Advising business owners and their affluent families

As entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand the challenge and complexities of running a business and the importance of maximizing synergies between your personal and corporate finances.

Many of our clients own family businesses or incorporated practices. We have great respect for entrepreneurs who have spent time, faced risks and worked hard to build a business. We bring you customized advice and a comprehensive suite of strategies to help you preserve and grow your wealth and reap the rewards of your efforts.

We work with BMO Private Wealth because the firm has a very strong offering for entrepreneurial and professional clients. With breadth and depth of financial options, specialists and resources, we are well positioned to invest your corporate reserve funds or retained earnings and make them a powerful component of your overall wealth plan.

We advise:
 

  1. Young entrepreneurs who are growing their business and reinvesting their earnings; and
  2. Entrepreneurs at mid-career who wish to grow and develop their business while planning for the future, and
  3. Mature entrepreneurs who wish to divest and invest the proceeds from their liquidation event to boost their family and personal lifestyle and generate a steady stream of income for retirement.

 

Astute strategies for all stages of your business lifecycle

Before we invest your assets or make any recommendations, we will get to know you and your business or practice very well. We will learn what drives you and your company or practice, your vision of the ideal retirement, your personal and professional goals, and your lifestyle priorities.

We can help you:
 

  • Invest the reserve funds in your holding or operating companies or professional corporation, working strategically to achieve your growth targets.
  • Set realistic expectations and put a full-circle Wealth Plan into place to put you on track to reach your goals at all stages of your business or practice.
  • Select the right investments to generate a regular income stream and keep cash on hand to buy investments at bargain prices if the markets turn volatile.
  • Draw money from your holding or operating companies or practice tax-effectively using different strategies.
  • Plan for and manage your cash flow requirements.
  • Manage other complex business challenges.

 

Tax considerations

When you are incorporated, you can pay yourself through your corporation, which is taxed at lower rates than personal income tax rates. As well, your corporation enables you to own stocks directly rather than owning them through a mutual fund or pooled fund. This brings you much greater tax efficiency. As an incorporated individual, you can opt to receive your income through dividends, which are taxed at a much lower rate than income or capital gains.

We work in collaboration with your accountant to:
 

  • Understand the net impact of your investments and wealth plan from a tax standpoint,
  • Help you structure your company and its shares to maximize your tax planning, and
  • Maximize legal tax optimization strategies.

 

We will streamline the liaison between you, our team, your other advisors and BMO Private Wealth specialists. To save you time, we will be involved in calls from a consultation standpoint. At your business year-end, we will send out tax packages to you and your accountant(s) to save you from locating receipts. If your accountants have questions, they can ask us first. And we will consult with legal and tax advisors to look at your business or practice from all angles and manage your money in the best way possible.

 

Succession planning discussions can involve:

 

  • Determining how much you would need to be able to step away from the business and retire comfortably.
  • Estate equalization solutions to help you bequeath an equitable amount to each of your offspring when some of them are involved in your business and others are not.
  • If you are not transferring the company or practice to a family member, working with BMO Private Wealth business succession planners, estate planners and business valuation experts to help you find the right buyer to get the best value for all your sweat equity:
    • Hire business valuators to assess the value your business (at least a ballpark number to use in financial planning).
    • Prepare your business or practice for sale
    • Plan for a smooth succession to help you get the best possible return for the time and sweat equity you have invested:
      • Interview and consult with prospective buyers, and
      • Guide you through negotiations and provide insights on what to look for.

 

  • Once the business has sold, we will help you to:
    • Create a reliable income stream for retirement from the proceeds of your liquidation event.
    • Transition smoothly from driving forward as a business leader or professional to moving actively into the next phase of life.
    • Transfer your wealth to your heirs tax-efficiently.

 

Personal and commercial banking – under one roof

BMO Private Wealth can serve multiple financial needs under one roof to save you time and money and guide you through all the red tape. We offer professional credit solutions to help you enjoy the convenience of managing your family and business or practice banking at the same firm. For example, we can finance your business and the building in which it operates as well as provide your family’s mortgage and line of credit.

When you wish to borrow money or source venture capital, we will liaise with our network of Private Bankers, lending specialists and corporate finance specialists. We have deep relationships with BMO Private Wealth partners and will connect you to the right financing opportunities according to your level of need:
 

  • Business Banking (below $1M)
  • Commercial Banking ($1M to $10M)
  • Corporate Finance ($10M and over).

 

We will safeguard valuable information to preserve the value and transferability of your company or practice and provide access to the convenience and financial advantages of customized BMO Private Banking, BMO Business Banking, BMO Commercial Banking and BMO Trust Company services.