Wealth Management for Business Owners

If you’re like most business owners and plan sponsors, you have many demanding challenges competing for your attention. Main Street Advisors work with retirement plans every day, and can help save you time and effort. Our advisors bring the experience and tools that deliver value, help seek to improve participant outcomes, and help manage your fiduciary risks.

When you partner with Main Street, we work together to create an optimal, tailored plan configuration, helping you provide a customized fit for your employees. Whether it involves a Simplified Employee Pension, Cash Balance, 401K Safe Harbor Profit Sharing or Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plans – our advisors are here to help.

As the owner or founder of a family business, the inherent exit planning considerations can be complex and difficult to sort through. We start by understanding what has driven your success and what’s important to you about the business going forward. What is your philosophy of doing business? How should it be reflected in your decision making from here forward?

In a private or closely-held business, the business issues are intertwined with personal estate planning decisions. What considerations have been taken to ensure your decisions are coordinated from one discipline to the next in the manner you wish?

Most closely held businesses, especially multi-owner corporations and partnerships should strongly consider establishing formal buy-sell agreements. Individually owned businesses may also profit from the use of a properly drafted and executed buy-sell agreement. Buy/Sell Agreements are essential for the smooth transition of ownership upon the occurrence of one (or a combination) of events, namely the "Eight D's." – Death, Disability, Departure, Divorce, Deadlock, Disagreement, Default and Determination of value. Each one individually in the corporate context, however, would also apply to partnerships. In a single-owner businesses, the buyer could be a key employee(s), a competitor, a supplier, or even a customer.

When buy-sells are drafted or reviewed, perhaps the "Eight D's" could make a good checklist for consideration. It's far easier task to make business decisions regarding these situations now, than to make emotional decisions after an event has taken place.