Whether you are retired, starting your first job or working out what you want to achieve with your money, deciding where to invest and adjusting your portfolio can be daunting. The choices you make around planning for your future are some of the biggest decisions you will ever make.
Taking control of your quest to build wealth is not a nicety, it is a necessity says Craig Kiggen, Managing Director of Consolidated Wealth (a Licensed Financial Services Provider). Craig and his team of tenured, highly-qualified financial advisors have been using global investment strategies and a multi-disciplinary goals-based approach to help individuals, families and companies manage their wealth for more than 20 years.
“There are many definitions for wealth management but for our team it is about growing and preserving the wealth of our clients. It is the process of planning your future today by looking after the wealth that you have created or are looking to create so you can achieve financial sustainability in the years to come,” Craig explains.
The Consolidated Wealth team are unique in their approach to financial planning and wealth creation. They view their client relationships as a partnership and the management of their wealth as a journey they walk together. Craig says that the sooner people get started on this journey, the better, regardless of their financial situation.
“We focus on a cradle to grave partnership that starts as early as possible and as a result, our clients range from university graduates to high net worth individuals and companies. The same approach is used for everyone: we start by understanding them and their relationship with money and tailor a researched, bespoke solution for each,” Craig explains.
Too often, people place emphasis on the markets and returns, adopting of a short-term view to investment portfolios rather than a long-term strategy that is financially sustainable. Craig says that Consolidated Wealth encourages their clients to build a holistic, integrated financial plan attuned to their circumstances, needs and priorities at every stage of their lives.
“Every client has a different lifestyle, cash-flow requirements and wealth preservation goals. That is why we work collaboratively with them to design solutions that support their unique investment objectives, integrating both their corporate and their personal investments to build a strategy that aligns with their priorities and their relationship with money.”
He adds that wealth creation means different things to different people and this is reflected in how they choose to invest. Some people are aggressive in their approach and have higher earnings expectations while others are more cautious, opting for stable returns that deliver in the long-term. “The key thing here is the acknowledgement that every person is different. In fact, our new brand identity celebrates this; our logo, for example, is a fingerprint that symbolises the uniqueness of each client’s situation and the tree trunk rings are a visual symbol of growth year by year.”
This priorities-based, highly-individualised approach has resulted in long-standing relationships and has earned Consolidated Wealth an enviable 96% client retention ratio – unheard of in the industry. Headquartered in Durban, the team manages an international portfolio of clients and an asset base of more than R2-billion.
Craig believes the team’s relationships with their clients are the reason for the company’s ongoing success. “Some of our clients have been with us for more than 20 years. We’ve been with them in the trenches and we’ve also celebrated alongside them as they reached their financial goals,” he explains.
“These long-standing relationships are incredibly valuable to our whole team and combined with our growing client base, we view this as a positive indication that we are delivering on our vision to build the world’s most trusted Wealth Solutions business so that every life we touch is financially secure.”
The unique, caring relationships with their clients embodies the ethos of Consolidated Wealth. Pouring ingenuity and passion into everything they do ensures that the company continues to outperform agreed benchmarks resulting in what is one of life’s most fulfilling experiences: delivering long-term, sustainable financial freedom.
