A large asset can be defined in many ways, and money is, far from what we might think, just one more factor to take into account. For Abante, an independent financial entity specialized in financial advice and asset management, there is something that goes beyond a specific amount: the personal situation of those who want tailored advice. Because to chart the financial path to follow, the best formula is to look at the particularities of each person.
If something characterizes clients who have considerable assets, it is that they tend to be complex and, at times, difficult to manage, as stated by Carlos Bach, managing partner of Abante in Barcelona. This complexity implies that clients have the help and support of all types of experts. “These clients require different people from our organization to interact with them both to plan their assets and to obtain guidance from our specialists,” adds the manager. Large assets are a source of diversity and a challenge worthy of an entity that has been helping investors transform their money into true wealth for more than 20 years.
Obviously, having assets of fifty million euros is not the same as having assets of five hundred. But, although the differences are striking to anyone's eyes, Abante emphasizes that what is truly important lies in something that cannot be calculated but can be defined from the first moment: personal and family objectives. Thus, as Bach explains, it will not be the same to offer a financial advisory service to a young businessman who has sold his company and who, with part of the resulting money, wants to reinvent himself, than to another client who prefers to enjoy his business more. time delegating much of the management of your wealth.
In the same way, a young client with hardly any training in finances whose children are still small will not have the same expectations as another who is in the final stretch of his professional career, thinks about the generational change and whose children, now adults, must manage that assets in the immediate future. Unlike the rest of the entities, Abante has a property service that takes care of everything and everyone. They are specialists in advising both individuals and family groups with assets of complex composition, working globally on the needs of the group in the field of assets, family and business.
To achieve this, they have a 360º service in which the different specialized teams—financial, property, real estate, corporate and asset management advice—provide a comprehensive service in accordance with the needs and specific cases. This global advice begins with a conversation with the client, whether it is a private person, a family, a family group, a society or institution. The first step is always to understand what they need, what concerns and what goals they have. “The first thing we do with the client is put the focus on the person. What is his biographical project? What do you want to be? And what he wants to do? ”Highlights Jacobo Dapena, financial advisor at Abante in Barcelona. “Of course money will always be present.
But money is not an end in itself, it is a means. The subsequent economic plan has to help us fulfill that biographical project. It is what we call the Complete Future Plan service,” he adds. In this plan, it is key to align the interests of all the people who are part of the group or entity and for each member to go through their own wealth advisory process. While listening to the client and advising him, Bach points out that “he must be made to understand that to manage his assets he will need different capabilities than those he has used to generate wealth. Not only do we advise, but part of our work is also to help train high-net-worth clients in those skills that are new for some of them.”
Depending on the situation of the assets and their complexity, and the needs and objectives of the client, the company's different specialists will come into action. In this phase, global solutions are offered, adapted to each situation, from the definition of the global investment strategy to the most appropriate vehicles and structures in each case. For example, it is studied to see what percentage can be allocated to financial investment, what to alternative investment and what part to real estate. In addition, Abante also offers administration and portfolio management services, as well as the start-up of different structures and vehicles such as, for example, an SCR (risk capital company). “On the latter, we help them reflect and think carefully about whether they really need to set up a family office because it will not be the best option in all cases. For example, this may be the case of a business family that has stopped being a businessman and finds itself with a lot of money that it does not know how to manage,” explains Bach.
This proposal is like bringing haute couture to finance, taking into account that the client will have to look in the mirror several times to find the ideal tailored suit: the one that fits his size, that he likes and that fits him best. Furthermore, the decisions that are made and the plan that is established will be built based on the life you want to have. “Wealth is not just about money. We will not be truly rich if we do not have a purposeful life and we should not be slaves to our heritage,” Bach concludes.
