Wealth Management

Being a curious finance student, I often think about wealth management. Wealth management or money management, when done correctly, has wide-ranging benefits for investors of all kinds —large and small. This is the reason why wealth management has come to be associated with the rich and wealthy is because wealth is associated with the rich and wealthy. Wealth management is more than just investment advice, as it can encompass all parts of a person’s financial life. In fact, the wealth manager starts by developing a plan that will maintain and increase the client’s wealth based on the individual’s financial situation, goals and comfort level with risk.

How much money do you need for wealth management? In short: A lot. For example, Fidelity’s “private wealth management service,” where you have an entire team of financial professionals working on your behalf, requires at least $2 million invested through Fidelity Wealth Services and $10 million or more in total investable assets. Fidelity also offers a simpler “wealth management” service, where you work with an individual advisor and requires a $250,000 account minimum. Vanguard, another online brokerage, offers a range of financial advice services; the one it describes as “wealth management” requires a $5 million minimum.

When I’m thinking about high net-worth individuals, there’s a tendency to view them as people without problems, living a life of luxury. Because they’ve been able to amass a significant amount of wealth over time, they’re set for life — or so the thinking goes like. In fact, having a high degree of wealth is far from a care-free status. Owning wealth means needing to take care of it, whether through implementing tax planning, setting up an orderly estate or creating a successful investment plan, after all. This might explain the soaring popularity of wealth management. Although wealth management isn’t simply about making financial plans for your future, at its most basic, wealth management is a matter of realizing your priorities.

If you don’t have a high net worth or a lot of money saved, you likely don’t need a wealth manager. You may instead prefer to pay for a financial or investment advisor who can help you create a strategy to accumulate money over time. Think of it this way: A financial advisor may be able to help you grow your wealth, while a wealth manager can help you manage your money once you’ve achieved a high net worth. In developed markets like Singapore, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Malaysia, Hongkong, etc., wealth management contributes significantly in any financial institution’s revenue structure. On an average, in developed markets it contributes up to 35-40 percent of revenue generated by the financial institutions. There is a whole array of wealth management products that individuals can choose for as per their requirements. There is a structured presence of dedicated wealth management advisors and investment advisors in these markets. Individuals can avail wealth management advisory services from such advisors without visiting individual brokers, firms or fund managers. After all, wealth management provides an end-to-end solution for an individual in a true sense when it comes to leveraging their wealth.