What do ultra-wealthy folks know that I don't know?

If you find yourself asking this question, you’re not alone, and we’re here to help.

Last month, we opened our virtual doors for a series of live info sessions with the Arta community. Lots of Arta-curious people got together with our leadership team to discuss a wide range of financial topics. From beginners asking how to get started with wealth building, to seasoned investors wanting to know the specifics of certain private investment funds, the questions were as diverse as our members. All questions were welcomed!

To give you an idea of what came up, here’s a few things we covered –along with the “bite sized” versions of our answers and registration links for our August sessions if you’re interested in joining our next set of Arta Talks.

July Q&A Highlights

“A lot of my net worth is in stock from my employer. How should I deal with over-concentration??”

Many of our members are in this situation: they’re building successful careers at tech companies, and they find themselves with net worth highly concentrated in one or two employer stocks. Here are a few things the ultra-wealthy do to avoid overconcentration in their portfolios:

1. Diversify – The idea behind diversification is simple - spread your investments across various types of assets, sectors, and geographical regions. If one part of your portfolio takes a hit, other parts can help offset the loss.

2. Hedge – There are ways to de-risk, or at least reduce risk of, specific assets using options and other structured products. The ultra-wealthy have access to these types of sophisticated strategies and use them to manage their risk.

3. Plan – A run-up in value of a single stock or two is great news (on one hand). But it also creates tax and other long-term complexities (on the other hand). But there are ways to plan for these situations so you can avoid estate planning catastrophes!

“I have a high salary and want to manage it well. What are some things that ultra-wealthy folks do?”

The ultra-wealthy have access to what we call wealth building “superpowers.” Here are just a few.

1. Investing in private markets has typically been a cornerstone strategy of the ultra-wealthy. Private investments are alternative assets outside of traditional assets in public markets. Examples of alternative assets include real estate, private equity, and venture capital. The ultra-wealthy typically invest in public markets in order to diversify, achieve potentially higher returns and lower their portfolio’s overall correlation to public markets → Check out our primer on Private Investments here, or a more visual explanation here :-)

2. Estate planning is a financial strategy that helps wealthy individuals protect their assets over time, provide for future generations, and plan for the unexpected. The primary goal of estate planning is to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes upon your death. It's about helping people maintain control of their wealth and create a legacy that lasts beyond their lifetime.

3. Insurance is an important, but often overlooked part of wealth building. As you advance in your career, your exposure to financial risks, potential losses, and higher taxes increases. Insurance helps prevent, mitigate, and compensate for life’s uncertainties. Besides using insurance as a safety net, ultra-wealthy individuals use permanent life insurance as a tax-advantaged investment vehicle to grow and transfer wealth.

“I’m worried about my job security given all of the layoffs. How should I protect my finances?”

While personal finance is personal, there are 3 strategies to consider during these volatile times:

1. Grow your savings – Put your “parked cash” to work through investment opportunities that are highly liquid and lower risk, like high-yield savings accounts or US Treasuries.

2. Diversify your portfolio – Diversify across different asset classes to help mitigate the risk of significant financial loss from a single investment or sector. (More on this below!)

3. Control what you can – Make sure your skills and resume are up-to-date and start networking within your industry. This can often open up new opportunities and job offers in the event of a layoff.

“How does Arta protect my investments?”

Security of your personal information is a top priority. Here are some of the ways Arta protects your finances:

1. Trusted broker-dealer and custodian – Member assets are securely stored (“custodied”) with BNY | Pershing, the world’s largest custodian bank and one of the most venerated and stable financial institutions in the world.

2. State-of-the-art authentication and technology – To secure member accounts, Arta employs modern passwordless multi-factor authentication like biometrics. Arta is built on top of Google Cloud Platform.

3. SEC-Registered Investment Advisor – Arta is governed by the SEC and has a fiduciary responsibility to our members to provide advice that is unbiased and in our members’ best interests.

Navigating your financial journey should never be a solo endeavor, especially when you have critical financial questions. The true power lies in having conversations with those who understand your goals, who’ve walked in your shoes, and who genuinely “get it.” That’s the catalyst behind our Arta Talks. Together we can demystify the financial complexities and build our roadmap to wealth. Consider this your personal invitation!

August Info Sessions

Here is the calendar for our upcoming sessions in July and August. You can sign up for each session through the individual Zoom registration links. We look forward to seeing you there!