For Carla C. Wigen, effective wealth management is built on conversations that matter, not just numbers. That means keeping the dialogue open with clients and their families at all times, so that their needs and concerns shape financial plans and strategies – instead of the other way around. With nearly two decades of experience in financial services, Carla recently joined LNWM as Managing Director of Fiduciary Strategy. We sat down with Carla to talk about it means to serve clients really well. You will find the full Q&A with her here, but here’s one of the things we talked about:

Carla, how do you define wealth management?
Carla: I think wealth management is a means to an end. And that end, ultimately, is peace of mind. Peace of mind comes from living life the way you want, supporting the people and causes you care about, and being as prepared as possible for the future, whatever that may bring.

Creating wealth usually comes from being very focused on a single pursuit, but managing wealth requires widespread expertise. Not just in investing but also in financial planning, trusts and estates, taxes and risk management. It is quite difficult to excel at all the different aspects of managing wealth. But that is what wealth management done right is.

So that is the first part – expertise in all the major areas required to manage wealth. The second aspect is integrating that expertise. You can have a stellar financial plan, but if you’ve taken on too much investment risk and the market tanks, there goes the plan. Or say you have set up a trust to support your family but don’t get around to transferring the right assets into the trust.

Read the full Q&A with Carla here.