Wealth management is about protecting, accumulating and preserving your wealth, before working out how best to pass it on. But have you forgotten that wealth protection, not accumulation, should be the foundation of your financial plan?

While wealth accumulation deals with investment planning, wealth preservation is primarily concerned with estate and tax planning, and wealth distribution is all about wills and trusts. But there are no short cuts to effective wealth management, nor is there a magic formula guaranteeing its success.

We must all look ahead and try to anticipate changes, even if they might be unwelcome. If your mortgage commitments have been calculated on the basis of an income from both you and your spouse, for example, have you made any safety provisions in the event that one of you, or perhaps even both of you, becomes unemployed? That might be the worst-case scenario, but it is time to shake off the idea of life-long employment and the ‘iron rice bowl’ mentality.

As Singapore’s economy continues to be restructured, there will inevitably be job losses, with low-value products and services being displaced and relocated to countries with lower costs. The economy and the marketplace are changing, as are the rules surrounding ‘big-ticket’ items like cars and houses, which means that financial planning must become a pivotal focus of everyday living.

So sit down with a financial adviser and assess the basics of your wealth-management blueprint, then do a thorough, periodic review whenever changes are implemented. We all know the saying about what happens to those who fail to plan.

ARTICLE REPRODUCED WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF SMART INVESTOR.