Helping business owners navigate an evolving capital landscape

According to our 2025 business owner survey, 88% of private business owners plan to exit either partially or fully within the next decade. More than half (56%) plan to do so within five years.

Despite knowing this transition is coming, many of them don’t have an actual plan. This creates an opportunity for financial advisors to become invaluable partners in the coming years by helping them shape both their business and personal wealth outcomes.

We spoke with Senior Vice President of Private Wealth Consulting Chip Bauder about how advisors can help business owner clients diversify their wealth and prepare for their next chapter.

Today’s exits are more flexible

“There’s a huge amount of investment capital out there,” Bauder said. “Today’s business owners are being prospected – receiving unsolicited calls and emails from investors before they’ve even thought about their next move.”

It’s up to advisors to get ahead of this wave and coach business owner clients through this complex wealth event.

“For most business owners I’ve worked with, their biggest assets are their business first, their homes second,” Bauder continued, “and they’re fine with that. Success and single-mindedness often go hand-in-hand.”

To empower these owners to de-risk and translate their business success into personal wealth, advisors can help them address that overconcentration and understand the benefits of diversification.

“This old-school perception that it’s all or nothing – I have to sell 100% or none at all – that’s not the reality today. People are looking to invest capital, take smaller stakes and keep the original owners involved,” Bauder said.

Advisors can help their business owner clients figure out what to do with that personal wealth once they’ve taken it out of the business, whether it’s investing in the financial markets or another business opportunity.

Start the conversation

Rather than picking up the phone and hearing, “I’ve sold my business, now what?” it’s the advisor’s role to help business owner clients clarify their goals, prepare their families for a sale and build a transition plan that supports long-term success. That means opening a dialogue sooner rather than later.

“Many business owners neither have an estate plan nor a business exit plan,” Bauder said. “Advisors can make both part of a simple, approachable ‘check‑up.’”

Get them thinking ahead – not just about the future of their business, but about their personal wealth, too. Clients should have a plan for both in case the unexpected happens. Owners also need help navigating the emotional side of selling – fear of the unknown before the sale and of what sudden wealth might mean for their family after. Advisors can help them make thoughtful, intentional decisions rather than emotional ones.

And the data makes it clear why these conversations carry so much weight. In our survey, 44% of owners said at least half their wealth is tied to their business. Nine in 10 said it was more than a quarter. Among baby boomer owners, 31% said more than three quarters of their personal wealth was tied to their business.

While you’re talking, Bauder suggests asking a few targeted questions: What would it look like if you sold the business? Would that meet your definition of success? Where will your cash flow that once came from your business come from?

Being a business owner is hard work. As an advisor, you can help your business owner clients make sure their dedication and success translate into the personal financial confidence they’ve earned.

Source: Raymond James 2025 Business Owner Report

Methodology
This poll was conducted between April 7-18, 2025, among a national sample of 540 business owners. Interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Business owners are classified as those who are 18+ in the United States, who work in the private sector or are self-employed and have an ownership stake of 5+ years at a privately held company with 6-1,000 employees.

About Raymond James Financial, Inc.
Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a leading diversified financial services company providing private client group, capital markets, asset management, banking and other services to individuals, corporations and municipalities. Total client assets are $1.77 trillion. Public since 1983, the firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RJF. Additional information is available at www.raymondjames.com.