The decision to work with a wealth manager can be very important. By partnering with a wealth manager, you don’t have to take on the huge responsibility of developing a plan and setting long-term financial goals alone.
If you’re like most Americans, you probably aren’t working with a wealth manager right now. One recent study found that 75 percent of U.S. adults manage their own finances. However, another study found that people who do have their own financial advisors are much more confident with their finances.
If building a financial future with a wealth management plan designed to weather market cycles is something you’re interested in, it may be time to partner with a wealth manager.
The Benefits of Working with a Wealth Manager
Wealth managers bring many benefits to the table, some of which may include:
- Experience. It might be your first time going through big life changes: retirement, aging into Social Security, or saving for your kids’ education, to name a few. Some wealth managers have helped their clients navigate these milestones time and time again.
- Knowledge. Maintaining a healthy portfolio can require a wide breadth of knowledge because there are so many different things to consider. Experienced wealth managers might help you with things like asset allocation, investments, taxes, insurance, Social Security, annuities, education funds, and more.
- Confidence. Building a wealth management plan on your own can be hard work. By partnering with a wealth manager, you get access to an unbiased professional perspective that can help you build a plan that may help you feel more confident.
- Personalized advice. Beyond helping you design a plan, wealth managers can act as advisors who provide impartial opinions as markets shift and you reach major milestones in your life. Advisors who get to know you as a person and become intimately familiar with the specific details of your finances may be able to offer advice on the best path forward. Your plans might shift as tax laws change and your financial situation improves, for example. Wealth managers have seen many different circumstances and can offer insightful guidance tailored to your unique needs.
All this said, you may be thinking that you don’t need a wealth management advisor when you’re young and don’t have a ton of assets to manage (unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg). Let’s take a look at signs that may indicate that you are ready to bring a professional into the mix.
3 Signs You Might Be Ready to Talk to a Financial Advisor
Once you’ve saved up a little bit of wealth and you’re ready to get serious about managing your financial future, here are three signs that indicate you may want to start your search for a wealth manager.
1. When you don’t have the time or resources to manage your own finances:
Maybe you’re busy with work. Maybe you’re busy with your family. Maybe you’re remodeling your house, and you just don’t have the time to manage your own wealth.
Depending on your situation, it may be risky to take a passive approach to wealth management. When you’re super busy, you might consider partnering with a fixed-fee wealth manager who charges a rate that makes sense and is easy to understand.
Otherwise, even in a best-case scenario where your self-managed investments are doing well, your personal or professional life may suffer since you may not have as much free time.
2. When you have to manage complicated financial situations
Managing your cash, a mortgage, and a run-of-the-mill retirement account might come easy to you. But what happens when you’re offered stock options at work? What about when you own a small business or have several real estate investments or other similar assets? What happens when you’re not an expert on tax planning or when you want to begin estate planning?
Without the skills and expertise, managing complicated financial situations can be incredibly difficult. By partnering with a wealth manager who can be knowledgeable in a number of financial areas, you have a partner helping you work toward a more strategic long-term plan.
3. When you value professional investment expertise
You don’t treat yourself when you are incredibly sick. You go to the doctor because they are trained, are certified, and know what they’re doing.
If you don’t really know what you’re doing with your investments, should you really manage every trade and every position yourself? This is where wealth advisors may be able to assist. As such, they’re well-positioned to help you develop a strategy that works for you and your specific financial needs and circumstances.
Are You Ready to Partner with a Wealth Manager?
Wealth managers may provide the experience and expertise needed to help clients like you develop financial plans that take their unique situations into account.
To learn more about what to look for in a wealth manager or financial advisor, check this out.
DISCLOSURES:
- EP Wealth Advisors makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented herein. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any of the information represented will be applicable, useful, or suitable. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice.
- Working with or hiring a qualified advisor, wealth manager and/or financial planner does not guarantee investment success, and does not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results. No guaranty or warranty is made that any direct or implied results or projections being represented here will be met or sustained.
- Information presented is general in nature and should not be viewed as a comprehensive analysis of the topics discussed. It is intended to serve as a tool containing general information that should assist you in the development of subsequent discussions. Content does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice nor is it intended to supplement professional individualized advice.
- The need for a financial advisor, wealth manager or financial planner and/or the type of services required are specific to the uniqueness of each individual’s circumstances. There is no guarantee or warrantee that the services offered by EP Wealth Advisors will satisfy your financial services requirements. Services offered by other advisors may align more to your specific needs.
- All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Different types of investments and investment strategies involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment or strategy will be suitable or profitable for a client's portfolio. The risk of loss can never be eliminated even if working with a professional.
- EP Wealth Advisors, LLC. is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and only transacts business in states where it is properly registered, or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission nor does it indicate that the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability
