WealthBriefing recently caught up with the chief executive of AAG, a wealth manager that is offering clients a combined ‘Health/Wealth Medical’ audit.

The Alexander Associates Group, a boutique wealth manager with £200 million ($311 million) in funds under management, recently launched 'The Wealth Medical', a wealth report to give clients a full picture of their financial wellbeing with the option of a same-day health check at a private London hospital.

London-based AAG is what is known as a “holistic” wealth manager in that it looks at all elements of a client’s finances as a seamless whole. It offers the traditional wealth management advice clients expect plus opportunities to align their wealth with their personal goals. In a financial world that is increasingly bogged down by regulatory demands, the holistic view is not only a challenge, but also a perspective that’s highly relevant. What's more, it’s one that robo-advisors – a new breed of providers of online, automated portfolio management and investment advice – are hard-pressed to master. So ventures like these merit some attention.

“The report caters to entrepreneurs, self-employed, employed and retired clients alike,” AAG’s chief executive, David Alexander, told WealthBriefing. “Those working in the financial services industry will also benefit from the Wealth Medical. Most specialise in one area, just like doctors. The perception is that they should be on top of it, but the reality is all too often, they do not have the knowledge or time to analyse all areas.”

The Wealth Medical is a novel way of using health checks as an engagement tool and of communicating an important message to high net worth clients – that of keeping a health/wealth balance. As mounting pressure pushes the National Health Service towards the brink of collapse and privatisation talks brew, services like this could well help fuel the private healthcare sector, signalling a possible trend towards healthcare incentives rather than pure financial product pushes.

“People are time-poor, particularly high net worth individuals, so with just one meeting with a wealth manager, they will get the most extensive report on the state of their finances. Our bespoke report is particularly beneficial for HNWs because of the complexities of their finances. The report goes into detail on such things as tax efficient investments, tax residency/domiciliary and passing wealth on to future generations,” Alexander continued.

“One gets stressed primarily due to the knowledge that their investments are all over the place with no structure or direction to them, rather than just the lack of funds. Many of our clients are highly successful individuals running multi-million pound businesses, but that doesn’t mean they have all the answers when it comes to their own finances. In fact, quite often it’s the opposite. We’ve all been guilty of burying our heads, but this in turn causes more stress – it can be a vicious cycle.”

AAG has partnered with Dr. Ruth Whitby to offer those that want to screen their health as well as their wealth a supplementary health check at the private Wellington Hospital in London. For those who find primary prevention too forthright, this is a less direct approach of encouraging the rich to get smart on their health and pay attention to stress levels, not to mention this kind of education for the top end of businesses allows those with influence the chance to implement health awareness into the ethics of the firms they run.

“There is a greater need for help in today’s world than a generation or two ago, simply because our lives are more hectic and our finances more complex. Regulations and the ever-changing digital world just add in more levels of complexity that simply weren’t there a generation or two ago. We know, for instance, that our grandparents would have probably only had one bank account and one property, but fast forward to today and it’s a very different story,” Alexander said.

“With the rising levels of wealth in the UK, and the changes in legislation, there is a real need to understand your own finances so that you are able to plan and sustain your standard of living now and into retirement. Whilst our lives may be busy, and therefore we are feeling the resulting strain, investing time in a Wealth Medical now will undoubtedly empower you to maximise your position.”