Wealth Management is an advanced investment advisory discipline that incorporates financial planning and specialist financial services. The key objectives are to provide high net worth individuals and families with tailored retail banking services, estate planning, legal resources, taxation advice and investment management, with the goal of sustaining and growing long-term wealth. Whereas financial planning can be helpful for individuals who have accumulated wealth or are just starting to accumulate wealth, one must already have accumulated a significant amount of wealth for the wealth management process to be effective.

Wealth management can be provided by independent financial advisers or large corporate entities whose services are designed to focus on high-net worth retail customers. Such customers would be considered 'mass affluent' or 'upper retail' clients because of their net worth, the number of potential products they own from financial institutions, their assets under management and other methods of segmentation. Large banks and brokerage houses create separate sales forces, services and other 'benefits' to retain or attract these customers who are typically more profitable than other retail banking, brokerage, or insurance customers. However, wealth management clients are not Private Banking clients because they simply do not have the Net Worth or Assets under management to justify the level of banking services that Private Banks provide.

External links

• Wealth Management Department of Treasury Handbook
• Federal Reserve Comments
• EXAMPLE of advisory company First Financial Resources
• Dictionary - Wealth Management
• Opportunity Knocks - Unlocking the Wealth Management Potential in Asia, Deloitte & Touche - Financial Services 1