Having lots of money is fun. You get to buy all the nice things, afford luxuries, and live a well-facilitated and well-managed lifestyle. However, with great blessings comes an even greater responsibility. As a high-net-worth individual, you own at least a million dollars (or more) in liquid assets, so there is a constant need to look after funds and make critical financial decisions.
High–net-worth individuals require a special strategy aligned with their financial position and goals to ensure that the assets are being used in the most rightly intended manner. Whether you want to diversify your investments or enter the world of philanthropy, the following tips will help you resourcefully use that wealth.
So, without any further ado, let’s find the topmost wealth management tips for high-net-worth individuals.
- Set Your Financial Goals
First, you must be clear on your financial goals and circumstances as a high-net-worth individual. The strategy regarding your short-term and long-term goals depends on your circumstances. For example, if you are a retired senior, most of your assets might be controlled by your next of kin. If you are an active entrepreneur, your wealth must be subjected to a regulated change. Regardless, the financial goals are usually a representation of circumstances, values, and inspirations.
Short-Term Goals
Most HNWIs focus on preserving their wealth and growing more assets. It can come from investing in safe sources such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. Since you are loaded, it is customary to expect a wide range of taxes, so dealing with efficiency can also be a part of your financial goals.
Short-term goals are more focused on increasing wealth and providing a resourceful and safe wealth management plan that helps in achieving the targets. Consider hiring a fiduciary financial planner to get the best possible investment options.
Long-Term Goals
Your long-term goals are created by keeping a time frame of five years and more in mind. It can be a comprehensive estate plan where you transfer your wealth to the rightful heirs or a resourceful retirement plan. Maintaining a financially stable future for yourself and your family without a 9-5 can also be one of the long-term plans of HNWIs. You can easily stride towards your long-term goals by hiring a professional team to assist you.
- Hire Professionals to Manage Money
Since we are dealing with a lot of liquid and non-liquid assets here, it is ideal to invest some of it in professionals who can only help you progress further. Hire a team of financial professionals such as a financial advisor, financial planner, tax specialist, and estate planner to streamline your goals and create a wealth management plan that matches your expectations.
With so many options and service providers, it can be a bit overwhelming to choose someone who fits all your requirements. Luckily, with a few simple steps, you can hire wealth management professionals who check all the boxes.
Vigilant Hiring Plan
When hiring a professional, review the registered companies and individuals offering wealth management services in your area. Most people opt for highly reviewed companies or those already hired and tested by loved ones.
Make sure that the person you are hiring has relevant experience than what you are looking for. Talk to them ask them about their professional credentials, certifications, and qualifications to ensure that the person you hired has all the skills needed to help you reach targets.
Clarify the Contract and Terms
Always hire someone you have a strong positive intuition about. Even the most professional people can come out as horrible beings. Find someone who is not only good at what they do but also possesses the necessary financial skills to uplift your wealth to a whole new level.
Define the terms and conditions in a written contract to make it a confirmed deal between you and your financial experts. A contract should contain the following things:
- Role of both parties
- Interests of both parties
- Duration of contract
- Fee structure
- Date of validity
- Legal clauses by both parties
- Signatures to close the deal
- Protect Your Assets
Given that your assets are at the higher end, it is mandatory to deal with asset protection and management. High-net-worth individuals need to focus on asset protection to keep them away from lawsuits and unexpected compensations. In fact, financial professionals of the modern world claim asset protection is as important as wealth management. It is a simple concept of securing your hard-earned assets, deemed a bit complex and confusing because of the tools and processes.
A couple of steps taken by other HNWIs are:
Depositing Money in Insurance and Security
Buying insurance against anything you own is a substantial way to claim against any loss. Since you can afford it, it is ideal to get insurance for the most important and expensive assets that you own, such as your health, estate, vehicles, and business.
Diversify Investments
Instead of putting all your money in one place, we recommend diversifying your investments in a number of different business ventures. Some of it can be used to buy stocks, some for bonds, some money can be invested in your personal ventures and more. Diversifying your investments means that if something from one venture goes south, there is always a backup that keeps you from going bankrupt.
Separate Personal and Professional
As a high-net-worth individual, you probably have businesses under your name. The best way to protect your assets in this scenario is by separating your finances from the company. Register a Limited Liability Company or an LLC that separates your identity from the business.
Build Trust
In case of loss, creditors can give you a hard time surviving in the industry. The best thing to do at your peak is to be regular with your loan payments. Regular loan payments result in a better credit score, which means your creditors and even your bank can give you leverage in more challenging times.
Final Thoughts
People with liquid assets of over a million dollars are considered high-net-worth individuals. To maintain your wealth and increase it, you need to establish short and long-term financial goals with the help of a professional team. Look for professional people and clarify your terms with them before offering any information.
Besides wealth management goals, also seek ways to protect your assets such as diverse investments, insurances and LLCs.
