Far from average
A financial planner develops financial plans for clients. A wealth manager specializes in complex wealth management and transfer issues unique to affluent clients. As a person with above-average means, you are going to need to enlist more than one professional to take care of what you have built. A private wealth manager is a project manager of sorts…
Why We Work
Our dedication as private wealth practitioners comes from our competitive spirit and desire to provide the same world class service to clients that we demand for ourselves and our loved ones. With prudent wealth management we are able to safeguard our legacies for future generations and ensure the continuation of our communities and institutions for years to come.
What Does A Wealth Manager Do?
| Service Emphasis | Practice Type | Definition | Services Offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment Management | Money Manager | Build portfolios of individual securities for clients and focus exclusively on asset management | Investment management and asset allocation |
| ↓ | Investment Manager | Emphasize asset management as their primary service and provide modular issue-based planning | Primary focus on investment, retirement, and education planning |
| ↓ | Financial Planner | Develop complete financial plans based on an extensive analysis of their clients’ assets and liabilities | Full range of planning services, including income, tax, and insurance |
| Advice | Wealth Manager | Specialize in comprehensive wealth management and transfer issues, including stock option planning, executive compensation, complex trust and estate planning, and charitable giving | Complete range of planning services; emphasis on complex estate, charitable giving, and business planning |
"As an industry we have a tendency to over-complicate explanations of what we do, but If you don't understand it- you don't need it. It is our mission to enhance our clients' quality of life. By listening to people and understanding their journey, we are in a much better place to propose solutions instead of selling products and services. Listening is the foundation of good advice."
Martin D. King CPWA®, Principal
What Differentiates Us
Qualified To Lead
The focus on advanced and voluntary education is about providing meaningful service to present and future clients. Three quarters of high-net-worth clients say that designations and certifications would be important to decision making if they were choosing an advisor today – The Exceptional Advisor® Program – Investments & Wealth Management Institute
Q: If you were looking for a new wealth manager today, how important would the designations/certifications, that he/she has, be in making your decision?
Our wealth managers hold various accreditations and licenses in various areas of financial planning, investment and wealth management. The Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) accreditation let’s you know that you are working with a professional that has a deliberate focus on the unique issues and opportunities that exist for HNWI and UHNWI’s.
The Investments & Wealth Institute partnered with Cerulli Associates to measure the value of the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) and the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) certifications. Data used was gathered as part of Cerulli’s annual process of surveying financial advisors and collected on a continuous basis throughout 2019.
Quality, Not Quantity
IWI Certified Practices are proven to outperform non-certified practices across a number of metrics. CPWA ® advisor firms are more likely to be professionals servicing a small group of high net worth clients compared to non-certified practices where the number of clients being serviced is significantly larger. Providing services to a smaller number of clients means more time per-client and an increasing understanding of client wants and needs.
CPWA® Firms
Non CPWA ® Firms
In It For The Long Run
CPWA® advisors have on average 2.9 years more professional experience than non CPWA® advisers. Given that advisers must already have a provable 5 year track record of working with HNWI clients and be able to provide 2 industry references before being able to apply to the education program it would seem logical that CPWA® advisers are commonly senior, experienced wealth practitioners.
CPWA® Firms
Non CPWA ® Firms
Operating At Scale
Mean Practice Size (Millions, USD)
CPWA® Certified practices typically service a larger asset base than non certified practices. This reflects the nature of the skills and techniques that must be understood and correctly applied to achieve certification. Many CPWA® wealth planning strategies only apply to higher rate tax payers and as such are most beneficial for those with a high annual income and net worth of 12,060,000 USD.
Mean Client Size (Millions, USD)
CPWA® advisor clients are on average wealthier than non CPWA® advisor clients. Looking to understand why involves some ‘chicken or the egg’ debate; do clients choose a CPWA® adviser because they are wealthier and require more sophisticated services, or do they become wealthier because they are able to retain more sophisticated services.
Learn more about your CPWA® Professional.