Growth is a critical part of investing, but it’s hardly the only factor that goes into a successful long-term plan. Consider stocks with a history of growth spikes. Though they can provide big returns in short bursts, they can also be mercurial, seesawing up and down and introducing uncertainty into portfolios. That complicates planning and underscores the need to focus just as much on capital preservation.

But maintaining wealth doesn’t stop at portfolio construction. Investors face many threats that have nothing to do with market fluctuations — for example, medical costs or natural disasters that can take huge bites out of accumulated holdings. Those problems can be multiplied for high net worth investors precisely because of their success. Consider your bank accounts: You may exceed FDIC insurance coverage, an issue that affected some depositors during last year’s regional bank failures. If you own a business, you might be liable for worker injuries or be on the hook for big costs after regulatory changes. Deeper pockets might even make you a more tempting target for opportunistic lawsuits.

This is where an asset protection plan can come in. These plans aim to limit potential losses stemming from hazards outside of the market. When promptly enacted and maintained, an asset protection plan can go a long way toward limiting your exposure to many kinds of risk. You can think of an asset protection plan as the foundation for your wealth plan — a secure place to build your fortune.

Creating a comprehensive plan is a complex endeavor that can involve arcane legal issues and may require tradeoffs or ongoing costs. It’s best done with your Private Wealth Advisor in coordination with your attorney, accountant, insurance agent and other professionals.

A complete asset-protection plan weaves several threads into a whole cloth.

As a member of our Wealth Planning team, the most common questions I receive about asset protection regard umbrella insurance, a form of coverage that kicks in when other policies aren’t sufficient to cover a liability. It’s a useful and cost-effective tool, but it’s probably not sufficient for most high net worth investors. For example, it generally provides no protection in a malpractice suit.

For that reason, asset-protection plans combine several strategies. The concept is similar to portfolio diversification — when you invest, you want to make sure you’re not overly exposed to any single risk, and that applies to your wealth defenses as well. Insurance can help recover losses, but some risks can’t be covered by a policy. An example of another tool would be placing certain assets into trusts, which can limit exposure to some of your liabilities.

Similarly, some states offer additional protections to properties held jointly by spouses, and you might benefit by organizing any businesses you own in certain ways.

The important takeaway: Any asset-protection plan needs to be as multifaceted as you and your holdings.

Your risk profile might contain some surprises.

Some risks are easy to get a handle on. Driving carries the risk of an automobile accident; a poor diet could result in health problems down the line. However, many of us face dozens or hundreds of potential hazards — some remote, others less so — that could impact our wealth. A good asset-protection plan should take as many of these into account as possible.

Some risks are so intangible that you might not have considered them. Younger investors, for example, will want to think about insuring their future income in case an illness or injury prevents them from working. Other risks are so banal that they’re easy to overlook: If the family dog gets out and causes mischief, you could be on the hook for any damages. Still others might simply be unpleasant to dwell on — the risk of a divorce, for example.

A wealth advisor can help you think through risks you might not have considered on your own. They’ll also be able to offer strategies and, critically, their tradeoffs for you to discuss with your professionals.

Those tradeoffs can be monetary — insurance policies have ongoing premiums and trusts cost money to set up. But some costs are more ephemeral. Consider the following situation: You have a 401(k) that you’d like to convert to a Roth IRA for tax purposes. There can be a quantifiable gain in the form of future tax-free growth, but you might not know that the federal government’s ERISA protections for retirement accounts — some of the strongest available — don’t entirely extend to Roth IRAs. There’s no easy rubric for which option is right for you, especially as part of your decision should take your peace of mind into account. If forgoing that tax savings helps you rest easier, it might be the right decision.

Whatever plan you settle on, you’ll likely get the most out of it with early implementation and ongoing maintenance.

It’s worth stating plainly that your plan won’t be able to protect you if it’s not in place. Very few protection strategies are retroactive, and it can be hard to prove you’re acting in good faith if you move assets around when you are subject to a lawsuit. Putting your plan into action in a timely manner means it will be available when you actually need it.

You can begin the process of crafting your wealth-protection plan by talking to your Private Wealth Advisor. They can coordinate with your other financial and legal professionals — and even put you in contact with some, such as insurance agents, if you need.

Once you have a plan in place, you’ll want to regularly revisit your strategies. After all, any plan you make today will naturally diverge from your needs over time. The risk profile of a young family, for example, is much different than one for an executive nearing retirement. Making ongoing tweaks will help your plan evolve as your needs change.