The Plan Worth and Net Worth charts both display the value of assets in your client's financial plan, but they serve different purposes and therefore often show different values.
Understanding what each chart includes will help you interpret your plan results more accurately.
What is the Plan Worth Chart?
The Plan Worth chart shows the total value of all assets modelled within the financial plan, regardless of who owns them.
This includes assets owned by:
- The primary client
- The spouse or partner
- Jointly owned assets
- Businesses
- Trusts
Because it represents the value of everything modelled, the Plan Worth chart is often the larger of the two charts.
Use the Plan Worth chart when you want to:
- Review the total value of assets in the plan.
- Understand how all assets grow or decline over time.
- View assets held both personally and through planning entities.
What is the Net Worth Chart?
The Net Worth chart focuses on the client's personal estate.
It shows only assets that belong to the selected individual or household after considering ownership.
Assets held outside the client's personal ownership are not included.
Use the Net Worth chart when you want to:
- Review the client's personal wealth.
- Understand the value of assets they personally own.
Analyse the value of the client's estate over time.
Note: Assets owned by a trust do not appear in the Net Worth chart because they are held outside the client's personal estate.
Why are the values different?
The charts often display different values because they answer different questions.
The Plan Worth chart asks:
"What is the total value of everything modelled in this financial plan?"
The Net Worth chart asks:
"What assets does this person or household personally own?"
If assets are owned by another legal entity, such as a trust, they may appear in the Plan Worth chart but not in the client's Net Worth.
Which chart should I use?
Use the Plan Worth chart when you want to understand the value of everything modelled in the plan.
Use the Net Worth chart when you want to understand the client's personal estate and the assets they personally own.
Neither chart is more "correct" than the other, they simply answer different planning questions.