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Financial Planning > UHNW Client Services > UHNW Client Advice

Give Small-Business Owners More Than ‘the Number’

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What You Need to Know

  • More high-net-worth individuals with significant wealth tied up in closely held businesses are seeking help from financial advisors.
  • Experts at the valuation software firm BizEquity say this trend presents tremendous opportunity for advisors with the right planning skills.
  • While business owners are often focused on the price they can achieve at sale, they need advisors’ guidance throughout the entire business life cycle.

Business owners’ needs differ significantly from those of high-net-worth clients with mostly liquid wealth, but it is this complexity that generates significant opportunity for advisors with the right planning skillset and client service approach.

In fact, according to Jacob Leise, senior director of marketing for valuation software provider BizEquity, business-owner clients represent one of the ideal targets for advisory firms looking to grow their own book of business and secure loyal clients.

Leise made this case throughout a webinar hosted Monday by BizEquity and RIA Channel, during which he emphasized how some 10 million businesses are set to transfer ownership over the next decade alone, representing a collective $13.2 trillion in business-owner assets.

As Leise emphasized, business owners spend most of their time and energy keeping the business afloat, and they often deprioritize the creation of a true long-term plan for their own  finances. Many who have engaged in business transition planning, he adds, have done so only superficially, perhaps by running their information through a few quick online valuation calculators.

“The challenges faced by business owners are unique and require guidance from a financial professional throughout the lifetime of their business,” Leise says. “The more relevant your services are to business owners, the more confident they become in your abilities as a trusted advisor, leading to longer client retention and more referrals.”

High Hopes and Higher Expectations

While many advisors say they want to serve this market, Leise says, the reality is that this client segment has very high expectations and a complicated set of needs that cut across tax mitigation, ownership planning and various other areas.

“Many advisors say they want these business owners clients, and it’s not hard to see why,” Leise says. “They generally have significant assets and they really need and value financial advice — because they are spending most of their time managing their own business. Success, however requires meeting these very high expectations.”

Ultimately, Leise argues, excelling in this segment requires highly personalized services and planning skillsets that go beyond straightforward investment management and income planning issues. The linchpin to a successful service strategy, he proposes, is responsive and accurate business valuation services.

In other words, Leise says, being able to provide “the number” and to put the projected sale value in its proper context will help any advisor stand out.

Advisors Have a Lot to Offer

As Leise emphasizes, business owners often come to advisors and business consultants only after they have decided they want to monetize their business and transition away from ownership, but this obscures the fact that business owners need financial guidance throughout the entire business life cycle, not just when they are looking to sell.

Early on, Leise says, these clients need advice about strategic planning, proper funding and risk management. In turn, as the business grows, advisors can provide guidance about capital structure, budgeting, employee benefits and key-person incentives.

According to Leise, as an advisor works with the client on these issues, they can bring valuation planning into the fold as a more organic, holistic and ongoing enterprise. This longer-term approach will generally drive much better outcomes and help to set clearer goals and expectations, he says.

The appeal of this approach can be seen by contrasting it with what Leise calls “the traditional route” for valuation planning, i.e., contracting a certified valuation analyst who charges a fee to get a formal quote.

“Yes, this is generally going to be a very accurate and useful exercise, but it doesn’t give you a living, breathing valuation,” Leise says. “When you generate a valuation this way, the second this work is done, it is becoming outdated. You get a number that is accurate today, yes, but it doesn’t update over time.”

For this reason, Leise suggests, the best approach is an ongoing, advisor-led valuation effort bolstered by the kind of software BizEquity and its competitors provide.

“It’s like when the advisor is able to use financial planning software that responds to changes and new inputs,” Leise says. “It’s a living, breathing thing, and the valuation can be revisited and referenced over time.”

Key Concepts in Valuation Planning

During the presentation, Leise referenced a number of guides and reference documents that have been published for advisors by BizEquity and other parties, which can be used by advisors looking to improve their knowledge in this area.

Perhaps the most fundamental concept to grasp is the “fair market value” of a client’s enterprise. Put simply, this is the price, expressed in terms of cash equivalents, at which property would change hands between a hypothetical willing and able buyer and a hypothetical willing and able seller, with both parties acting at arm’s length in an open and unrestricted market.

Most commonly, fair market value is based on a “going concern basis” for a 100% control interest in the organization being sold, but there are other standards of value besides fair market value. These include, for example, “investment value” that speaks to a specific, known buyer rather than to a hypothetical or most likely buyer.

Notably, in consolidating industries, fair market value will approach investment value and account for the favorable synergistic impact of combining one or more companies. In such cases, according to BizEquity, the normalized earnings are typically higher and the pertinent multiples likewise will be higher.

Another commonly seen metric is “fair value,” as used in divorce cases. This term expresses value to the current owner rather than to a hypothetical buyer. It also refers to an accounting concept that is roughly equivalent to fair market value, according to BizEquity.

Finally, there is liquidation value, which is value based on the shutting down of the business with the sale of all assets and the repayment of all liabilities rather than as a going concern with perpetual life.

More Than a Number

According to Leise, a business valuation report can — and should — provide business owners and their advisors with much more than just a valuation number.

For example, Leise says, it can provide clients with important insights into different measures of business value as well as comparisons of the subject’s key financial benchmarks with their industry cohort.

In addition, business owners and their advisors can benefit from gaining an understanding of the mechanics of business valuation and using this knowledge to proactively manage or build value over the short and long term.

The full report can also help with the variety of questions that clients typically have, Leise says, including the following:

  • What is my business worth today?
  • How many different types of value are there, and which are most important to me?
  • What is the difference between an “asset sale” and a “stock sale”?
  • What are the primary value drivers in general, and how do they differ from the perspective of the income statement versus the balance sheet?
  • How does my company compare to others in the same industry?
  • What are the terms of key financial metrics involving liquidity, solvency, activity and profitability?

In the end, Leise concludes, business owners who have expressed an interest in having their company valued have also implicitly recognized that there is value in understanding how to value their business. As such, it is essential for their advisors to have a good working knowledge of the components that make up their client’s valuation report.

Photo: Shutterstock


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