Wealth management is a common but vaguely-defined umbrella term that may be used in two different contexts: as a set of activities or as an industry label.

As a set of activities, wealth management covers a range of financial and nonfinancial services targeting clients who own or benefit from wealth in the high-net-worth (HNW) range, typically from around the $5 million to $30 million (USD) range. Although it is often used generically to describe services at all levels of wealth, it more appropriately describes services at levels above the mass affluent level ($1 million to $5 million USD) and below family office services for the UHNW segment (>$30 million USD).

By comparison, advisory services at the mass affluent level are typically provided through financial planning or accounting firms.  At the UHNW level, advisory services with greater breadth and complexity may be labeled as “family wealth management” or family office services, requiring service providers with more experience, expertise, skills, and resources.

Many multi-family offices (MFOs) create service offerings denoted as “wealth management” for their HNW clients while “family office services” are reserved for UHNW clients. However, there are no formal standards for this practice.

There are also no standards for what services constitute wealth management itself. Wealth management may be narrowly focused on financial and investment planning and management, or it may be broadened to include tax planning, legacy and estate planning, insurance and risk management, philanthropic services, and family education and governance services. Some wealth advisory firms promote “integrated wealth management” that brings many of these activities together for the convenience of the client or the firm. However, the breadth and depth of service delivery varies extensively, along with the degree to which services are truly integrated versus simply available within the firm or by referral to external advisors or teams.

As an industry label, wealth management is often used to describe the field that comprises all services pertaining to wealth. References to “the wealth management industry” are likely to include discussion of HNW, UHNW, family office, and related advisory services with less regard to wealth segment.