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- Financial planner Liz Campana shares the top sources of passive income for high net worth clients.
- The first is real estate, then dividends from stocks, and, finally, municipal bonds.
- These assets each have their own advantages and can provide passive income in different forms.
- SmartAsset's free tool can find a financial planner to help you take control of your money »
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The passive income streams of the ultra-wealthy aren't very different from the assets that can be held by anyone; the only difference is the amount invested.
Liz Campana is a financial planner at TwinFocus, a money management firm that manages billions in assets on behalf of its ultra-wealthy clients. She shared with Insider the top three sources of passive income her firm's clients hold and why each asset works.
1. Income from real estate
Campana says her clients earn the most passive income from real estate. For them, it provides greater cash flow than traditional liquid investments like stocks and bonds in the current environment.
There are three advantages to holding property as an investment: First, it protects against inflation because rents tend to rise over time. Second, it can provide a steady stream of income when the property is rented or leased out. And third, it can appreciate either through increased rent or when it is sold.
Real estate that has been financed with a mortgage can have additional advantages: It keeps investors from tying up large amounts of cash, which they can then use to invest in other assets, such as a brokerage account or an additional property.
"If you've got a mortgage out on a property that is a 30-year mortgage, you basically locked in a super-low interest rate. So what you have to pay to earn that income stream is pretty low, and then year after year, rents rise," Campana told Insider.
2. Dividends from stocks
Dividends from stocks are the next top passive income stream for TwinFocus's clients. Dividend-paying stocks are useful when someone is more dependent on a regular source of income from their investment portfolio because they are typically paid out quarterly.
Each client's investment portfolio differs in the types of securities they hold based on their goals and needs. If a client isn't as dependent on receiving a regular source of income from their brokerage account, then they generally lean towards growth-based stocks.
3. Interest from municipal bonds
The majority of ultra high net worth investors' portfolios are in taxable brokerage accounts, meaning any income produced by the portfolio in the form of interest payments from bonds and dividends from stocks is taxed within the current tax year. Municipal bonds can be an attractive asset because they have special tax treatment.
Interest earned from municipal bonds is not taxable at the federal level and, oftentimes, it isn't taxed at the state or municipal level either. For investors who reside in a state that has a higher tax rate, such as New York or California, holding this asset can be particularly attractive.
Correspondent, Investing
Laila is one of the most widely read reporters covering markets as an Investing Correspondent in New York.She covers stocks, bonds, commodities, crypto, and real estate. She also profiles highly successful fund managers and traders about their strategies. She occasionally profiles individuals who have reached financial freedom through alternative methods.Additionally, she hosted Block Street, an on-camera Business Insider feature that interviews key players about the crossroads between traditional and digital markets. She has interviewed some of the sector's most prominent personalities, including Ray Dalio, Rick Rieder, David Rubenstein, and Sam Bankman-Fried.She is a mentor at Oxford University, Yale University, and Stanford University for student entrepreneurs. And has been a media judge on various panels, including for the Society of Professional Journalists.Laila can be reached at: lmaidan@businessinsider.comLinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-maidan-63734523/
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