Last updated: 22 July 2026
Serious wealth creates choices. It also creates more places for expensive mistakes to hide.
A high income may flow through a business. Investments could sit across personal names, companies, trusts and super funds. Property debt, tax instalments, insurance, succession plans and family support may all compete for the same cash.
At that level, choosing a few investments is only one part of the job.
A financial consultant should help you see the whole structure. Where is risk concentrated? Which assets can be accessed quickly? What happens if the business owner becomes ill? Are investment fees quietly absorbing tens of thousands of dollars each year? Will the estate plan work with the ownership structure already in place?
According to my research, wealthy households rarely lose control because they lack financial products. Problems tend to appear because their products, entities and advisers are working from separate plans.
General information only: This article discusses wealth planning in broad Australian terms. Tax, investment, superannuation, legal and estate outcomes depend on your circumstances. A financial consultant cannot replace a registered tax agent, accountant or estate-planning lawyer when their specialist advice is required.
What counts as high net worth?
There is no single legal number that turns someone into a high-net-worth individual.
A private bank, investment manager and accounting firm may each use a different threshold. Some look only at investable assets. Others include businesses, property, superannuation and family-controlled entities.
The label matters less than the financial complexity.
You may need high-net-worth planning when your position includes several of the following:
- A valuable privately owned business.
- Several properties or large property-development interests.
- Substantial investments outside super.
- Family trusts or corporate structures.
- A self-managed super fund.
- Assets or income in more than one country.
- Large debts connected to investment or business assets.
- Adult children who receive financial support.
- A blended family or complicated estate plan.
- Charitable giving intended to continue for many years.
A person can earn a large salary and still have a fairly simple plan. Another person may have modest annual income but control a business, trust and property portfolio worth several million dollars.
The second person may face the harder planning job.
A consultant should begin with ownership, not investment products
Before discussing shares, managed funds or private markets, the consultant should map what you already own.
That map should show:
- Each asset and its approximate value.
- The legal owner of each asset.
- Debt attached to the asset.
- Income produced.
- Tax treatment.
- Insurance connected to it.
- Who controls it if you become incapacitated.
- What may happen after your death.
This exercise often uncovers arrangements that developed by accident.
A property may sit in a personal name because it was bought before the family trust existed. An investment company may hold excess cash without a clear purpose. A large super death benefit nomination may conflict with assumptions made in the will.
From my experience reviewing wealth-planning scenarios, ownership is where the first useful questions usually appear. An excellent investment held in the wrong structure can create access, tax or succession problems later.
The financial consultant should coordinate the professional team
One adviser rarely has the legal authority or technical background to complete every part of a high-net-worth plan.
The team may include:
- A licensed financial adviser.
- An accountant or registered tax agent.
- An estate-planning lawyer.
- A commercial lawyer.
- An insurance specialist.
- A lending adviser.
- A business valuation specialist.
- An investment manager.
The consultant’s job is partly coordination.
Suppose the adviser recommends selling a concentrated shareholding. The tax adviser needs to calculate the possible tax outcome. The lawyer may need to check shareholder agreements. The investment manager needs a plan for the sale proceeds.
Without coordination, each professional may give technically correct advice that does not fit the wider household plan.
Ask who will take responsibility for bringing the work together. Paying five professionals does not help when none of them owns the final checklist.
Check what the person is legally authorised to do
“Financial consultant” is a broad description. The title by itself does not tell you what advice the person can legally provide.
Someone discussing general business cash flow may have a different role from a licensed adviser recommending investments, super products or insurance.
Before sharing detailed records or accepting a recommendation, ask:
- Are you authorised to provide personal financial advice?
- Which licence or authorised representative arrangement covers you?
- Which areas are included in your authority?
- Which matters will be referred to another professional?
- Will I receive written advice?
- How are conflicts disclosed?
Our guide to what financial consultants are legally obligated to do explains the checks a client should make before acting.
Protection begins with concentration risk
Large fortunes often begin with concentration.
A founder builds one company. A property investor focuses on one city. An executive receives employer shares over many years. A family keeps most wealth in the industry it understands best.
Concentration may create wealth. Keeping it indefinitely can expose the household to one event.
That event could be:
- A business downturn.
- A failed development.
- A change in regulation.
- The loss of a major customer.
- A fall in one company’s share price.
- A local property decline.
- A lawsuit or insurance failure.
A consultant should calculate how much of the family’s net wealth depends on the same source.
