Private banking and wealth management companies are booming, which can leave the wealthy overwhelmed with choice. Our Banker suggests some ways through the maze of options

With wealth come choices. Most who have wealth think the main choices are around the type of second home to buy, the colour of the third car, the scale of wedding banquet for the daughter, or the special lifetime experience to buy. These, according to our experiences, are the easy things. Possibly even the fun things that come with wealth. It's expenditure.

An area of choice often overlooked is the one around managing your wealth in financial terms. In today's world, the choice here is as overwhelming as selecting a handmade watch. Wealth management - the term used by bankers and financial advisors to cater to money management needs of wealthier clients - is offered by thousands of institutions around the world. Finding one that suits your objectives is not an easy task.

What should you look for? Here's three pieces of insider's advice.

Point one: Before going to any wealth manager, become a knowledge-master of your own finances. This sounds obvious, but too many millionaires my firm has interviewed on management consulting projects have a very poor strategy for selecting providers. This is rooted in the fact that they have not determined their asset and liability game plan.

Put simply, work out what your total assets are and what your total liabilities are. Then figure out how you will make this continue positively over the next five to 10 years at least. Finally, assess what is important to you in financial terms. For instance, are you looking for security, risk, equilibrium or to build a legacy? Note that you can have all four but it will be a series of compromises on the way.

Point two: When you start looking for a wealth manager, decide what type of service level and business structure appeals to you. Think about what you expect in other business you interact with. If you want a high level of contact from an advisor, then it will be crucial to identify institutions that can commit this to you at a reasonable cost to your balance sheet. A word of warning here. Virtually every institution will claim to offer a high level of service. However, this is one of the worst-kept secrets in the market: most firms - definitely the larger ones - give a level of service directly commensurate to the amount of money you park with them. Less money, less service.

While a million dollars will seem a lot to you - and it is - unfortunately it will be a very small amount to most of the larger private banks. So, if you want high-touch relationships, it pays to look at the smaller firms. Or, and this is an insider's tip, look for the wealth management businesses that operate under a partnership model or have a high level of staff ownership in the business. These tend to have a stronger appeal to those that want high service.

Point three: Do not rely purely on referrals to select a provider. Put the effort into researching the wide range of financial institutions operating in wealth management. In my experience, many millionaires have basically fallen into a wealth management relationship (or four) without ever testing the market. In effect, they take the path of least resistance. As a result, the clients are often not in control of their relationships with the wealth manager and come to regret it.

You need to systematically scan the providers for your correct 'partner'. Another point is that you are also effectively delegating a part of your wealth creation capabilities - something you may have done unilaterally all your life - to a third party. After all, when you do sign up with a specific wealth manager, you are most likely beginning a relationship that could outlast you - it could be a tie up of decades, so clearly, this is a major step.

So, the one overriding message is: know what your goals are, research the choices, do not jump at the first option and know what you are committing to.

Welcome to a fresh perspective on the choices that come with wealth. Good luck.

SEBASTIAN DOVEY is managing partner of Scorpio Partnership, a global wealth management consultancy. www.scorpiopartnership.com