Wealth management involves providing advice as well as executing investment transactions on behalf of the client. Typically, wealth managers provide also other financial services to their clients, such as management of client’s securities’ portfolio, financial and tax planning. From the client’s perspective, wealth management is a process of enhancing the financial situation while achieving client’s short as well as long-term financial goals. Private wealth management is typically developed to serve private individuals, who are usually high net worth individuals.
Essence of wealth management services Often, wealthy private individuals lack the knowledge and time to successfully manage their finances, therefore, they seek the consultation of wealth managers who are educated to manage the funds of private individuals and are experienced in solving different financial problems as well as enhancing the overall financial status of the client.
Usually, a wealth management advisor meets with a private individual, have a comprehensive discussion about client’s financial goals, his or her ability and willingness to risk as well as any other restriction and stipulation the client could have regarding the investment of his or her wealth. Later on, the wealth manager composes an investment strategy that allows the client to achieve his or her goals while being the most suitable for the client taking into account all the information discussed during the meeting. The wealth management advisor then continues to manage the private individual’s funds while utilizing various investment products.
While wealth managers typically cannot offer their clients the same concierge-like and specialised services as private bankers, they spend a great deal of time to understand the client’s needs and developing the most suitable investment strategy for the client. For example, wealth managers cannot open a bank account for the client, but they can assist them in determining which bank account would be the most suitable for the client’s needs.
Services provided by wealth managers include:
fund allocation to suitable investment ideas; retirement planning; coordination with accountants and attorneys; trust planning; insurance and risk requirements. Wealth management is usually one division of banking institutions or non-banking financial institutions specialising in providing services to high net worth clients.
Benefits of wealth management services While you may be extremely knowledgeable in your own area of expertise, you may not be an expert in investing and financial markets. This is completely acceptable and you do not have to spend your time and energy to acquire sufficient knowledge of financial markets to feel comfortable investing on your own. Very often there are simple tricks to know and mistakes to avoid, which are only known by professionals familiar with the financial markets.
Professional wealth managers will guide you through the confusing processes, as well as advise on the good and bad investment ideas and partners.
Another benefit of professional wealth managers is their multi-disciplinary set of skills that will be used in your favour. Wealth manager skills are not limited to being good at allocating assets; professional wealth managers will also be able to help you with tax optimization, legal requirements, retirement and savings goals as well as passing your wealth to the next generations.
The third benefit of acquiring wealth management services is to use the manager as a filter for your investments. If you are a high net worth individual, most likely you are receiving numerous requests and prayers to invest in different business ideas and projects. In these cases, you are able to redirect all such request to your wealth manager and not deal with them. If a genuinely good investment idea will show up, your wealth manager will spot it and present it to you.
An investment account is maintained with such financial institutions as banks, brokerage houses, or even insurance companies. The main purpose of this account is capital preservation and growth, as well as fixed-interest profit through long-term deposits in the asset portfolio.
In general, "investing" means a proactive use of assets in a very broad definition - such as patents, trademarks, rare wines or gold coins, but also small businesses, real estate and antiques. In this regard, the investment account contains fewer physical assets: cash, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The basic investment objective remains the same – to buy the asset and hold it for the long term, and to sell it at some point in the future when the asset's value is cheaper. Depending on the asset you have decided to invest in, you need to evaluate your investment as a long-term process as you will have to wait for the particular asset to appreciate in value.
Investment Account Features Before opening an investment account, you should consider whether or not this type of financial service is best for your risk/return. Furthermore, liquidity preferences embody your goal. Investment accounts are usually maintained with long-term goals. Traditionally, the long term is considered to be 7 years or more, but this number should not be the primary determinant when deciding whether or not to open an investment account. This banking service is often used when there is a specific event in your life that requires a higher income, such as a wedding. For example, if you are sending your child to college, buying a house, or approaching retirement.
Since one of the main determinants of the investment account is its long-term nature, you should be ready to face another attribute of it - liquidity. Any financial instrument has less liquidity compared to cash in your checking or savings account. Additionally, this type of deposit usually comes with higher transaction costs in case you want to access the cash sooner than a specific time specified in the agreement between you and the financial institution.
Types of investment accounts If you have decided to open an investment account, the next step is to find a bank or other financial institution that can offer you the most suitable type of investment account regarding the costs, risk level and other components. There are various kinds of accounts designed for different needs and wishes of investor, but not all banks offer such services.
