The Ultra High Net Worth Institute has launched the “Wealthesaurus,” a list of over 80 terms in wealth management to reduce confusion and marketing hype. In 2024, households worth $5 million or more controlled an estimated $49 trillion in financial wealth. Terms like “family office services” and “assets under advisement” are used indiscriminately, making it harder for clients to navigate the industry. The Wealthesaurus aims to create accepted standards for communication with clients by defining common terms.

Some firms use terms like “assets under management (AUM)” and “assets under advisement (AUA)” to appear to manage more client money than they actually do. The Wealthesaurus gives specific definitions and advises clients to ask wealth managers how they break out assets under management and assets under advisement. The Ultra High Net Worth Institute aims to promote best practices and standards in the industry.

The Wealthesaurus website includes links to online investing guides like Charles Schwab and Investopedia. It does not aim to cover all wealth management terms, but focuses on important terms in the field. As the business of advising wealthy families cuts across various industries, the Wealthesaurus can serve as a bridge between disciplines. The term “ultra high net worth” typically means $30 million or more, but some firms now consider the threshold to be $100 million due to inflation and global wealth expansion.

Read more at CNBC: Wealth terminology guide aims to ‘counteract the BS’ for investors