The Private Wealth Management Industry
2026 Curriculum
CFA® Program Level III
Private Wealth
Refresher reading access
Introduction
Wealth management is also an increasingly important segment of the global financial marketplace. This reading provides an overview of the wealth management industry, including a discussion of the common categories of clients served, the various types of advisers practicing wealth management, and the various business models found across the industry. This reading concludes with a discussion of the CFA Asset Manager Code and complex regulatory and compliance considerations wealth managers must navigate on behalf of their clients.
Learning Outcomes
The candidate should be able to:
- discuss the typical business models of private wealth management service providers and their segment-based strategies;
- discuss typical fee, revenue, and compensation structures prevalent in the private wealth management industry;
- discuss how various advisers, consultants, and professionals support private wealth managers and their clients;
- describe and evaluate regulatory and compliance considerations;
- influencing the private wealth management industry.
Summary
- Private wealth is the term applied to the industry and practice of managing the wealth, financial and otherwise, of wealthy clients who need financial advice. This is a team effort, involving professionals with different areas of expertise.
- The comprehensive needs of wealthy clients extend beyond investment advice into tax, law, philanthropy, property, country of residence, and generational planning. These complex client needs require experts beyond basic investment managers — lawyers, tax specialists, accountants, investment bankers, custodians, insurance specialists, and even health, education, administrative support specialists are frequently called upon and require management.
- However, these services can be costly. Clients and advisers should understand the nature of the services and costs. A shared understanding of typical fee, revenue, and compensation structures used in the industry, and those applied to a particular client.
- In all relevant jurisdictions, private wealth management must adhere to local regulations and compliance. Clients increasingly demand high ethical standards, encapsulated in the CFA Asset Manager Code.
2 PL Credit
If you are a CFA Institute member don’t forget to record Professional Learning (PL) credit from reading this article.