5 Signs You Picked The Right Wealth Manager

I have been in the wealth management business for many years.  In my long-term career in the financial services sector, I have witnessed countless investors who grew their wealth because they picked the right wealth manager. Unfortunately, however, I have also seen one too many failed investments because the wealth manager they hired took a passive approach in managing their portfolios.

By definition, wealth managers are financial experts who offer a host of financial services. Aside from financial advisory and active asset management, wealth managers also design financial products tailor-made to suit clients’ needs and financial goals.

When planning for your financial future, one of the toughest decisions you have to make is choosing a wealth manager. Choosing a wealth manager is just like choosing a doctor or a lawyer.  You want to hire the services of a competent professional who has your best interests at heart.  Yes, picking the right financial expert to manage your wealth is definitely serious business.  You have to do extensive research, ask for recommendations and interview prospective candidates.

But what if you have a wealth manager already? How will you know if you hired the right one?  Here’s how:

1.  Your wealth manager connects with you and shares your business philosophy.  When you first started your relationship with your wealth manager, you both worked on identifying your financial goals.  If he knows that he is doing, he would design financial strategies to help you achieve those goals in the soonest possible time. He would also devise ways to measure if your investments are making progress and then move ahead as planned.

2.  Your wealth manager takes time to explain complex matters using simple terminology. You hired a wealth manager because growing your assets requires the skills of a financial expert, and also because you want to spend more time on equally important things.  If your wealth manager patiently explains financial market trends and complexities using simple terms, he’s a keeper.

3.  Your wealth manager communicates with you regularly.  In our firm, we emphasize the need for constant communication between clients and wealth managers.  Our wealth managers are responsible for regularly updating clients on any changes in their portfolio. They also give quarterly and annual reports to inform you of your investments’ progress.

4.  Your wealth manager gives you undivided attention.  Our investment team at INNOVATIS is committed to forging deep, long-term relationships with clients. We believe in providing unparalleled customer service at all times.  By bringing your business to us, you are assured that your personalized portfolio will be given individual support.  Moreover, there is no such thing as an unreturned call in our firm. When you have questions, you will get answers.

5.  Your wealth manager has your trust and confidence. You can only have a long-term business relationship with your wealth manager if he has earned your trust and confidence.  This is the reason why I always remind our investment team to always adhere to our corporate values of innovation and integrity.  I always tell them that treating clients with respect, honesty, transparency in a consistent manner is the only way to earning their trust and confidence.

Erwin Lasshofer is an Austrian-born expert in the financial services sector. He is the founder of INNOVATIS (Suisse) AG and sole owner of INNOVATIS GmbH.  An industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in structuring financial products and strategic development, he supervises the asset management team of INNOVATIS (Suisse) AG and other INNOVATIS entities.