UHNW Wealth Management

Ultra wealthy individuals need UHNW wealth management services to maintain and grow their assets. At Pillar Wealth Management, we specialize in providing such services for investors with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets. Investors with $5 million or more can learn about some of the high and ultra-high net worth wealth management strategies we use by requesting a free copy of our new book 7 Secrets to High Net Worth Investment Management, Estate, Tax, and Financial Planning.

What Defines an Ultra High Net Worth Individual?

Ultra-high net worth individuals are the wealthiest people in the world and include all the world’s billionaires. Although there’s no legal definition of ultra-high net worth individuals, they’re commonly referred to as individuals holding liquid assets worth $30 million or more. This means they sit significantly above high net worth individuals. For deeper insights into ultra-high net worth individuals, schedule a video consultation with our wealth managers.

Different wealth management firms, however, have their own definition of ultra-high net worth individuals. For example, Pillar Wealth management requires investors to hold $25 million in liquid assets, not $30 million, to be called an ultra-high net worth investor. If you meet that criterion, you’ll find this hardcover book highly valuable: The Art of Protecting Ultra-High Net Worth Portfolios and Estates — Strategies For Families Worth $25 Million To $500 Million.

What is the Difference Between High Net Worth and Ultra-High Net Worth?

Wealthy individuals may use different terminology to classify their wealth. Among these are the terms “high net worth” and “ultra-high net worth.” You may be wondering what these terms mean and whether they aptly describe your level of wealth. Please set up a special free video meeting with our wealth managers to learn about high and ultra-high net worth.

The term “high net worth” typically refers to individuals with a minimum of $1 million in assets. There are approximately 18.6 million individuals in the United States who possess a net worth of at least $1 million, so high net worth investors are more common than one would think.

The term “ultra-high net worth” refers to individuals with a minimum of $30 million in assets. This level of wealth is much harder to reach. There are approximately 70,000 individuals in the United States who qualify as having an ultra-high net worth.

What Bank Accounts Do Millionaires Use?

You may have wondered, “How much money does a billionaire have in the bank?” or “Where do the rich keep their money?” For ultra-high net worth individuals, relationships with banks are a bit different. The majority of the ultra-wealthy choose big-name banks, which include Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo. The only difference is that the ultra-rich use private banking services. Individuals with millions of dollars don’t use current accounts and deposit slips to manage their money. Instead, they use private banking, which provides the services of experienced financial advisors and wealth managers.

What Do Wealth Managers Charge Their Clients?

As you can see, wealth managers can help you grow your net worth and protect your wealth using a variety of different strategies. You may be wondering what these professionals charge their clients. Wealth managers differ from other financial advisors because they charge their clients a fixed annual fee based on a percentage of the value of the client’s assets.

This fee structure enables clients to utilize a wealth manager’s expertise as needed and without incurring additional charges. However, it is still important to study the wealth management firm‘s terms and conditions carefully, before signing up with the firm, to ensure there are no hidden charges. You can learn about Pillar Wealth Management’s fees by setting up a video meeting with one of our wealth managers.

How to Recruit a Great Wealth Manager

Wealth managers are in a class of their own in the financial world. However, that doesn’t mean each one offers high quality and reliable services.

You can follow the steps below to find the right wealth manager for your needs:

1. Look in Your Network

If you have any other high net worth or ultra-high net worth individuals in your network, the chances are that some of them use wealth managers. You should consider asking around and learning which wealth management firms these individuals rely on to protect their wealth.

2. Do Your Research Online

The next best place to search for a wealth manager is on the internet. All wealth management firms maintain websites. You can look up various wealth managers who work in these firms and learn about the services they offer.

3. Pay Attention to Reviews and Testimonials

It can be difficult to gauge a wealth management firm’s quality simply by looking at its website. A good strategy is to look for reviews for the firm. You may find reviews left by their previous clients on independent review sites.

When reading these reviews, look for any red flags or indications that the wealth manager may not be reliable. The right wealth manager always keeps their clients at the top of their list of priorities and strives to offer high-quality guidance at critical moments.

4. Schedule Interviews

Once your wealth manager choices are down to five candidates, you should set up a meeting with each one. Speaking with a wealth manager directly is the best way to gauge their expertise. Tell them about your financial background and goals for the future. They can then describe their wealth management services and how they can help you.

During this meeting, pay close attention to the wealth manager’s language. The best wealth managers take the details about their clients into account before offering personalized advice. If the wealth manager is simply offering generalized advice that doesn’t address your key concerns, they may not be the right wealth manager for you.

