Building Wealth for the Future: A Wealth Management Roadmap

| March 12, 2024 | By

Wealth management isn’t just a lofty goal for people with large amounts of resources. It’s an essential part of financial health for everyone—no matter how much you happen to have in your savings account.

Why?

Wealth management, at its core, is a holistic approach to handling your financial life. With savvy wealth management practices, you can determine the best investments, estate plans, donations, and even business plans to set you and your loved ones up for success.

How to Tailor Your Wealth Management Plan to Meet Your Unique Goals

Whether you’re just starting to build wealth or you're already sitting on a sizable nest egg, effective wealth management can help you realize tailored-for-you benefits.

These can include:

  • Safeguarding your assets

  • Growing your wealth over time

  • Making sure that your financial goals are met

While wealth management can sound lofty and complex, its strategies exist for one simple reason: To make your money work for you—not the other way around.

The general goal is simple, but getting there won’t always be! Experienced, qualified wealth managers can help you build a plan that bridges the gap between you and your ideal financial future.

The Components of a High-Quality Wealth Management Plan

What are the five steps of wealth management?

A good wealth management plan will include:

  • Investment management to grow your wealth.

  • Estate planning to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes.

  • Charitable giving that reflects your values and makes a positive impact.

  • Small business management (if applicable) to ensure the financial health of your enterprise.

  • Retirement planning to secure your financial future.

Pulling these elements into one cohesive strategy can help you pursue growth and make sure your wealth management strategy is both comprehensive and sustainable.

The Common Misconceptions People Tend to Have About Wealth Management

Before we move further into key wealth management strategies to help you build wealth for the future, let’s myth-bust some common misconceptions about this invaluable financial tool:

  • Myth 1: Wealth management is only for the ultra-wealthy. Wealth management is accessible to a broad range of financial situations and helps achieve various goals.

  • Myth 2: Wealth management is suited only for complex financial situations. In reality, wealth management can simplify financial planning for just about anyone.

  • Myth 3: Wealth management is too expensive to be worth it. That’s just not the case! With wealth management, you can access personalized financial strategies that lead to greater wealth accumulation, efficient tax planning, increased retirement funds, and more.

Professional wealth managers can help individuals tailor investment, donation, and retirement strategies to navigate tough market conditions and life’s important moments.

If you’re interested in setting yourself up for a great retirement, whether next year or in several decades, wealth managers can help you with that, too!

How Does Retirement Planning Fit Within Wealth Management?

Retirement planning is a form of financial planning that assesses your current resources, your planned retirement lifestyle, and the resources you’ll need to achieve and sustain that lifestyle.

If that sounds like it fits in nicely with the goals of wealth management, that means you’ve been listening—retirement planning is a vital part of most wealth management plans.

Recently, the retirement planning industry received an update in the SECURE 2.0 Act. Did that act have an effect on wealth management, too?

What Impact Did the SECURE 2.0 Act Have on Wealth Management?

Under SECURE 2.0, there are a few practical retirement planning updates that may impact wealth management strategies.

For example:

  • The age for required minimum distributions (RMD) has increased.

  • People still contributing to investment accounts have more options for catching up.

  • Small business owners have more options when setting up plans for their employees.

Depending on your goals, the roles you play, and the chapter of life you’re in, these changes may impact your retirement and wealth management plans. Your wealth manager can help you understand these changes and how they apply to your retirement strategies.

Steps for Effective Retirement Planning

Effective retirement planning involves several key steps, including: 

  1. Determining the lifestyle you want to have while you’re in retirement, including healthcare, housing, travel, and any relevant personal goals.
  2. Selecting investment strategies that balance your risk tolerance and the anticipated funds required for retirement. These can include traditional assets like stocks and bonds, and alternative investments like sustainable funds.
  3. Working with your existing budget to settle on a consistent retirement contribution that fits your current needs.

This can be a complex process. Your wealth manager will be able to take a holistic look at your resources, assets, and plans to help you strategize for your ideal retirement.

Interested in Building Your Financial Future with Wealth Management?

Wealth management can help anyone reach their financial goals—including you! When done properly, it encompasses investment, estate planning, charitable giving, and business management. If you’re looking for an experienced wealth manager who will partner with you to navigate your unique financial journey, look no further. At BNC National Bank, we pride ourselves on taking the time to go above and beyond for each and every person who walks through our door! 

Feel free to contact our team with any questions about wealth management you have. In the meantime, check out this guide to financial literacy to start your journey to optimal financial health.

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