Source ofWealth
Source of Wealth (SoW)
How you earned your money in general: business, salary, inheritance, investments. Prepared as a dossier with supporting documents. Required during Due Diligence and account opening. The larger the amount, the more documents needed.
- What it is
- How you made your money over your whole life
- Where it applies
- Due diligence for citizenship, opening an account, large transactions
- How it differs from SoF
- SoW concerns all your wealth, SoF the specific sum for the investment
- What is required
- A file with documents for each source of income
- Can you prepare
- Yes: break your wealth down by source in advance and gather evidence
In plain words
Source of wealth (SoW) is the answer to the question of how you made your money over your whole life. Put simply: where your prosperity as a whole came from — business, salary, inheritance, the sale of assets, investments.
SoW is set out as a file with documents and shows the whole picture, not a single transaction. For example: “founded a company in 2008, grew it for 12 years, sold a stake in 2020 for such-and-such a sum — here are the contract and the statement; in parallel, rental income — here are the property certificates and tax returns.” It is required in due diligence for citizenship and when opening an account. The rule is simple: the larger the sum and the higher the risk profile, the more detailed the file must be.
SoW should be distinguished from source of funds. SoW is about all your wealth as a whole; SoF is about the specific money going into this investment. The reviewer looks at both and wants to see that one follows logically from the other.
Where source of wealth applies
What a source-of-wealth file consists of
- Sale of a stake or a company
- Dividends
- Rental income
- Salary and bonuses
- Investments and interest
- Sale of property
- Inheritance
- Gifts
- Winnings and compensation
- Contracts and statements
- Tax returns
- Certificates of title
How source of wealth is assembled
- 01Break wealth down by source
- 02Match documents to each
- 03Explain contentious episodes
- 04Check by the state/bank
- 05File accepted
What you need to know
- SoW shows the whole picture of wealth, not a single transaction
- The larger the sum and the higher the risk profile, the more detailed the file
- SoW and source of funds are checked together and compared
- Each source must be evidenced with documents
- Old money without documents is a typical weak point
Common mistakes
- Showing wealth as a single figure without a breakdown by source
- Not evidencing major sources of income with documents
- Keeping quiet about a source the reviewer will find anyway
- A discrepancy between SoW and source of funds
- Not preparing an explanation for old money without documents
What this means for a BRIDGES client
BRIDGES GLOBAL helps assemble the SoW file the way the state or the bank expects it: we break down all your wealth by source, match supporting documents to each and explain in advance the episodes that would otherwise raise questions.
Frequently asked questions
01 /How does source of wealth differ from source of funds?
SoW is the origin of all your wealth as a whole over the years. SoF is the origin of the specific sum going into this investment. Both are checked.
02 /What if part of the money was earned long ago and no documents remain?
We deal with such episodes separately: we restore what we can (archive statements, duplicate contracts) and prepare an explanation. The main thing is to present a logical and credible picture.
03 /How detailed should the file be?
The larger the sum and the higher the risk profile (PEP status, for example), the more detailed. Modest wealth from clear sources is described briefly; large and complex wealth in detail.
04 /Is an inheritance acceptable as a source?
Yes, if it can be evidenced: a certificate of inheritance, the testator’s documents. An inheritance without papers will have to be reconstructed and explained separately.
05 /Do you need to show that taxes were paid?
As a rule, yes. The reviewer wants to see that the income was legitimate and that tax was paid on it — tax returns strengthen the file.
06 /Who checks source of wealth?
The state in due diligence for citizenship, the bank when opening an account, compliance at investment funds. It is often done through licensed screening firms.
See also
Read next
This material has undergone editorial review by BRIDGES.
Assemble a source-of-wealth file?
We will break your wealth down by source, match the documents and explain contentious episodes in advance — so that the check passes first time.