At BNY Wealth, we understand the personal importance of your business, as it may serve as the primary source of income for you and your family. That’s why preparing for the sale of your business requires careful planning well in advance of the transaction.
BNY Wealth can guide you through this transition in a way that will help you fulfill your personal and financial goals.
Key Considerations for Selling Your Business
The decision to sell your business is significant, as it has the potential to impact your life both financially and personally. Time and time again, our experience working with business owners has demonstrated that thoughtful planning in advance of the sale can make all the difference.
Why Early Planning is Crucial for a Successful Business Sell
Pre-planning should ideally begin at least three years in advance of the business sale, allowing you to:
- Assess the marketplace and factors that could affect the transaction
- Evaluate potential buyers and alignment with your company
- Consider different sale structures, wealth-transfer strategies and the impact on family and stakeholders
- Determine cash-flow needs after the sale
Building the Right Team for Selling a Business
Leveraging the extensive BNY network of advisors, who are experienced in complex sales, we will help you assemble the right deal team, which may include:
- An investment banker to assist with valuation and deal terms
- A wealth manager to coordinate planning for a post-sale life
- An M&A attorney to help structure the deal
- A trust & estate attorney to assist with legacy planning
- A certified public accountant (CPA) to ensure the deal is fulfilled in a tax-efficient manner
Understanding Taxes and Life After Selling a Business
Depending on your unique situation, the following tax strategies may be appropriate:
- Income tax mitigation strategies, like Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) investments and charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs)
- Rollover and exclusion techniques, including Section 1045 rollovers and Section 1202 capital gains exclusions
- Estate freezing and transfer techniques, such as grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) and charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs)
How BNY Wealth Helps Business Owners Sell Successfully
Our lengthy history of partnering with business owners and their advisors puts us in a unique position to help you navigate the complexities of the business sale and manage post-sale wealth. We are committed to helping you transition to the next phase of your life by securing your personal financial future while ensuring minimum disruption to your lifestyle.
No matter how complex your situation, we have the experience to provide a uniquely tailored and comprehensive approach to achieving your goals.
A Proven Wealth Strategy for Business Selling and Post-Sale Success
Invest: Investment strategies that will continue to fund your lifestyle after the business is no longer your primary source of income. These strategies will help deliver growth, tax-efficiency and higher potential returns.
Protect: Protection strategies that structure your assets with tax-efficiency, helping to safeguard the wealth you’ve generated from the sale. These will ensure you can confidently navigate life after selling.
Borrow: Borrowing strategies that enhance your post-sale liquidity while continuing to grow your wealth. As new opportunities arise, you can feel confident that you’ll have the cash to pursue them.
Spend: Spending and cash management strategies that evolve in response to changes in your specific circumstances. These will allow you to fund your post-sale lifestyle after the business is no longer providing your liquidity.
Manage: Wealth planning and post-sale strategies to minimize the tax impact on your profit from the sale. These will help you achieve legacy objectives by preserving the windfall you gain from selling.
Sell Your Business with Confidence – Start the Conversation
Selling a business is a complex process that requires foresight in addition to an experienced team of professionals with deep expertise across many fields. BNY Wealth can help you carry out a successful business sale, and it can also help you plan for the next phase of your life as well as the legacy you wish to create. We welcome the opportunity to support your goals.
