You’ve done all the right things. You’ve made money, invested wisely, saved, and been smart with your income. But here’s your problem: You have too little time on your hands to manage your wealth properly. What do you do? Well, if you want to handle your wealth like a pro, turn the reigns over to a money management team. Here’s how to get started.

assembling your team
A comprehensive wealth management team will have the following players:
1) a financial planner
2) a lawyer
3) a tax specialist/accountant
4) an insurance specialist
Some people and companies can handle several of these positions, but no one person can handle them all. If you’re a major player like Donald Trump, you’ll have armies of guys working each one of these positions. But if you’re a regular millionaire, you’ll probably just need one wealth manager in each position to check in on your affairs on a regular basis.

Financial planner
This is the guy who makes your money grow, so he must have the ability to put your money in a variety of sectors, including real estate, stocks and bonds, and commodities. It’s hard to find one person with all these skills and the licenses to trade in each area, so most guys opt for a company that can handle all the work. How your financial planner gets paid often depends on the types of investments he makes for you. An advisor or a firm that invests some of your money in real estate will most likely act as a real estate agent in the transaction, which means that it will take a cut of the overall deal. Obviously, the percentage is negotiable. After all, these guys want and need your business. As for financial planners who place your money in stocks and bonds, you’ll probably have to give them a percentage of the total funds being managed, in addition to an annual fee. Again, the numbers vary with the size of the account, but they are akin to trust management fees. This means that an investment planner needs to beat conventional investment indexes like the S&P 500 if he wants to keep your business.

Lawyer
Look for a good business lawyer. You’ll want a lawyer or a firm with a solid practice covering the areas of real estate, estate planning and tax. While a lawyer won’t make you money per se, his job may be the most important of all. Why? He can keep you from losing all your money due to bad deals and dishonest team players. Of course, this means that you will have to keep your lawyer in the loop about everything. Top lawyers charge $500 an hour or more and sometimes require five-figure retainers, but it is worth every penny for your peace of mind.

Accountant
This is the guy who will handle your day-to-day financial matters. He’ll be on the phone with American Express to make sure that your credit card has the best rate, he’ll pay your mortgage and he’ll shape your affairs with an eye toward saving you money come tax season. In other words, your accountant is the team player you’ll probably talk to the most. While some accountants charge by the hour, the truth is that your affairs are probably too complicated to manage in a few hours. Because you’ll need ongoing, focused attention, you’ll likely pay a monthly rate, which should include the basics of handling your bills, making sure that people who owe you money pay on time and keeping your affairs in order. Things like tax advice, running numbers on a particular transaction or making an investment (some accountants do this too) will likely incur extra fees, which are usually best paid for at an hourly rate.

Insurance broker
If you have a lot of investments and assets, insurance isn’t something best bought through your average broker. You need someone who knows your family, your business and your needs. But like other insurance brokers, they don’t get paid until you buy a policy. Of course, big policies mean big commissions. But the alternative is no insurance at all.

wealth management companies
Virtually every major financial institution offers private wealth management. If you opt for a private banker, you’ll be choosing from the likes of CitiBank, HSBC and Wachovia, to name only a few. While your decision may be limited by geography, the truth is that finding a private wealth management company won’t be difficult. The challenge will be in hiring a good company. Here are a few tips to help you choose a company that is right for you.

Personal relationships
Interview as many bankers as possible. Feel free to ask them anything and everything. Ask them what happens if you lose your credit cards in the middle of the night in Bangkok. Or if they can come to your house on a Sunday to help you finish an important transaction. The truth is that many of the things a private banker does are very similar to what a person at your local bank does, but the difference is that a private banker waits on your call, as opposed to the other way around.

Word of mouth
Asking for a referral can be golden when it comes to choosing a wealth management company. But don’t rely solely on the word of a friend or a professional. Think of word of mouth as window-shopping. Hearing about a great company focuses your attention, but you still need to do the research.

Educate yourself
Read periodicals like Fortune, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, which frequently profile the world’s top money management firms. A wealth management team is all about delegating responsibility, but there’s one responsibility you can never delegate, and that’s executive-level decision making.

managing your money
Assembling and hiring the right wealth management team may seem like a challenge, but once you’re on board with the right guys, you should find peace of mind. When you’ve found a team, however, there are two things you should keep in mind. First, always double-check their work to make sure they’re honest. Trust is great, but when it’s your money, the only guy you should trust is you. Second, always be on the lookout for a better team. It’s nice to work with the same people on a regular basis, but if you can make more with someone else, do it. It’s not personal, it’s business.