Holistic wealth building

It’s not an understatement to say financial uncertainty has become the norm for many. Rising inflation levels, debts and financial planning challenges are putting the importance of financial wellness front and center.

“When you think about financial wellness, it’s really based on the four pillars of saving, spending, investing and borrowing,” explains Anna Labombarda, Managing Director of Citi Global Wealth at Work. “These can cause stress in any individual at different points in their lives.”

By breaking down financial plans into clear pillars, people can better understand financial concerns they may have in their daily lives. Labombarda and her teams often face questions around how to save for a first home or how to create a sustainable wealth plan that helps ensure growth for years into the future.

“What we’ve found is we can help clients eliminate stress by providing the tools and talking people through what is causing them stress,” she notes.

More and more businesses are realizing the value of taking care of their employees’ financial wellbeing. Citi is using its more than 50 years of experience in serving busy professions in the law firm industry to personalize financial wellness in four key verticals in the Law Firm Group, Professional Services Group, Asset Manager Group and the recently established Enterprise Group.

Win–win

For time-poor professionals working today, a major barrier to achieving financial security is simply finding space in their busy calendars to focus on addressing financial wellness.

But with a recent Citi survey of over 4,000 people finding that just 67 percent of people feel confident in their ability to make major financial decisions, it’s clear employers can have a more central role in prioritizing financial wellness.

“It’s listening to our clients and hearing what they have to say, which helps us figure out how we are going to solve those challenges for them and what tools they need to invest safely to grow their wealth at the end of the day,” Labombarda says.

The benefits of this approach for both employees and businesses are clear. Professionals will feel more happy as stress related to finances declines. This leads to them becoming more engaged and ready to focus on work.

Financial wellness is of growing importance for employers who historically focused on supporting employees with physical help, but now see the critical role that emotional and financial health play in employee performance.

Whereas in the past firms may have offered support for physical wellbeing, employees who want to achieve sustainable personal wellness and advance their careers are pushing for more customized financial solutions. The firms they work for are also increasingly seeing these benefits.

“Each industry is different and the individuals that work in those industries are different, so they require a tailored solution,” Labombarda says.

Global scale

According to Labombarda, no one-size-fits-all approach works when supporting professionals in diverse industry verticals. The dedicated focus by Citi wealth teams on creating truly tailor-made planning solutions for clients is what sets the financial firm apart.

“No client is the same, no one fits in the same box, and we understand that. Many firms offer financial planning, but we tailor ours fully. When we’re talking to people, we understand their firm’s benefits,” she says.

The global scale Citi can offer clients is virtually unrivaled and enables a close relationship between the firm and clients. By deeply understanding what benefits and tools firms can offer to their employees, Citi is able to know what are the most appropriate and effective financial strategies to take.

Embracing a holistic view of investments on a range of financial topics, including asset allocation to mortgage options, is the best way Labombarda believes clients can financially succeed even during challenging economic times.

“It’s a big difference. I joke with some CFOs and say, ‘We are doing your job for you, we’re helping you, we’re sharing the secret sauce with your folks!” And they appreciate that,” Labombarda enthuses.