{"id":44864,"date":"2026-06-22T10:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=44864"},"modified":"2026-06-22T10:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:59:12","slug":"how-uhnw-families-can-choose-a-financial-advisor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=44864","title":{"rendered":"How UHNW families can choose a financial advisor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PhotoAlto | Sigrid Olsson | Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Financial advisors increasingly want to add the super-rich<\/a> to their client lists. Not only do ultra-high net worth households offer a level of cachet to financial advisors<\/a>, but there\u2019s also growing demand for advice<\/a> from this client segment, according to experts.<\/p>\n

There were about 442,000 households with $20 million or more in financial assets as of 2024, according to the latest data<\/a> from Cerulli Associates, a consulting and market research firm. They represent about 0.3% of the U.S. population.<\/p>\n

Those households collectively held $22.5 trillion of investable assets, accounting for nearly 25% of such wealth across all U.S. households \u2014 up substantially from a 10% share in 2010, according to Cerulli. <\/p>\n

\u201cHigh net worth is the holy grail in many ways\u201d for financial advisors, said Vlad Golyk, a partner at McKinsey & Co., who leads the consulting firm\u2019s wealth management practice in North America.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money is sticky, and there\u2019s prestige as well,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More from CNBC Elite Advisors:<\/h2>\n
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Here\u2019s a look at more coverage of the CNBC Elite Advisors list of top<\/em> investment advisors serving ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices:<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, not all financial advisors are well suited to work with ultra-high net worth households, experts said. <\/p>\n

These clients \u2014 generally, those with investible assets totaling roughly $20 million to $30 million or more \u2014 have specific financial needs that require expertise beyond that typically suited to the average investor, experts said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different job,\u201d Golyk said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The No. 1 question: Am I an \u2018outlier\u2019?<\/h2>\n
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There\u2019s one big question that extremely wealthy households should ask prospective financial advisors to gauge whether they should hire them, experts said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first question has to be: \u2018This is what my financial picture looks like. What services do you have, and what experience do you have working with clients like me?'\u201d said Chayce Horton, an associate director in the wealth management practice at Cerulli Associates, a consulting and market research firm.<\/p>\n

The operative words here are \u201clike me,\u201d because households and their needs can vary a lot in the ultra-high net worth market, Horton said. <\/p>\n

For example, you might be a family with a significant manufacturing business, or a 35-year-old engineer with $35 million in stock options in a company that\u2019s about to go public \u2014 both of which are \u201ccomplex, individualized situations,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Similarly, Golyk said uber-rich clients don\u2019t want to be an \u201coutlier\u201d among a financial advisory firm\u2019s other clients. <\/p>\n

In other words, they should strive not to be the firm\u2019s biggest or smallest client, Golyk said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Services that advisors to the ultra-wealthy offer<\/h2>\n
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Ultimately, the bulk of services an advisor will offer to ultra-wealthy clients exist outside of a traditional portfolio management context, Horton said. <\/p>\n

Generally, the extremely rich need advisors who can oversee complex financial issues and intergenerational wealth. Services typically entail tax, estate and trust planning; and business advisory and philanthropic services, experts said.<\/p>\n

The family governance piece is a biggie, experts said. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to find an advisory firm that can serve multiple generations simultaneously, Horton said. <\/p>\n

That expertise goes beyond the technical, financial and administrative aspects of estate and tax planning, management of trusts, and overseeing wealth across generations \u2014 and also includes serving as \u201cmediator or family therapist,\u201d Horton said.<\/p>\n

For example, parents may have $50 million that their children may or may not know about, and that younger generation may or may not be inheriting the money, he said. That family might need to know the options for establishing a family trust, how to structure things most tax-efficiently and, once decided, how to communicate that with the children, he said. Or, in another scenario, how would a wealthy entrepreneur with a family business pass on leadership responsibilities across generations? <\/p>\n

These are emotional situations for advisors to handle, Horton said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Firms don\u2019t necessarily need to offer all these services in-house \u2014 they can outsource certain functions \u2014 but the end result must be \u201cseamless\u201d for the client, Golyk said. <\/p>\n

Two more important questions to ask a prospective advisor are:<\/p>\n