What is wealth management and how does it work?

You have money set aside and want it to work for you. However, investing yourself feels complicated, time-consuming, or simply isn't your thing. In that case, wealth management might be exactly what you're looking for. But what actually is wealth management, and how do you know if it's right for you?

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What is a wealth manager?

A wealth manager is a professional party that invests your money for you. You aren't giving your money away; it remains entirely yours. What you do hand over are the daily investment decisions. The manager selects the funds, spreads your money across markets, monitors the risk, and adjusts your portfolio whenever necessary.

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Wealth managers are supervised by the AFM and, depending on their licensing structure, partly by the DNB. They are required to be transparent about costs and strategy. Previously, this was primarily reserved for wealthy individuals at private banks. Nowadays, there are also digital providers making wealth management accessible to everyone.

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How does wealth management work step-by-step?

The process consists of three steps. First, your risk profile is determined based on your age, goal, horizon, and risk appetite. Next, your money is invested in a diversified portfolio with global shares, bonds, and index funds. The third step is ongoing: rebalancing. As markets fluctuate, the manager automatically brings your portfolio back to the correct allocation.

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Wealth management vs. DIY investing

Investing yourself sounds appealing, but the reality is often difficult. It takes time, emotions can get in the way, and achieving diversification is hard without high costs. With wealth management, you hand over the decision-making, the strategy remains constant, and rebalancing happens automatically. You don't have to worry about it, while your money is managed professionally.

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Why wealth management is becoming increasingly popular

More and more people are discovering that they don't have the time or inclination to choose funds themselves. Wealth management removes the emotion and follows a fixed, proven system. No panic selling during a dip, no endless hesitation over which fund to buy. Discipline and diversification, without losing sleep over it.

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How Vive makes wealth management modern

At Vive, you get wealth management without traditional barriers. You open an account digitally and receive a personal lifecycle strategy. Your money is invested in market-wide index funds with very low costs: fund costs of just 0.13 to 0.19 per cent, no transaction fees, and no entry or exit fees. You can see exactly how your wealth is developing in the app.

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The management fee depends on the type of account. For pension investing, you pay 0.35 per cent per year plus 7.50 euros per month. For wealth management without a pension component, a tiered fee applies that decreases from 0.75 to 0.55 per cent as your wealths grow. In both cases, it is significantly more affordable than traditional providers, where fees often reach 1.5 to 2.5 per cent.

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What you should and should not expect from wealth management

No one can guarantee returns. What you can expect: historically, markets deliver an average gross return of 7 to 8 per cent over the long term. Low costs increase your net return. And a good wealth manager helps you maintain discipline and diversification, even when the market is volatile.

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Wondering if wealth management fits your situation? View the possibilities for pensions for the self-employed or read more about pensions for entrepreneurs.