The expertise required of the financial professional depends on the nature of the job at hand. If you have handed your money to an asset manager for a specific objective, such as an allocation to smaller companies, then "all you require" is that the manager has the necessary expertise, resources and track record for managing smaller companies. Assessing whether they can do the job is a “relatively simple exercise” of assessing investment expertise, discipline, resources and performance. If your money is being managed to meet the more complex objective of meeting your financial needs over time, then the wealth manager must meet standards in each of the following areas. Investment discipline and expertise in security selection and asset allocation. Expertise in portfolio construction and management to manage both risk and return and liability risks at a point in time and over time. Short and long term financial modelling and assumption generation. Education, risk assessment and risk profiling. Communication and reporting.  They must be cost effective and add value.
They must have the systems and the necessary system’s expertise The ability to provide or coordinate an effective integrated solution.
Whatever the objective of the wealth and asset manager, there is always a relationship to the whole. As such, someone needs to be in charge of the overall management and allocation of assets and their relationship with the management of financial needs over time. To be able to construct a portfolio to meet client financial needs over time, the advising firm needs the expertise in the following areas. Investment discipline, valuation, allocation and management expertise and the resources needed to deliver this. Portfolio expertise, the ability to structure, plan and manage the portfolio to meet financial needs over time. Relating the structure of assets to meet financial needs over time is different from managing assets to manage risk and return at a point in time. Modelling expertise, the ability to model the risks as well as the returns to the ability of assets to meet needs over time.
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