Total assets include all cash balances, fixed interest securities, equities, mutual funds, life insurance with investment content, pension funds and other products and investments held. Future assets include amongst others, inheritances, capital from all sources, for example capital that could be raised from property to fund expenditure. If your advisor does not know the disposition of all assets he cannot realistically meet or manage your financial needs nor manage the risks to the ability of your assets to meet your needs.
The size and timing of income and capital expenditure will impact on the amount in cash and the maturity structure of lower risk investments. Have you too much or too little cash, too much fixed interest securities and, do these mature at the right time?
If your main advisor does not have knowledge of all your stock market investments, you risk under or over allocating to a market, sector or security, exposing yourself to undue investment risk. Your advisors should not be structuring your portfolio on current needs and assets without assessing the impact of future needs and assets on its structure. You can only do this with a structure that directly relates current and future needs to current and future asset allocation. If financial needs determine structure, then without knowledge of future needs you cannot construct a portfolio personalized to meet them. Managing all investment assets (or at least knowing their disposition) and lifetime needs allows your advisor to balance the management of lifetime financial security and lifetime financial risk and return. Managing all assets and all financial needs is not always within the mandate or the capability of the individual wealth or asset manager. Ascertaining what a manager can and cannot do is therefore important. Further reading, please see the management of total financial asset and total financial needs in investment basics. | 