That calculation needs to look beyond account labels. Owning shares, commercial property and a private business may appear diversified. It is not well diversified when all three depend on the same industry.
Diversification should be planned, not improvised
Reducing concentration does not necessarily mean selling everything at once.
A staged plan might use:
- New savings directed towards other assets.
- Gradual sales over several financial years.
- Reinvestment of business distributions.
- Debt reduction.
- A larger liquidity reserve.
- Carefully selected investment funds.
The tax effect, transaction costs and control implications need to be checked before a concentrated holding is sold.
A consultant should explain what diversification is meant to achieve. It may reduce the chance of a catastrophic loss. It will not prevent every temporary fall or guarantee a higher return.
Liquidity can matter more than net worth
A household can be worth $20 million and still struggle to find $500,000 quickly.
The wealth may be tied up in:
- A private company.
- Property.
- Long-term investment funds.
- Superannuation.
- Loans to related entities.
- Collectables or specialised assets.
Those assets may be valuable. They may also take months to sell or be legally inaccessible when cash is needed.
A high-net-worth plan should identify upcoming cash demands, including:
- Tax payments.
- Business capital calls.
- Property settlements.
- Loan repayments.
- School or university costs.
- Family gifts.
- Insurance premiums.
- Major purchases.
The household then needs enough liquid money to meet those commitments without selling long-term assets at a poor time.
A worked wealth-allocation example
Consider an illustrative household with $12 million of net wealth.
| Asset | Approximate value | Share of net wealth |
|---|---|---|
| Private business interest | $6,600,000 | 55% |
| Residential and commercial property | $2,700,000 | 22.5% |
| Listed investments | $1,500,000 | 12.5% |
| Superannuation | $900,000 | 7.5% |
| Cash | $300,000 | 2.5% |
| Total | $12,000,000 | 100% |
Our data shows the concentration clearly in this worked example. More than half of the family’s wealth depends on one private business, yet only 2.5% is held in cash.
The consultant may recommend building liquidity and gradually adding assets that do not rely on the same business or industry.
That recommendation would not mean the business is poor. It would recognise that the family’s employment income, dividends and capital value may already depend on it.
Investment fees become large dollar amounts
A fee that looks modest as a percentage can be expensive on a large portfolio.
Suppose two investment arrangements differ in cost by 0.40 percentage points a year.
On a $5 million portfolio:
$5,000,000 × 0.40% = $20,000 a year
That is before allowing for the investment return the $20,000 might have earned over time.
The cheaper option is not automatically better. A higher fee may pay for useful tax reporting, direct asset management, specialist research or genuinely valuable planning.
The consultant should show:
- Every percentage-based fee.
- Every fixed fee.
- Investment-management costs.
- Platform and administration costs.
- Transaction costs.
- Performance fees.
- Insurance commissions or other payments.
Ask what each fee pays for and what would disappear if the service were removed.
Our comparison of fee-only and commission-based financial consulting explains how payment structures may affect recommendations.
Tax planning should happen before the transaction
Tax planning is most useful before a contract is signed, an asset is sold or money is distributed.
After the event, the available choices may be limited.
A consultant may identify issues that need review by a registered tax professional, such as:
- The timing of an asset sale.
- Capital gains and available losses.
- Business-sale proceeds.
- Trust distributions.
- Company dividends and franking credits.
- Super contribution limits.
- Foreign income or assets.
- Related-party loans.
- Charitable giving.
The objective is to apply the law correctly and avoid needless tax caused by poor timing or incomplete planning.
It is not to hide ownership, manufacture deductions or move money through structures that lack a genuine purpose.
A consultant who promises that tax can be made to disappear should make you cautious. Serious tax planning comes with calculations, legal limits and written advice.
Our article on using a financial consultant for tax planning explains how the adviser and tax professional should divide the work.
Superannuation still matters in a large private portfolio
Some wealthy investors treat super as too small or restricted to deserve much attention.
That can be an expensive assumption.
Super may provide tax concessions, retirement-income options and estate-planning considerations that differ from investments held personally or through another entity.
A consultant should review:
- Contribution opportunities.
- Available contribution cap space.
- Investment choices.
- Fees.
- Insurance held through super.
- Beneficiary nominations.
- Retirement-phase planning.
- Self-managed super fund responsibilities, where applicable.
Super rules place limits on contributions and retirement-phase balances. A large cheque cannot always be deposited shortly before retirement.
