Hiring a professional to manage your wealth can be a challenging decision. This is especially true if you’re new to investing. Even if you have a little more experience with investments, it’s still crucial to choose the right wealth manager, since this decision could affect your business and ultimately your family. Here are some suggestions that may help you make the right choice.
Get Referrals
If you have advisors outside of private wealth management, like an accountant or estate attorney, ask them to provide referrals. You can also ask friends who have a private wealth manager to recommend someone for you. If people you trust have had positive experiences with a private wealth manager you’re considering, you’ll be more likely to feel confident about your final decision.
Look for Skills
Think about the reasons why you want to hire a private wealth manager. Do you need help planning and managing your wealth? Are you looking to invest in order companies? Would you like to be more organized and financially aware when it comes to retirement? Once you know these things, you can choose a private wealth manager who is skilled in these areas. Every manager should know about wealth planning and investments, but it’s best to look for private wealth managers with skills that are specific to your needs. If you find a private wealth manager who is qualified in all but one of the areas you need, it may be a good idea to hire the manager in addition to a private wealth management firm that can provide the remaining service you need.
Know Your Goals
Before you decide which private wealth manager is right for you, you should know what your long-term objectives are for your wealth. Assess your current lifestyle, and list all the things that you’d like to change as a result of properly managing your wealth. You have to have a clear definition of success in order to know how to spend and save wisely. You’ll also have to share your income needs with a private wealth manager, so that he/she can properly advise you based on a suitable monthly and/or yearly budget.
Investment Philosophy
Your investment philosophy is similar to your goals, but there is a distinct difference. Your goals refer to planning your wealth, such as leaving assets or a trust fund for your children. Goals also include the allocation of assets, such as how you and your advisors divide assets according to their investment risk and return profiles. However, your investment philosophy is the way that investors select the strategies and investments that you provide to clients. You have to make sure that your private wealth manager shares your philosophies to ensure that your wealth is supervised in a way is best for your personal and professional finances, whether that means purchase securities at a discount rate until the securities grow and prove their worth, or hiring a manager who only works with third-party investment managers who share your philosophy.
Remember to hire a private wealth manager who understands that your philosophy on money says a lot about how you view the world at large. So, if you’re not sure what your investment philosophy is yet, ask about the wealth manager’s stance on financial issues to determine if they are in keeping with what you want to accomplish.