Updated
GL-S-05
Glossary · Banks and finance
Source of Wealth - 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.
01 / In 30 seconds
The short answer
- 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
02 / In plain words
What Source of Wealth means
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.
A case from practice
An applicant shows wealth of $3 million. In the SoW file they break it down: $1.8 million from the sale of a stake in a business (contract, statement, taxes paid), $700,000 in accumulated salary as a senior executive over 10 years (income certificates and the employment contract), $500,000 inherited from their father (certificate of inheritance). The picture adds up — the check is passed.
Where source of wealth applies
- Due diligence for citizenship (CBI)
- Opening a bank account
- Investing in residence by investment
- Enhanced PEP due diligence (EDD)
- Large real estate transactions
- Private banking
03 / What it covers
What a source-of-wealth file consists of
Business and assets
- Sale of a stake or a company
- Dividends
- Rental income
Income
- Salary and bonuses
- Investments and interest
- Sale of property
Personal
- Inheritance
- Gifts
- Winnings and compensation
Evidence
- Contracts and statements
- Tax returns
- Certificates of title
04 / How it works
How source of wealth is assembled
Break wealth down by source
Match documents to each
Explain contentious episodes
Check by the state/bank
File accepted
05 / Key facts
What you need to know
01
SoW shows the whole picture of wealth, not a single transaction
02
The larger the sum and the higher the risk profile, the more detailed the file
03
SoW and source of funds are checked together and compared
04
Each source must be evidenced with documents
05
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
06 / Expert advice
How to prepare in advance
Break down all your wealth by source in advance (business, salary, sale of assets, inheritance) and match documents to each: contracts, statements, tax returns, certificates. Contentious episodes — old money, large transfers, the sale of a business — are best explained in advance. Then the picture adds up and due diligence passes first time.
What we do for you. 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.
Klara RihterBanking compliance and source of funds specialist
07 / Questions
Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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