According to Investopedia, wealth management is a “service that combines financial/investment advice, accounting/tax services, retirement planning, and legal/estate planning for one fee.” While that definition is an oversimplification of the term, it’s safe to say that wealth management has historically been a service for high-net-worth individuals.
For purposes of our conversation, note that Investopedia indicates that high-net-worth individuals typically have at least $1 million in liquid assets. Those with more than $5 million are considered very-high-net-worth individuals. Have $50 million in wealth? Then you’re an ultra-high-net-worth individual. If you’re not fortunate enough to fall into any of those categories, chances are you’ve never been a good prospect for a company focused on providing wealth management services. The fees would simply be too high for the individual investor and, frankly, the bank wouldn’t make enough money from you as a customer.
While this is how wealth management has operated for decades, that doesn’t mean that it should stay that way. It doesn’t mean that an individual investor, without an accumulation of massive wealth, shouldn’t be able to receive the same solid financial advice the wealthy do.
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