I've worked with a financial advisor mainly for investments.
Lately I’ve been hearing about wealth strategists and not sure if it’s just rebranding.
Is there an actual difference?
Financial advisor vs wealth strategist, is there a real difference?
byu/Fickle-Background444 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Fickle-Background444
6 Comments
One advices you on how to manage your wealth, the other strategizes on how to manage your wealth?
Yes, there are usually differences between the two. But that depends more on the scope of the business and customer focus than the job title itself
I have not heard of the term wealth strategist before, I would be highly skeptical of anyone using that title as it may be a way to get around regulation. [I remember reading a story about](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hidden-camera-investigation-uncovers-atrocious-investment-advice-1.2553560) Canadian bank’s giving bad advice, and being misleading with their credentialed. This comes from the words financial adviser (with an “e”) being a regulated term in Canada but financial advisor (with an “o”) not being regulated. I worry the difference you mentioned is attempting to do the same thing, you should ensure anyone you work with is properly credentialed, this [article and video](https://moneyguy.com/episode/when-to-hire-a-financial-advisor/) by the “Money Guy” team covers the different credentials out there.
If your net worth is a high enough number it’s a ‘wealth strategist.’ Otherwise you have a financial planner.
I suspect that “financial advisor” implies “$”, and that “wealth strategist” implies “$$”. This probably applies both to how much they want to manage, and what they charge.
Both terms “financial advisor” and “wealth strategist” mean whatever the title holder wants them to mean.