Sam has gotten to a certain level in life where he is starting to make more than $20 million a year. It is at this point, where Sam has been encouraged to hire a wealth manager to start looking after his books.
The hiring process will be challenging. Sam will have a lot of questions that need to be answered before he hires someone.
Everyone has an agenda. Sometimes it is hard to know who can be trusted and who cannot. Below is a sample checklist of things people who earn a great deal of money should think about before making their selection.
1) Sam already know someone on the finance world, his account. His account could offer suggests for Sam on who to hire. His accountant just handles the basics of his income. His private wealth is separate. Sam wants someone who is skilled with private wealth management services above and beyond the basics.
Bottom line: Sam should be able to trust his accountant to offer him help, otherwise, the guy has no business being his accountant.
2) A private wealth manager’s core skills should be in investing and planning. Sam needs to choose someone who has the necessary skills to handle his wealth. Some earn more than others. Sam’s wealth status is about $30 million.
Sam needs a private wealth manager who can handle his kind of wealth because there are different levels of wealth. Does Sam manage someone’s else wealth along with his? That happens sometimes with wealthy individuals. In that case, Sam needs someone who can handle both his and theirs respectively without getting the two mixed up.
Sam may earn more than the person he helps. The last thing Sam wants is for his wealth to be confused with the other guy’s and have the two misrepresented.
3) Sam should determine his goals before he starts asking questions. Sam’s goals need to align with the person he hires. Say the guy Sam hires wants to do something different, something that may not be in Sam’s best interests.
This is where a potential problem could arise. Sam needs to take the guy of the running right away if he fears that could happen.
4) What are Sam’s philosophies about investing? Do they align with the guy he could potentially hire? This is similar to what was mentioned above. but goes into much greater detail.
Sam has to make sure that his ideas are similar to how the guy he hires feels about things. The last thing Sam wants is to hire someone who does not believe what he believes.
5) What is the significance of Sam’s relationship with his private wealth manager? Sam might want him to be there 24/7. Sam may decide to have him around once in a while.
What about his manager? Will Sam be a priority for him or not? Sam needs to know that before he signs the paperwork. The last thing Sam wants is to hire someone who views their relationship as a “one-way street.”
6) To what level of involvement will Sam want the guy in his decision-making process. Sam may only want him to know what he is doing and to get the job done. Sam may want some input about his decisions and whether or not he is making the right ones. Sam needs someone who can fill that role, regardless of what his needs are.