How do I Choose the Best Wealth Management Service?

Selecting the appropriate wealth management service for an affluent individual, small business or large institution can mean the difference between growing wealth and merely preserving it. It also can save a non-investment professional from losing net worth, which is among the worst-case scenarios. You can choose the best wealth management service with some proper research, proper resources and a clear expectation of short-term and long-term financial goals.

An extensive wealth management service will give you all of the resources you need to properly plan for your financial future. The areas of focus can include things such as retail banking, estate planning, the management of an investment portfolio and managing taxes. In order to qualify for any wealth management service, you should have accumulated some wealth to be managed.

To begin researching wealth managers, you can do an Internet search for private wealth management. Some financial conglomerates such as investment banks have a retail wealth management arm located inside or outside of the bank to provide wealth management services. If you are interested in using a brand-name bank, you can turn to one of these large institutions and ask whether it has a local branch in your area. Sometimes, the name of the smaller firm will be different because a local branch might be owned by the wealth management professional, but this division would still belong under the umbrella of the larger investment firm. This is important if you are looking for the assurance of a household name.

If you do not limit your search to only the well-known firms, there are certain titles earned by financial professionals to look out for. These earned titles include Certified Financial Planners (CPA) or Chartered Strategic Investment Professionals, who are trained to be proficient at managing the wealth of individuals who have a high net worth. Also, you should look for a firm that offers comprehensive services, including asset management, which entails investing in the financial markets. Not all of your wealth should be in the stock market, but to grow wealth, some of your total net worth probably should be set aside for investing.

Don't be afraid to read the biographies of the professional money managers at a firm. If you are hiring a wealth management service, you should make sure that your financial future and any succession planning are in the best possible care. In reading the credentials of a wealth manager, find out which business school he or she graduated from and do some research on that institution to learn the caliber of the education that the wealth management professional received. Also note the amount of money that the professional money manager cumulatively oversees for clients.