The wealth management industry is large, heterogeneous, and not always easy to navigate. It contains excellent practitioners who genuinely add value over decades, and it contains salespeople whose primary objective is generating commission. The regulatory frameworks in most jurisdictions try to distinguish between the two, but regulatory compliance and genuine quality are not the same thing.
Choosing a wealth manager — whether for the first time, or when reviewing an existing relationship — requires asking the right questions and understanding what good answers look like. This guide is designed to help you do that.
The Different Types of Adviser: Understanding the Landscape
Before you can evaluate who you are talking to, you need to understand what kind of firm or adviser you are dealing with.
Discretionary Fund Manager (DFM): Manages an investment portfolio on your behalf within an agreed mandate, without seeking approval for each transaction. You define the investment policy (your risk tolerance, asset class preferences, income requirements), and the manager implements it. A DFM is appropriate for those who want professional, ongoing management without being consulted on each decision.
Advisory Manager: Recommends investments and transactions but requires your approval before acting. This gives you more control but requires greater engagement. Advisory management is appropriate for those who want to remain actively involved in investment decisions.
Financial Planner: Provides holistic financial planning advice — covering income, pensions, insurance, estate planning, and investments — rather than purely investment management. A financial planner may work alongside a DFM (the planner develops the strategy; the DFM implements it) or may combine both functions.
Multi-Family Office: A comprehensive service for families with complex, multi-generational wealth management needs — typically from £10 million+ in assets. A multi-family office provides investment management alongside tax advice, estate planning, trust administration, governance, and family office services such as bill payment and travel management.
Private Bank: Combines banking services (current accounts, loans, mortgages, structured lending) with investment management and advisory. Private banks typically have higher minimum investment thresholds (£500,000–£1 million) and can provide credit against the portfolio (securities lending, Lombard loans).
Restricted vs Independent: In the UK, a "restricted" adviser is authorised to advise on a limited range of products or from a limited panel of providers. An "independent" adviser (IFA or independently managed portfolio) can advise across the whole of the market. This distinction matters: a restricted adviser at a bank may only recommend that bank's own products or products from its approved panel, which may not be the best options for you.
Key Questions to Ask in an Initial Meeting
What is your investment philosophy?
A thoughtful wealth manager should be able to articulate a clear, evidenced investment philosophy. Look for intellectual consistency: do they believe markets are efficient (which supports low-cost passive investing) or do they believe active management can add value (which requires evidence of skill to justify the higher fees)? Are they disciplined about rebalancing, or do they chase recent performance? Do they have a written investment policy framework?
Red flag: "We have access to exclusive investment opportunities not available elsewhere." This is almost always marketing language, not a genuine edge.
How are you regulated?
In the UK, any firm providing investment advice or discretionary management must be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can check the FCA Register (register.fca.org.uk) to verify that a firm is currently authorised and what it is permitted to do.
For internationally mobile clients, a firm that is FCA-authorised AND has proper legal structures for advising clients in other jurisdictions (or appropriate local regulatory authorisation where required) is necessary. Receiving UK financial advice while resident in another country can have regulatory and tax complications.
How are you remunerated?
Fee-based: The adviser charges a fixed fee or a percentage of assets under management. There is no commission. Your interests and theirs are aligned (they benefit if your portfolio grows, and they charge you less as it falls — though in practice most percentage-based fees do not fall at the same rate as assets).
Commission-based: The adviser receives payments from the product providers whose products they recommend. This creates an inherent conflict of interest. The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) in the UK banned commission on investment advice from 2013, but commission-based models still exist in some contexts (protection products, mortgages, some offshore products).
Mixed: Some advisers charge fees for advice but also receive ongoing trail commission from legacy products. Ask explicitly whether any legacy commission is still being received.
The total annual cost — advisory fee plus the ongoing charges of the underlying investments (the ongoing charges figure (OCF) for funds) — should be clearly disclosed. Total costs of 1.5–2.5% per annum are common for smaller portfolios; costs should fall for larger portfolios (above £1 million, 1–1.5% total is a reasonable benchmark; above £5 million, 0.5–0.75% or less).
What is your minimum investment?
Be honest about what they tell you. A wealth manager with a £500,000 minimum who takes you on with £100,000 will not provide you with their best service. If you are below their natural threshold, you may be better served by a firm that genuinely specialises at your asset level.
How many clients do each of your advisers serve?
An adviser managing 200 clients cannot provide the same quality of service as one managing 50. There is no universal right answer, but 50–100 client relationships per adviser is a reasonable range for high-quality personalised service. If the answer is 300+, that is a service factory, not a personalised wealth management relationship.
How will we communicate, and how often?
