What Is Wealth Management

What is Wealth Management?

Jon Bean from Carter Thompson Wealth Management joins the Pension and Investments Podcast to share his expertise on how and why it is important to manage our finances..

What exactly is wealth management and why is it important?

Essentially, it’s making sure that things are on track for your future, that your money is working as hard as it can be. For most people that means finding somebody who can help you take control of your finances so that you can live life the way you want to.

That might mean retiring early, clearing your mortgage, or passing some wealth to your children. The answer is financial planning and wealth management. That way, you’ve got a plan for the future and a way to achieve it.

Who can benefit from wealth management?

Really, the vast majority of people can benefit from wealth management. I explain it to people as being like having a satnav in the car. You can do without and use a map if you want to, but a satnav is easier. You’re reducing stress and pressure and making it simpler to get from A to B.

We save people time and money, and make sure they fully understand their options. We work with all kinds of people in many situations. It might be that you’ve built up half a dozen pensions over your working lifetime – you don’t know how much you have, or what the death benefits are. We can help you track them down, consolidate them if required and see how your retirement is shaping up.

Or you might have savings that are not giving you a good return because of low interest rates. We can help you grow that money if you’re not going to need it in the short term.

We also work with a lot of people who want to make sure that if something happens to them, whether they become ill and unable to work or they pass away, their families are protected.

So what is included in wealth management?

The phrase I always use with anyone who comes in for a meeting is, “what would make today a good meeting?”. It’s about understanding what the client wants to achieve, when and why. That then determines what’s involved.

It might be about ensuring you’ve got an emergency reserve of cash, or getting the right structure in place for your retirement planning.

For some people it’s ensuring that investments are in the right place: you’re not taking too much risk, but equally that you’re not taking too little. That can change depending on how close you are to retiring. Generally speaking, earlier in your working lifetime, you can accept a little bit more volatility. But as you get closer to retirement many people pull back from risky investments to get more consistency.

We also look at tax planning to take advantage of the various tax reliefs and allowances. For some people that might be inheritance tax planning and trust planning, to pass assets to the next generation efficiently. It really does depend on the client and what they need.

HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen.

Ultimately, we aim to create an individual plan for you that we can review and refine every year to make sure that the goals are still relevant and you’re still on track to achieve them. That’s where we add value. We get the right products, plans and funds, but the key thing is that we keep working to make sure you’re on track. It’s reassuring to know that someone is looking out for your wealth.

The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested.

What is the difference between a wealth manager and a financial adviser?

To a certain extent the terms are interchangeable: wealth manager, financial adviser, financial planner. I refer to myself as a financial planner as for me, it’s about building a plan for every client – but I wouldn’t take offence if you called me a wealth manager or financial adviser.

In some ways, wealth management is about the nuts and bolts – using a car analogy again, it’s making sure the vehicle is serviced and the oil’s topped up. It’s getting the right products in place.

Financial planning is getting your goals together and making sure you stay on track. It’s the satnav in your car. The two work together to make sure that you know where you’re going and you have everything you need to get there.

What are the costs involved in wealth management?

We work on a fee basis, and make sure that you are totally clear about the costs involved before you make any decisions.

We offer everybody an initial meeting at our expense. That’s where we get to know each other and find out what your goals are – that way we can understand the amount of work required and what the costs might be.

Next, we’ll do some research and come back with a ballpark cost for the work. Before we go ahead with anything will make sure that you know exactly how much you’re being and what for and that you’re happy with that.

We keep everything relaxed and informal – so don’t be nervous about getting in touch and finding out how we can help.