The Wealthesaurustm

A Glossary of Family Wealth Advising Terms

The Wealthesaurus provides standardized definitions of common and specialized family wealth advising industry terms. By sharing this glossary, we hope to improve communication across the UHNW community.

Learn more about the Wealthesaurus.

Integrated family wealth advisor

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A family wealth advisor with the advanced interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to act as an integrator and team leader in the delivery of services for an UHNW client family. 

An integrated wealth advisor is a family wealth advisor who has developed greater competency for integrating family office services and the work of other advisors. The integrated wealth advisor – also termed an expert generalist – goes beyond specific technical disciplines in UHNW wealth management to put the client family’s goals and objectives first, with true client-centered services.  This advisor ensures that all specific disciplines are responding to and integrated with those goals and that the family’s best interests are being consistently met. The integrated wealth advisor tries to anticipate how one decision might affect another and that the implications of one activity are understood and incorporated in others.

The role requires excellent project management skills as well as a broad understanding of quality service delivery across multiple domains and disciplines. It therefore requires support from leadership in the organization as well as ongoing training and the alignment of compensation and business models to avoid conflicts of interest or goals. Integrated wealth advisors are often found in firms and family offices who handle more complex patterns of integration and who seek to function as an integrated hub in service delivery.

Jaffe, Dennis T., and James Grubman. “Client Relationships and Family Dynamics: Competencies and Services Necessary for Truly Integrated Wealth Management.” The Journal of Wealth Management Summer 2010:16-31. uhnwinstitutelibrary.org

Mack, Linda C., and Michael Zeuner. “The Missing Link for Family Offices.” Campden FB, September 30, 2015. uhnwinstitutelibrary.org/document/the-missing-link-for-family-offices/

McCullough, Tom. “Rise of the Integrated Advisor.” The Journal of Wealth Management. Volume 26, no 1( 2023): uhnwinstitutelibrary.org

Mission:
  • Provide an intellectual framework, understanding and organization of family wealth management content
  • Educate advisors and family offices on how best to support evolving UHNW families
  • Provide thought leadership, insights and resources to advisors and family offices
  • Promote best practices, provide professional development and support sustainable, positive change within our industry
  • Foster an equitable, collaborative and safe learning environment within the wealth management industry