A minimum of an annual review meeting is table stakes. Better firms provide quarterly reporting, proactive contact when markets or regulations change significantly, and the ability to speak to a senior adviser when you need to — not a call centre. Ask specifically whether you will have a named relationship manager who you can contact directly.
How do you report performance?
Performance should be reported against an agreed benchmark — not an internal benchmark the firm has set for themselves, and not as an absolute return without context. Common external benchmarks include: CPI + a target real return (e.g. CPI +3%, CPI +5%), a relevant index (FTSE All World, MSCI World), or a risk-rated index composite.
Ask to see performance figures over at least three years, net of all fees, compared to the stated benchmark. Ask whether performance figures are composite (all similar portfolios averaged) or cherry-picked. A firm that cannot produce clear, auditable performance figures net of fees is a warning sign.
Credentials to Look For
Credentials are not a guarantee of quality, but they provide a baseline of professional training and ethical commitment.
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst): The CFA charter is one of the most rigorous investment qualifications in the world. Three levels of exams covering economics, portfolio management, valuation, and ethics. CFA Institute requires adherence to a professional code of ethics. The CFA is the gold standard for investment management professionals.
CFP (Certified Financial Planner): The CFP designation (in the UK, often CFP Certified or Chartered Financial Planner) reflects comprehensive financial planning competence including tax, pensions, protection, and estate planning. Appropriate for advisers providing holistic financial planning.
CISI qualifications: The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment offers a range of qualifications including the Certificate in Wealth Management, Diploma in Investment Advice, and Chartered Wealth Manager designation.
IMC (Investment Management Certificate): An entry-level qualification for those working in investment management, widely used to meet the FCA's threshold-competence requirements for investment professionals.
Chartered Financial Planner: Awarded by the Personal Finance Society (PFS) to advisers who have met experience requirements and completed advanced qualifications.
For internationally mobile clients, look additionally for evidence of genuine international tax knowledge — either from a qualified tax specialist as part of the team or a strong network of specialist external advisers.
Red Flags
Guaranteed returns: No legitimate investment manager guarantees returns. If you are being offered a product that guarantees, say, 8% per annum, alarm bells should ring. Either the guarantee is backed by substantial counterparty risk you are not being told about, or the "guarantee" has conditions that will not trigger as expected.
Unregulated products: In the UK, regulated collective investment schemes (OEICs, unit trusts, listed investment trusts) are subject to FCA oversight. Unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) are not subject to the same restrictions and can only be marketed to "sophisticated" or "high net worth" investors. The lack of regulation does not mean they are fraudulent — but it means you have fewer protections if things go wrong.
Pressure to decide quickly: Time pressure is a classic sales technique. A quality wealth manager will not pressure you to commit quickly. The right decision is one you have had time to think about.
Complex structures you do not understand: If the product or structure being recommended is too complex for the adviser to explain clearly to you in plain English, that is a problem — either the adviser does not understand it themselves, or the complexity is designed to obscure something you would not accept if you understood it fully.
Offshore products pushed to UK residents without proper tax advice: Some advisers — particularly those focused on the expat market — aggressively promote offshore investment bonds, offshore pension products, and similar structures without proper attention to the UK tax consequences. These products have legitimate uses in appropriate circumstances; they should not be sold as universally beneficial.
The First Review Meeting
Even if you have an existing wealth manager, you should be asking these questions at your annual review:
- What is the total cost of my portfolio, including underlying fund charges?
- How has my portfolio performed against its benchmark, net of fees, over 1, 3, and 5 years?
- What changes have you made to my portfolio in the past year, and why?
- Are my investment objectives and risk tolerance still reflected in the portfolio?
- Have there been any regulatory or tax changes that affect my situation?
An adviser who cannot answer these questions clearly has a service quality problem.
Compliance Caveat
The regulatory landscape for financial advice and wealth management changes regularly. This article reflects the general position in the UK as understood in mid-2026. Rules regarding adviser regulation, fee disclosure, and financial promotions may differ in other jurisdictions. Always verify that any adviser you engage is properly regulated in both the UK and any other country where they provide advice to you. Past performance of any investment strategy does not guarantee future results. Investments can fall as well as rise in value, and you may receive less than you invest.
How Global Investments Can Help
Global Investments is an independently minded wealth management business built specifically for internationally mobile HNW clients. We provide genuinely independent advice across investments, pensions, tax planning, and estate planning, coordinating with specialists in each country where our clients have interests.
If you are reviewing an existing wealth manager relationship or looking for professional advice for the first time, we would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our approach. Contact our team to arrange an introductory meeting — with no obligation to proceed and no time pressure.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, prices and regulations change; verify current requirements with a qualified adviser before acting.