Planning needs to begin while contribution opportunities still exist.
An SMSF is not automatically the wealthy option
A self-managed super fund can provide control over investments and administration. It also creates trustee responsibilities, costs and compliance work.
The decision should not be based on prestige.
Before establishing or retaining an SMSF, compare:
- The total annual cost.
- Investment access.
- Trustee time and responsibility.
- Audit and reporting requirements.
- Insurance availability.
- Estate and succession arrangements.
- What happens if the main trustee becomes ill.
A wealthy family may benefit from an SMSF. Another may be better served by a large regulated fund with simpler administration.
The correct answer depends on what the structure is expected to do.
Debt needs to be reviewed across the whole family group
Wealthy households may use debt for property, business investment or liquidity.
Looking at one loan at a time can hide the total exposure.
The consultant should prepare a debt schedule showing:
- Borrower.
- Lender.
- Balance.
- Interest rate.
- Fixed or variable period.
- Security provided.
- Repayment date.
- Personal guarantees.
Personal guarantees deserve particular attention. A business loan may threaten assets that appear separate from the business when a director or owner has guaranteed repayment.
The plan should also test higher interest rates, lower business income and falling property values.
Insurance should cover the structure, not only the individual
High net worth does not remove the need for insurance.
It changes the calculation.
A wealthy household may have enough liquid assets to self-insure smaller risks. Larger events can still damage the family, business or estate.
The review may include:
- Life insurance.
- Total and permanent disability cover.
- Income protection.
- Business succession insurance.
- Buy-sell funding.
- Professional indemnity cover.
- Property and liability insurance.
- Cyber and fraud protection.
The amount of life insurance should not be chosen by multiplying salary by a generic number.
The calculation may need to cover debt, business obligations, tax, dependent family members and the cost of replacing the owner’s work inside the business.
Business succession cannot wait for retirement
A private business may be the family’s largest asset and least transferable asset.
The owner may assume a child will take over. The child may have no interest. A business partner may expect to buy the shares but lack the funding.
A succession plan should answer:
- Who owns the business now?
- Who manages it if the owner cannot work?
- Who may buy the ownership interest?
- How will the price be calculated?
- Where will the purchase money come from?
- What happens to employees and customers?
- How will family members who do not work in the business be treated?
The financial consultant may coordinate the cash-flow and funding work. Lawyers, accountants and valuation specialists usually need to complete the legal and technical documents.
Estate planning is more than writing a will
A will is part of the plan. It may not control every asset.
Assets could be held through:
- Companies.
- Trusts.
- Joint ownership.
- Superannuation.
- Business agreements.
- Foreign structures.
The consultant should help prepare an ownership map for the estate lawyer.
The legal review may need to cover:
- Wills.
- Enduring powers of attorney.
- Medical decision-making documents.
- Trust succession.
- Company control.
- Super beneficiary nominations.
- Guardianship for children.
- Testamentary trusts.
- Business buy-sell arrangements.
Document storage matters too. A perfect plan is hard to use when nobody knows where the signed documents are kept.
Blended families need careful instructions
Estate assumptions become dangerous in a blended family.
A person may want to support a surviving spouse and preserve assets for children from an earlier relationship. Those wishes can conflict when the plan relies on informal promises.
The family should discuss:
- Who may live in the home.
- Who receives income from investments.
- When children inherit.
- Who controls trusts and companies.
- How personal loans to family members are treated.
- Which super beneficiary nominations are in place.
These decisions need legal advice and precise documents. A financial consultant can model the cash flow, but should not pretend that modelling replaces the law.
Family lending should be treated as a real financial decision
Wealthy parents are often asked to help with homes, businesses or education.
The family may describe the payment as a loan while keeping no written record. Years later, nobody agrees on whether it needs to be repaid.
Before transferring money, decide whether it is:
- A gift.
- A formal loan.
- An investment.
- An advance against a future inheritance.
Record the amount, terms, interest and repayment expectations.
Consider what happens after divorce, death, business failure or family disagreement. A casual arrangement made during a friendly Sunday lunch can become a serious estate dispute.
Philanthropy should be connected to the cash-flow plan
Charitable giving can be spontaneous or structured.
A family that intends to give substantial amounts should decide:
- Which causes it wants to support.
- How much can be given without weakening other commitments.
- Who makes grant decisions.
- Whether giving continues after the founders die.
- What reporting and administration will be required.
The tax adviser and lawyer should review the structure before money is transferred.
