Wealth management

I view financial management firms offering fairly standard financial instruments such as stockbroking, bond and cash management services as a reasonably sound business model in a highly competitive field.

You can, if you are aggressive enough get a little more tricky and trade options, warrants and futures; then there is commodities trading and forex if you really enjoy a wild ride. I see wealth management divisions connected to financial services firms and I frequently ask myself, what do wealth management divisions actually do?

I had to go looking for a complete definition of wealth management to assist my comprehension wealth management and my research led me to believe that wealth management is a high-end service combining multiple fields.

Wealth management is a high-level professional service holistically incorporating financial investment advice with retirement planning including accounting and tax minimisation strategies with estate planning and legal advice.

Receiving financial planning advice is not cheap; likewise, the fees superannuation funds levy against members is very costly so future retirees are faced with a quandary. One has to ask, does the greater fees charged by wealth management divisions result in higher earnings?

Generally speaking, in order to qualify as a client to wealth management divisions, the individual may require one million, five million or ten million in funds. These products are targeting high net worth individuals seeking complex instruments to minimise tax and generate higher than industry returns - then fair enough.