial advisor, you might find yourself asking, “what qualifications should a financial advisor have?”

There are many ways to spot legit financial advisory services professionals. You can start by asking these questions:

1. How Do They Plan to Meet Your Goals?

It’s your financial advisor’s job to ask the right questions and discover your life goals. They will then create an investment strategy centered around those goals.

Their job shouldn’t stop there. They should have a robust system of tracking your goal performance and a way to revisit them regularly. For example, at Pillar Wealth Management, we use a Stress Test to regularly evaluate your goal performance and stay on track.

2. How Do They Allocate Assets?

Success in asset allocation is all about consistency. It’s almost impossible to always time the market. It places too much unnecessary risk on your portfolio.

The right asset allocation can only be achieved when you remove emotion from the equation. A smart financial advisor understands consistent asset allocation and is always on the lookout for the lowest probable costs.

3. How Do They Plan to Manage Your Expenses?

This is where many financial advisors suffer. They don’t have the right kind of experience working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals to realize that reducing expenses is just as (if not more) important as earning returns.

Here are some examples of avoidable costs that they tend to overlook:

• Taxes on short term capital gains
• Bond sale spreads
• Commissions
• Tax loss cultivation

At Pillar Wealth Management, we work to save every single cost so that you can enjoy financial serenity.

4. Do They Offer Fiduciary Services?

If you are wondering, “what qualifications should a financial advisor have?” then you should consider the services they offer. A fiduciary financial advisor will be someone who does not have any other conflicts of interest and only works toward achieving your goals without emotion. Non-fiduciary advisors also want the best for their clients. However, they have to contend with their own interests and the interests of their employers. Hence, when you are looking for a financial advisor, go for one that offers fiduciary services.

A Few Last Words on Financial Advisory Services

Financial advisory services can be extremely beneficial to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals. The plethora of services available can help you protect and grow your wealth to allow you to live the life you want.

If you’re an investor with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets and are looking to find a financial advisor who will work tirelessly for your goals, we can help. Pillar Wealth Management experts use their combined 60+ years of experience to exclusively serve people of your caliber. Visit the Pillar Wealth Management website to book a free consultation today.

Signs You May Need an Advisor

Studies have shown that people who have a financial advisor feel more confident and secure about their financial future.

Nevertheless, there are specific signs that indicate you may need an advisor.

First, you have savings and would like to invest some money for growth, but you don’t know where to start. You can do a lot of research, but there’s nothing better than talking to an expert! A financial advisor is qualified to recommend a mix of investments that will match your risk tolerance and revenue goals.

Second, while it’s true that the stock market always goes up in the long run, you’re finding that your investments are not growing over time. If that’s the case, a financial advisor should be able to recommend some changes to your portfolio.

Third, you have assets, such as real property, retirement accounts, savings, stocks, and cash. If you don’t have a will or a plan for distributing those assets when you die, and in addition, the idea makes you nervous, talk to an advisor. They’ll put everything into perspective.

How to Choose a Financial Advisor  

Talk to folks in your network; you may know someone who would recommend an advisor they know or have worked with. Go online, and you’ll find a wide range of advisors ready to help you reach your financial goals.

Mare a shortlist and set up interviews to determine which advisor suits you best. You’ll want to know what services they offer, what they charge, and what their typical client looks like.

Critically, your advisor should be a good communicator, willing to listen without seeming superior. They should be available to respond to your concerns when you need help. They should also be willing to explain their investment style and approach to money management so that you increase in knowledge and the ability to manage your finances.

You want an advisor who is emotionally intelligent, able to tune in to your anxieties as well as your hopes.

The Costs of a Financial Advisor          

An important aspect of choosing a financial advisor is the cost, which will necessarily impact your investment earnings. You want your advisor to be open and honest about their fees, and legally, most advisors are required to place your best interests above their own. They should not invest your money in a product just because it will earn them a commission.

Some advisors use a commission-based compensation model, which can create conflicts of interest. Your advisor should be able to explain how they mitigate these conflicts.

Advisors often charge a fee equal to a percentage of the value of the assets they manage on your behalf, which does mitigate conflicts of interest. They earn more as your assets increase in value. Fees may also be charged hourly or per service provided.

A fee-based advisor may earn both commissions and fees. A fee-only advisor does not earn commissions.