A wealth management team generally includes attorneys, CPAs, CFPs, and CFAs. The team provides legal services (trust and estate planning), accounting services (tax preparation and planning), and investment management, while financial advisors limit themselves to investment management services. Wealth management fees are typically higher than financial advisor fees because of the included legal and accounting services. Most high net worth individuals already have separate attorney, accountant, and financial advisor professionals, so they do not need a wealth manager.
The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation shows knowledge of all areas of wealth management and is commonly the leader of a wealth management team or financial advisor team . Financial Advisor is not a degree or license, it is a generic term used to describe a licensed stock broker, insurance agent, or CFP.
Investment management is a two step process. The first step is choosing an asset allocation. This is where the financial advisor, usually a CFP is involved. The second step is outsourcing the investment selection to a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) who typically specialize in a single asset category. One CFA for the stock selection and one CFA for the bond selection. Most investors never meet the CFAs involved in the investment management.
