Role of Financial Advisor for High-Net-Worth Individuals and Families

Finding the right financial advisor according to your needs is not easy as it sounds. That’s why you should consider Pillar Wealth Management. We are an independent firm that focuses on serving high-net-worth clients with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets only. We have been working with affluent clients exclusively for more than thirty years. Our extensive experience and high level of expertise allow us to tackle any financial problems strategically and help our clients achieve all their goals and targets. Set up a free consultation with Pillar Wealth Management today.

In this blog, we’ll be looking at the two main types of financial advisors, determine which kind is ideal for wealthy individuals, what happens when you have the wrong kind of advisor, and how much money you need to have to work with a financial advisor. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents
What are the Two Types of Financial Advisors? What Kind of Financial Advisor Do I Need? What Happens if You Have the Wrong Type Playing the Role of Financial Advisor? How Much Money Do You Need to Have a Financial Advisor? Final Thoughts

What are the Two Types of Financial Advisors?

We’ve discussed many types of financial advisors. There are fiduciary financial advisors and non-fiduciary advisors. There are numerous kinds of financial advisors depending on the services they offer, such as financial planners, investment advisors, wealth managers, brokers, and many more.

Additionally, there are also different types of financial advisors depending on how they are compensated, such as fee-only financial advisors vs. fee-based financial advisors. However, besides all that, there is one other way to characterize the different types of financial advisors.

There are also transactional advisors and consultative advisors. Choosing the right type of advisor for the role of financial advisor in your life is crucial for high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. As you’ll learn more in a bit, working with the wrong kind of advisor only invites a lot of financial trouble in your life.

Here’s what you need to know about these two types of financial advisors.

Transactional Advisors

As the name suggests, transactional advisors are more concerned with your transactions. They don’t care what you do as much as they care about you doing something. Whether it’s signing up for a plan, choosing a product, or any other decision, they want you to do something rather than nothing.

Additionally, if they receive compensation from any specific transactions, they will try to steer you towards those as well, regardless of whether those are in your best interests or not. They will seemingly help you with your financial decisions while not really helping at all. They will answer all your financial questions and queries and even inform you of things you might not have known before.

But they won’t specifically guide you towards the right options or best decisions. They will simply let you make all the decisions without providing any input. Moreover, they will focus on investment strategies involving annuities, life insurance, etc.

Check out our book, The Art of Protecting Ultra-High-Net-Worth Portfolios and Estates – Strategies for Families Worth $25 million to $500 million, to learn about ways to protect your wealth and grow your assets.

Consultative Advisors

Consultative advisors are just the opposite of transactional advisors. They spend more consulting with their clients and understanding all their needs. Then, based on that, they inform them about the various choices they have, the benefits and drawbacks of different options, and which is the best decision according to their needs.

They focus on your short as well as long-term financial goals. They focus on your life’s dreams and aspirations. They focus on your plans and concerns regarding your own financial future as well as your children and family. They follow a comprehensive plan to help you attain financial success and serenity.

Start a free chat with Pillar Wealth Management to connect with the best consultative advisors. [/vc_wp_text][vc_wp_text]

What Kind of Financial Advisor Do I Need?

Now, the question arises, which financial advisor should you go for? This is a crucial question because your financial security, the success of your investments, and many other critical elements depend on your financial advisor.

For high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, it is important to choose only consultative advisors. They help affluent individuals make much better financial decisions. They help you stay prepared for any events, be it those happening in your personal life or those outside of it, and protect your assets in case of any unforeseen events.

Here are a few other things you should consider as well.

Fiduciary Duty

You should always go for fiduciary financial advisors. Transactional advisors are rarely fiduciaries, and that’s why they are not so concerned with your best interests. In contrast, a fiduciary advisor is obligated to watch out for your best interests. They can’t have any conflicts of interest.

Additionally, they must disclose all relevant information about any financial decision so that you can make a much more informed decision.

Experience

Along with their standard of care, it’s important to consider their experience as well. Certifications and proper training are important for financial advisors, but there is some knowledge that only comes with experience.