Tax treatment may influence timing, but the family should begin with its purpose. A deduction does not turn an unsuitable donation into a good financial decision.
Privacy and fraud controls belong in the wealth plan
Large balances attract unwanted attention.
A consultant should ask how the family protects account access, personal information and payment instructions.
Basic controls may include:
- Multi-factor authentication.
- Separate approval for large transfers.
- Independent confirmation of changed bank details.
- Limited user permissions.
- Regular account reviews.
- Secure document storage.
- A process for suspected fraud.
Do not allow large payments to be made from instructions contained in one unexpected email.
Family members and staff should know how transfer requests are verified.
Performance should be measured against the plan
A portfolio can outperform an index and still fail the household.
The family may need dependable cash, lower risk or funds for a business commitment. Chasing the highest return can conflict with those needs.
Review performance against:
- The agreed investment objective.
- The amount of risk taken.
- Tax paid.
- Fees.
- Inflation.
- Required cash withdrawals.
- The family’s time frame.
Ask the consultant to explain results in dollars as well as percentages.
A 1% gain on a large portfolio may sound small as a percentage. The dollar amount can be substantial. The same is true of fees and losses.
A consultant should test unpleasant scenarios
Wealth plans often look excellent under steady investment returns, growing business profits and stable family relationships.
Test what happens when those assumptions fail.
The plan should consider scenarios such as:
- The business owner cannot work for two years.
- A major investment falls sharply.
- Interest costs rise.
- A property cannot be sold quickly.
- A child needs long-term financial support.
- A marriage ends.
- A tax dispute delays access to cash.
- The family receives a legal claim.
- The expected business buyer disappears.
The goal is not to predict every disaster.
It is to find out which single event could cause the greatest damage and decide what can be done before it happens.
Be suspicious of guaranteed wealth growth
A financial consultant cannot guarantee investment returns.
Be cautious when someone promises:
- High returns with little risk.
- Exclusive opportunities that require an immediate decision.
- Tax savings without clear legal explanation.
- A product that supposedly suits every wealthy investor.
- Returns that cannot be independently verified.
- Access to your money without normal documentation.
Urgency often protects the seller rather than the client.
Take time to understand the investment, ownership structure, fees, withdrawal terms and downside.
Ask how the consultant is paid
Payment can come through:
- A fixed project fee.
- An hourly rate.
- An annual retainer.
- A percentage of assets managed.
- Insurance commissions.
- Payments connected to products or referrals.
No pricing model removes every possible conflict.
A fixed-fee consultant may still recommend more work than necessary. An asset-based adviser may prefer assets to remain under management. A commission can influence product selection.
The answer is disclosure, comparison and oversight.
Ask for the total expected annual cost in dollars. Do not accept a percentage alone.
Questions to ask before hiring a high-net-worth consultant
- Are you licensed or authorised to provide the advice I need?
- How many clients have financial structures similar to mine?
- Who prepares the tax advice?
- Who prepares the estate documents?
- How are investment products selected?
- Do you receive commissions, referral payments or product incentives?
- What will the first year cost in dollars?
- What ongoing work is included?
- Who will coordinate my accountant, lawyer and other advisers?
- How will investment performance be reported?
- How do you protect confidential client information?
- What happens when my usual adviser is unavailable?
- How can I leave the service?
Our full checklist of questions to ask a financial consultant before hiring can help you prepare for the first meeting.
Review the plan after every major change
A high-net-worth plan should be reviewed after:
- A business purchase or sale.
- A large inheritance.
- Marriage or separation.
- The birth of a child or grandchild.
- A move overseas.
- A serious illness.
- A new trust or company.
- A major borrowing decision.
- Retirement.
- The death of a beneficiary, director or trustee.
An annual review may be sufficient when circumstances are stable. Waiting a year can be too long after a transaction changes ownership, debt or family control.
Serious wealth needs one connected plan
A financial consultant does not protect wealth by placing it behind an impressive dashboard.
Protection comes from knowing what is owned, who controls it and which event could cause the largest loss.
Growth comes from keeping enough capital invested, controlling costs and taking risks the family can afford. It also requires tax planning before transactions, not apologies afterwards.
The consultant should coordinate the investment, tax, legal, insurance and succession work. They should explain fees in dollars and place every recommendation inside the family’s wider plan.
High net worth does not make planning easier. It gives every decision more reach.
The right consultant should make that complexity visible, manageable and accountable.