Specialized wealth advice for agricultural business owners

Making a living in agriculture has never been more challenging. Profit margins have never been thinner and today, many members of the younger generation do not want to take over the family farm.

• We understand the issues and complex agricultural tax rules that affect the farming industry, and actively track the trends that drive the industry.
• Most importantly, we have specialized strategies to help you maximize your financial success while minimizing the emotional stress of running and transferring ownership of your agricultural operation.

Before advising you and designing strategies that help you preserve and grow your wealth, we will get to know you, your family and your business. We'll take the time to discover your needs, goals, financial situation, time horizon, risk profile, and liabilities.

Disciplined investment management for farmers:

• We can help you invest your surplus cash reserves or the proceeds of your farm sale.
• We invest in proven, well-capitalized, businesses with sound management teams that fit into our conservative, tailored, disciplined, long-term approach.

Risk management:

• In an unpredictable industry, we help farmers plan to weather all financial storms. We have planning solutions that can help protect you and your family and farm from economic adversity.

Cash flow management:

• We'll delegate your assets as either core capital (to fund regular farm and family expenses) or surplus capital (that can be invested to help you achieve important goals).
• We can also help you plan to fund major capital purchases to avoid dipping into your long-term retirement fund.

Tax relief. We can help you to:

• Understand the requirements and benefits of the farmers’ capital gains exemption,
• Comply with the complex tax rules that you must follow to obtain this significant tax relief.
• Plan properly to take advantage of this valuable benefit.

Borrowing:

• Every successful farmer needs a good banker who believes in the long-term potential of their business and understands how thin farm margins can be.
• We will introduce you to a seasoned ag-focused Private Banker or Commercial Banker to ensure you get the operating loan or mortgage solutions you need.

Insurance:

• This can help you mitigate financial risks, minimize your tax bill, maximize the amount of your estate you leave to your heirs, and diversify your investment portfolio. The Globe and Mail ranks farming in the top ten most dangerous industries.

• We will advise you regarding funding options that take advantage of government programs and alternative strategies available to agricultural business owners.

Real estate:

• In the form of an investment or a vacation property, real estate provides diversification from the equity markets.
• We will work with mortgage and real estate professionals at BMO Private Banking to ensure you receive tailored advice from an agricultural lending specialist.

Retirement planning:

•   We will determine how much you need to set aside to retire comfortably.
•   Then we will create a customized investment plan that can provide a reliable income stream and cover expenses for the duration of your retirement.
•   Too many farmers rely solely on the sale of their farm operation to fund their retirement, which leaves them vulnerable to risk. We will help you diversify your investments to protect your family.

Farm succession planning:

• Together with BMO specialists, we can help you maximize the value of your farm or related ag business and transition it tax-efficiently to a relative or buyer, with:
  • strategic succession tax planning
  • farm or business valuation advisory services
  • wealth planning
  • other considerations
• We can help you to determine the best philanthropic strategies to leave a meaningful legacy.
• We understand the emotion that can be involved in transitioning a farm property that you can walk on and touch into proceeds that can seem strangely intangible. Our team has the sensitivity and strategies to help you manage the transition with minimal stress.