 At Pillar Wealth Management, our financial advisors and wealth managers hold more than sixty years of combined experience, allowing us to assist our clients in a smarter and more strategic manner.

Clientele

High-net-worth individuals face unique financial challenges that are entirely different from the challenges faced by an average American. That’s why such individuals also need special financial advisors who are specifically experienced with those challenges. Therefore, choose financial advisors who work exclusively with high and ultra-high-net-worth clients only.

Customized Financial Plans

One of the defining features of consultative advisors is that they offer customized and fully tailored financial plans. In comparison, transactional advisors won’t really be concerned about your goals at all, let alone making a customized plan for them. Any financial plans not based on your personal goals aren’t effective in the long run. So, make sure your advisor offers customized financial planning.

You can learn more about the factors you need to consider when choosing a financial advisor from our expert guide.

What Happens if You Have the Wrong Type Playing the Role of Financial Advisor?

Choosing the wrong kind of financial advisor has many consequences for high-net-worth individuals. Such advisors will take you away from your goals instead of helping you achieve them. You could stand to lose all of your $5 million to $500 million worth of liquid assets.

Such advisors could either lead you to bankruptcy due to the miscalculation of market forces or because of unforeseen circumstances that they didn’t prepare you for. Here are some of the things that can happen if you don’t have the right financial advisor by your side.

Failed Investments

Your investment strategy is an important aspect of your wealth management plan. With the wrong advisor, your investments will be one of the first things to suffer. The advisor will either lead you towards bad investments which give no returns or don’t account for market volatility, or they will steer you towards investments with high short-term returns but high long-term costs as well. Learn about the critical shifts you must make to ensure financial success and security from our guide on portfolio growth and other strategies.

Poor Asset Allocation

One of the investment strategies to deal with market volatility and protect your investments is through asset allocation. However, most advisors will simply diversify your portfolio across different stocks or bonds and think you’re safe. They wouldn’t focus on the proper asset allocation, which is important a well.Learn about other important investment strategies from our guide on portfolio performance.

Scaled Down Lifestyle

The wrong advisors won’t prepare you for any unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, if you do suddenly face any losses in the market, face medical surprises, or any other changes in your life that cause you to lose your wealth, you will have to end up scaling down your lifestyle. Connect with our expert advisors to help you prepare for any such situations beforehand.

How Much Money Do You Need to Have a Financial Advisor?

Now that you know which type of financial advisor you need, you may be wondering at what stage you should employ this role of financial advisor to help with all your financial decision-making.

Normally, everyone can benefit from a financial advisor, so regardless of how much money you have or what your needs are, you can work with a financial advisor. But, people who are young and still building their wealth might not feel the need to hire an advisor just as yet.

They might not be facing any complex situations just yet or have any complicated goals. As you grow older and accumulate more wealth, as you progress in your career, as your family grows, as your responsibilities grow, and as your financial position changes, it not only makes sense but it becomes critical to hire a financial advisor.

Especially when your net worth crosses $1 million and you become a high-net-worth individual, it is a must to hire a financial advisor. Similarly, when you have more than $30 million in liquid assets, you fall in the category of ultra-high-net-worth, and it becomes even more important to have the right financial advisor working by your side.

Final Thoughts

You have to spend a little time and effort to understand the different types of financial advisors out there and then pick the right one to play the role of financial advisor for all your wealth management needs. This is the only sure-fire way to ensure that you accomplish all your financial goals as well as other aspirations in life to attain financial security for yourself and even the generations to come after. Discover how to find such advisors from our guide for investors worth $10 million or more.

Now that you know about these two critical types of financial advisors, you will know straight away when you need to steer clear of an advisor and when you can proceed to work with one.

For some of the best consultative advisors, check out Pillar Wealth Management. Our expert and experienced financial advisors work exclusively with affluent clients with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. We offer a range of investment management, financial planning, and financial advisory services to help clients grow their wealth and protect their assets as well. Schedule a free consultation with our expert consultative advisors today.

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