Good wealth managers need to be relationship-builders first and investment advisors second. That is why Armand J. Del Medico, Senior Vice President – Wealth Management for ADM Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services Inc, gets to know his clients through a “holistic process” that includes a 60-point questionnaire.

“The investment part of the relationship actually comes after that,” said Del Medico, who is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®) and Certified Investment Manager Analyst® (CIMA®). “So it’s really more about the relationship than about the transaction … And I think that during the course of that discovery process, we get a clear understanding of the communication lines that are open and what they would expect from us.”

ADM Wealth Management provides wealth management services to high and ultra-high income clients. Although ADM has no set income floor for potential clients, Del Medico told The Suit Magazine that most have very involved portfolios.

“We typically seek out clients who have this complex nature to their financial lives … We become what I like to call their personal chief financial officer for the relationship,” he said.  

Del Medico, a finance and economics graduate of Sacred Heart University, knows how complex investor issues can become. He left Morgan Stanley for UBS just as the financial crisis of 2008 was wreaking havoc, a time he refers to as “when the world cratered.” But amidst the difficulties of 2008, Del Medico said that UBS shone brightly, touting the world-spanning bank’s vast resources and reach.

“The post-2008 landscape offers its own new set of complexities, but the need to understand clients and communicate with them remains the same. The crisis only strengthened many client relationships,” Del Medico noted. As part of maintaining those relationships, Del Medico emphasized the fact that he eschews any standardized approach.TV talking heads, for example, might be pushing the idea of a “paradigm shift” toward more conservative portfolio management, but Del Medico is not ready to write off the so-called “alpha approach.”

“I don’t think there’s really a one size fits all solution for clients,” Del Medico explained, noting, “I would be more inclined to not dismiss the alpha approach at this time, and blend it with a more passive approach, if you will.”

Today’s investors expect more than just cookie-cutter solutions. Younger investors in particular seem savvier than ever, using online tools to expand their knowledge before they ever meet with an advisor. Del Medico insisted, however, that a good advisor is still key when it comes to managing complex portfolios.

“I’ve seen some of the unfortunate side of poor investments, poor planning, poor management,” Del Medico said. “I felt I could help provide solutions, and that is one of the reasons I was motivated to become a CFP®.”

For more information, visit: www.financialservicesinc.ubs.com

Armand J. Del Medico is a Financial Advisor with UBS Financial Services Inc. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice.  Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of UBS Financial Services Inc. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S.  As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, we offer both investment advisory and brokerage services. These services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate contracts. For more information on the distinctions between our brokerage and investment advisory services, please speak with your Financial Advisor or visit our website at ubs.com/workingwithus.

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