Brokerage account This account is managed by the investor himself. Usually, after depositing cash on this account, you can use the funds to purchase different financial instruments or other types of investments. This account involves a commission paid to your broker for executing your purchase and sell orders. If you feel uncertainty regarding your investing skills, you may use full service brokerage account, which would also include investment advices.
Retirement account This account is designed for long term continuous deposits over the years of employment, which results in higher income during retirement in addition to the state pension (if applicable in your country – ask us). In several countries, deposits in the retirement account are not tax applicable.
Custodial / guardian account These accounts are designed for investors, who want to save funds for their children or other person. This includes savings made for a child’s education.
Specialty account This type of account usually includes testamentary or non-testamentary trust accounts. In case of a non-testamentary trust account financial instruments are registered on behalf of the trust, while managed by a trustee. Meanwhile, a testamentary trust is opened through the testimony of a deceased person.
Business account Business account works similarly as brokerage account, while the client is a business instead of a private person.
A joint-stock company is a form of corporation that acquires legal personality from the date of its incorporation and is commonly used for the conduct of business. The company's share capital consists of the total contributions of its shareholders. The shares can be publicly traded, which provides an incentive for investors needed for further business development. At the time of the incorporation of the company, the shareholders can declare it a closed company, which means that shares can be transferred to any person, but the current shareholders must have a prior disclaimer. At the time of incorporation, shares may be issued in a variety of forms, including bearer, registered, or preferred.
Functions of a joint-stock company The ultimate goal of all businesses is to run a business and make a profit. A joint-stock company is a useful type of company for attracting investors and additional funding in return for the investor receiving shares that give the right to dividends. Stock corporations often grow into large corporations. They are most commonly found in the financial services sector – credit institutions, banks, insurance companies and other payment and financial institutions are very often public companies. These companies obviously need financial stability and plentiful funds in an emergency.
Advantages and disadvantages of a joint stock company The advantage of this type of incorporation concerns the liability thresholds. In principle, the shareholders of a stock corporation are only liable up to the amount of their contribution to the company. So if the company goes bankrupt, creditors cannot claim compensation or seek damages from the shareholders personally. Conversely, the company is not liable for the liabilities of its partners. The strict separation between shareholder and corporate liability follows the principle of the legal person.
Another benefit is the ability to raise the necessary funds to start the business. In the start-up phase, it can be difficult for a company to obtain seed capital. However, if few business partners make an investment to achieve a single goal, the business start-up plans are likely to be more realistic. At the same time, joint investments are directly linked to joint profit sharing. So if the company is making a profit, the dividends should be paid pro rata to each shareholder.
The duties and powers of a board of directors of a company are based on the applicable commercial law and the articles of association of the company. A public company typically has a two-tiered board of directors, which helps to control day-to-day decision-making and prevent mistakes, but a complicated governance structure can hamper the speed of decision-making at times when rapid response is required.
If you are planning to set up a company in the form of a public company, we strongly recommend that you contact us beforehand. We will inform you comprehensively and in detail about tax planning options and the most efficient corporate structure for your company.
When it comes to buying a business, it is important to understand and decide whether to register an entirely new business and start from scratch, or choose a previously formed or established business that has already been pre-registered. Ready-made companies are also referred to as paper companies or shelf companies (blank check companies) due to their acquisition process structure. As a rule, the company has already fulfilled all the requirements for legal registration. Therefore, it can be purchased by anyone who is willing to skip the registration and incorporation process. Accounting and various law firms usually sell such companies. The companies mentioned have no commercial or business activity, they only exist in a stand-by mode.
The advantages of readymade companies The registration process for new businesses typically takes weeks or even months due to documentation processing and approval. In contrast, when purchasing a ready-made company, an entrepreneur only has to register his purchase in order to achieve a legal conclusion of the purchase process. If a person chooses to complete the registration process online, it takes even less time, usually it can be done in a few hours. Another benefit is that an already registered company will have a history or status showing that they have been in business for some time, meaning that when you first look at the company details it gives a sense of an existing experience looks at
Ready company purchase in Cyprus (fees, requirements) There are various official websites or service providers that offer ready-made Cypriot businesses to buy online. This can be LP, LLC, Trust or other type of entity. The capital required varies from a few hundred to several thousand, depending on the size or scope of a company and its age. This service includes all paperwork to be completed and the relevant fees payable to HMRC.
A purchase of the company may come with various licenses, such as an apostilled power of attorney. However, sometimes the total price of the company does not include some of the mentioned extras, so the future owner has to request them by paying them and taking into account the time frame required for the company's closing process.
