Atul Singh of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management explains what clients can and should do to effectively manage their wealth management relationships.

Date: Oct 2011

Tags: Expectations, Relationship

• Given that objectives differ, clarity for the client and the adviser around the overall objectives is extremely important
• For a client to really choose an adviser will depend on the adviser being able to understand and appreciate the client’s objectives
• A lot of downstream decisions get based on the client’s objectives, time horizon and risk appetite, so not having enough clarity in a stated, explicit way at the outset is one of the biggest mistakes clients can make

According to Atul Singh, what high net worth clients in India should look for from their wealth management strategy depends on their ultimate objective.

For example, no two clients with US$10 million have exactly the same objectives, he said.

So a client on the one hand might be 45 years old and in a growth phase, and therefore want to make their money in the next five years.

On the other hand, said Singh, a 65-year old client might already have monetised their long-term assets, and therefore want to preserve it and transfer it to the next generation in a structured way.

As a result, given that objectives differ, he said clarity for the client and the adviser around the overall objectives is extremely important.

And for the client to really choose an adviser will depend on the adviser being able to understand and appreciate the client’s objectives, he explained.

Mistakes in choosing advisers

For clients, not having enough clarity of their objectives is a recipe for disaster, said Singh.

It doesn’t stop at choosing the adviser and the firm, but also in terms of setting their asset allocation and time horizon.

A lot of downstream decisions get based on the client’s objectives, time horizon and risk appetite, so not having enough clarity in a stated, explicit way at the outset is one of the biggest mistakes clients can make.