Wealth Management & Financial Advisor Services for Ultra-High Worth Individuals

Assuming that you’re an ultra-high net worth individual, you should be looking for wealth managers and financial advisors with experience in dealing with UHNW portfolios. Here are some of the services they can provide UHNW individuals:

Short- and Long-Term Financial Planning

Financial advisors work with ultra-high net worth clients to develop and implement plans to achieve their short- and long-term goals. For instance, as an ultra-high net worth individual, you may want your financial advisor to analyze your debt and come up with a plan to mitigate or minimize the amount you owe. In addition, you may seek help in devising a savings plan for your children’s college education.

Your financial advisor can help you set up a month-to-month budget aimed at mitigating your debt while also depositing funds to a 529 college savings plan. To learn more about the financial planning services offered by an ultra-high net worth financial advisor, schedule a video meeting with our wealth managers.

Retirement Planning

As an ultra-high net worth individual, you probably think about what your dream retirement will look like. You might be looking forward to a world tour or utilizing the opportunity to pursue your entrepreneurial dream. Regardless of what you want to do after retiring, you should plan for a stable income stream to support you for the two or three remaining decades of your life.

Your financial advisor will help you build wealth for retirement as well as protect it for the long term. They’ll predict your long-term projected financial needs and develop strategies to boost your retirement savings. They’ll guide you on when exactly to withdraw required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your investment accounts so you don’t face unnecessary penalties. You’ll also learn when it’s the right time to tap into Social Security.

Tax Planning

Financial advisors do provide tax planning services, but this doesn’t mean they’re top-class tax experts with profound knowledge of tax law, like CPAs (Certified Public Accountant). Nor will they file tax returns on your behalf. You can expect them to manage your tax liability resulting from your investment strategies. They’ll take advantage of tax rules that can minimize your liability, thereby building your wealth. At the very least, your wealth manager should be willing to work with your tax attorney or accountant to ensure that your strategies are not going to cause any issues and are optimized to keep your tax liability at a minimum.

If, however, your financial advisor also happens to be a CPA, you’ll have peace of mind regarding your tax affairs. To learn about the tax planning services offered by Pillar Wealth Management, schedule a video meeting with our wealth managers.

Investments

Most financial advisors are highly skillful investment professionals. They’ll help you determine which mutual funds are right for you and advise you on managing your investment portfolio and making the most of your investments. Apart from letting you know what to do to meet your goals, they’ll also help you understand the risks.

One of the most critical goals associated with investments is portfolio building. In your case, you’ll be expecting ultra-high-net-worth portfolio management. It’s about having a balance of investment assets that keep growing at minimal risk. A wealth manager will let you know what you already have in assets, what further investment options you have, and the type of risks that accompany your investment choices. They’ll use their expertise and intuition to determine the degree of fluctuation you can tolerate in your daily balances and during unforeseen events like a pandemic or recession.

An experienced financial advisor will also keep you on the roller coaster of investments when times are tough. Since they understand that what goes down will likely go back up, they remain emotionally neutral. With their counseling, you’ll suddenly start viewing your investments from a long-term perspective and stay right on track for your ultra-high-net-worth portfolio management. To learn more about this, refer to our guide to improving your portfolio performance.

Estate Planning

No matter how depressing it may be to discuss your end-of-life prospects, you simply can’t leave your enormous wealth unplanned when it’s time to depart from this world. It’s important to decide what will happen to the assets, property, and business you’ve worked to build all your life. Because you never know when the time for departure will come, estate planning is too important to be delayed until tomorrow.

For ordinary individuals, estate planning can be as simple as preparing a will and purchasing life insurance, which can be adjusted to account for your life changes over time.

However, if your estate amounts to millions of dollars due to your being an ultra-high net worth individual, your situation will be more complex. Hiring a financial advisor who has experience in estate planning services becomes important. They’ll guide you in developing a comprehensive estate plan to ensure that your wishes and directions are implemented. Their services can include suggestions for the type of financial products you should set up to pass on (such as a giving fund or trust), the kind of insurance you need, business succession planning, what should be done with your investments, and more.

Concluding Thoughts

UHNW wealth management is important for the wealthy to protect and grow their net worth. Your wealth manager will help you protect your assets as well as achieve your financial goals. Get in touch with us today at Pillar Wealth Management for an initial chat.

Authors

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.