If a person resides in a country other than Cyprus when purchasing the business, they can have all procedures for the maintenance and operation of the business carried out by email, fax or courier. Basic requirements If you are willing to purchase a readymade Cypriot company, there will be following requirements you should be aware of:
The purchase must be made with a nominee director and nominee shareholder appointed; A person will need to choose company’s name from the list given by the service providers; A set of corporate documents must be signed by the person who is purchasing the company (the trust deed, the open date share transfer agreement); A company must have a financial support for some period of time in order to function. Time frames If you are purchasing Cypriot readymade company you should be ready to deal with the following time frames:
A vat registration number can be given in maximum 2 days Bank account can be opened in maximum 5-7 days Company’s new name (if changed) approval by the Cyprus Registrar of Companies maximum 3-4 days Adding new directors to the documents (if necessary) maximum 7-10 days
Features of an online trading company The main function of an online trading company is to buy goods from a manufacturer and resell them to retailers and consumers. A secondary but nevertheless essential task is the delivery of the goods to the customers, as online trading companies usually lack physical infrastructure such as shops, outlets and other points of sale.
In order to buy and sell goods, an online retailer needs to set up a hub for transferring products from manufacturers to customers. In this case, that hub is a website. Just as a physical store needs designers and marketers to arrange and present products in the most advantageous way, a digital store also needs specialists to guide customers through the possible purchase options.
As for the delivery of goods, an e-commerce company can either set up the delivery network itself or outsource this task by contracting with a logistics company. The online retailer then hands over his goods to the logistics company, which takes care of the delivery of the goods via its own network.
Key aspects of online trading Although the goods or services sold by online retail companies vary, there are some common elements due to the specific way these companies market and sell their end products. Here are some of the main problems you will encounter no matter what you sell online.
Distance selling A special category of online trading is EU distance selling. E-commerce has grown tremendously in Europe and the online market is growing year after year. However, every retailer needs to understand the impact of e-commerce in the EU on VAT. VAT rules are very different for online sellers; For example, there are different thresholds for VAT registration (e.g. £70,000 for the UK, EUR 35,000 for Poland or Italy, EUR 100,000 for Germany). There is no minimum threshold for digital, electronic and broadcast service providers to charge VAT at the rate set by the country where the consumer is located.
Online stores and websites Of course, a website is an absolute must for any online business. Conceived as an online store (description of the range of products available, their prices and features), the site must also include the following important sections:
Delivery and return policy Contact Us page with a phone number, address, email address, and other contact information for consumers to use Online payment options Online Payment Solutions Being able to accept online payments is by far the most important consideration for an online business. Your consumer needs a way to pay for your products and services instantly and securely. There are two basic ways to accept payments on your online store:
By using an online payment system, for example PayPal By using a merchant account to accept direct credit card payments A merchant account is a special bank account opened for online business purposes to enable secure transactions between merchant and customer. Merchant accounts are set up by agreement between the bank and the merchant and allow you to accept payments in many ways, usually by credit or debit card. In fact, banks aren't the only companies that can set up merchant accounts; this may also be done through other financial services companies that process credit card payments.
The people of Belgium speak Dutch, German and French. The linguistic diversity of Belgium is quite diverse according to a fractionation scale, which is 0.5409 for Belgium. The followers of Christianity make up the religious majority in the country. 97.5% of the Belgian population lives in cities. This percentage includes the urban population of Belgium. The urbanization rate in Belgium is assumed to be 0.3. According to data on inbound tourists in Belgium, 7,684,000 tourists arrive in the country every year.
National anthem The national anthem of Belgium is called "The Brabançonne". It was adopted in 1830. The lyrics were written by Jenneval (Louis-Alexandre Dechet) and the music was composed by François Van Campenhout.
Fast food The first McDonalds in Belgium opened on March 21, 1978 and was located in Brussels. There are currently 67 McDonald's restaurants operating in Belgium. The number of operating McDonalds restaurants in a country is an indication of the influence of western culture and globalization in that country. Operating McDonald's restaurants could also have a direct impact on the health of a country's citizens. About 22% of the Belgian population is obese.
Alcohol consumption Every year, Belgians consume 0.5 liters of alcohol per capita, and this amount is made up of 49.2% beer, 36.3% wine, 14.4% spirits and 0.1% other alcohol.
National dish One of the most popular national dishes in Belgium is moules-frites. Other national dishes are Belgian waffles.