Wealth Management for Small Business Owners

If you’re like most small business owners, you’re used to balancing competing priorities. Demands on your time and attention are constant, and while your expertise makes you essential to the success of your business, you can’t do everything on your own. It is usually prudent to surround yourself with a team that brings complementary skills that can help your business run smoothly, so you can stay focused on delivering the best outcomes for your customers. Whether you’re looking to grow an established business or are in the process of succession planning, we believe having a wealth management partner that prioritizes your interests can be a critical part of that team.

In this article, Fisher Investments explores the unique challenges small business owners face—and how a forward-looking wealth management plan can help align your professional and personal goals, navigate uncertain market conditions and make the most of the hard work you’ve already invested.

Why Small Business Owners Need Tailored Investment Strategies

Small business owners face a unique financial balancing act. For many, their personal financial success and the success of their business are invariably linked, and unlike many salaried professionals, income can fluctuate materially from year to year. That overlap can introduce added uncertainty—particularly amid fluctuations in markets and economic conditions—and makes a one-size-fits-all financial plan less effective. We believe a tailored, comprehensive wealth management plan can help bring structure to the complexities of running a business. By having a holistic wealth management strategy that incorporates the overlap between personal and business finances, we think small business owners can better plan for variability in income while managing their liquidity needs. 

One of the other key challenges small business owners face is concentration risk—when a large portion of their net worth is invested in a single company, industry or geography—which can expose business owners to risks beyond their control. That’s why a well-designed wealth management plan should emphasize diversification, when possible, which can help spread risk beyond the business while still supporting long-term investment goals.

Part of that diversification process is knowing how and where to invest capital when it becomes available. Like other investors, many small business owners tend to underestimate how much growth they’ll need from their investments to achieve their long-term financial goals. Depending on their goals, small business owners may consider hiring a wealth manager that allocates a higher percentage of their assets to a well-diversified portfolio of stocks. Historically, stocks have delivered superior long-term, inflation-adjusted returns compared to other asset classes such as bonds and cash. The volatility associated with stocks can feel concerning—particularly to small business owners that aren’t used to seeing short-term fluctuations in their business values. However, most stock market declines have been temporary—so the risk typically isn’t the volatility itself, but in emotional reactions to short-term market movements.

Ultimately, managing an investment strategy to support a small business owner’s personal finances isn’t about avoiding risk altogether, but about helping to ensure a financial plan balances investment-related risks with the risk of not achieving personal financial goals. These risks change over time, so ongoing monitoring and adjustments can help small business owners feel confident about their financial circumstances regardless of where they are in their personal financial journey.

Succession and Tax Planning for Small Business Owners

Not every small business owner wants to sell their company and walk away. Some want to pass it to business partners, family or their employees. Others simply want to step away from their day-to-day duties and have more flexibility. Regardless of the ultimate succession or exit goal, a thoughtful wealth management plan can help small business owners approach succession planning with greater confidence—well before a transition is on the horizon. 

By establishing a succession plan, small business owners can gain clarity around their personal long-term financial goals and understand how much of their financial security ultimately depends on the business. Small business owners that can steadily build and manage assets outside their business can reduce their reliance on a single exit event, which can provide greater flexibility around how and when a transition occurs. This approach can also make it easier to evaluate an array of potential options and avoid any pressure-driven decisions.

Timing and valuation are important considerations. In the case of a full or partial sale, market conditions and buyer demand can be unpredictable, so a personal wealth management plan needs to prepare for a range of outcomes. Tax planning—ideally well in advance of any potential sale—can also help small business owners retain more of what they’ve built and minimize any unwelcome surprises when a transaction occurs. How a deal is structured can have meaningful tax implications: Asset disposals and equity sales are taxed differently. Payment installments can be spread across multiple years to reduce exposure to higher marginal tax rates. Even how a business is structured (C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC, Partnership, etc.) can have material tax implications. Each business is unique—so it’s important to consult a qualified business tax planning professional who can help owners make decisions around how to structure a transition to maximize tax savings.

Whether a succession plan involves a full or partial sale, internal transfer or some other arrangement, an exit typically has meaningful financial implications for small business owners^[i]. A comprehensive wealth management strategy sees investment professionals work alongside legal and tax experts to help optimize tax efficiencies and help ensure any potential proceeds are reallocated appropriately to support small business owners’ long-term financial goals.

How to Select the Right Personal Wealth Management Team for You

Small business owners often face challenges other investors don’t. That’s why a personal wealth manager that provides more than just investment recommendations can be helpful. Small business owners often need a holistic approach to wealth management that combines portfolio management, succession planning, estate planning, income strategies, tax optimization and more.

If you’re a small business owner looking for a wealth management team, it’s important to evaluate a wealth manager’s investment philosophy, process and track record of success. We believe a strong wealth manager should follow a consistent, research-driven approach and be able to explain how their strategy is designed to manage risk, respond to market volatility and support your long-term goals. While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, understanding how a wealth manager has helped clients in a variety of market environments can help you better evaluate your potential experience. In our view, we believe small business owners should avoid wealth managers who rely on market timing, over-emphasize non-repeatable predictions or can’t provide you with a long, verifiable history of the types of results their clients have achieved. 

There are different types of wealth management options available—each with their own approach, specialties and fee structures—so it’s also important to understand the type of wealth manager you are hiring and how they are compensated. Fiduciary investment advisers are typically fee-only—paid directly by clients—and offer ongoing financial advice. Their fiduciary duty legally requires them to always act in the interests of clients for the duration of the relationship. By contrast, broker-dealers typically earn commissions or markups—including on proprietary financial products—and are governed by a different set of regulations that only require them to consider clients’ best interests at the time of an investment recommendation. If a wealth manager says they are “fee-based,” then it’s possible the adviser is dual-registered as both an adviser and a broker-dealer, which can make it difficult to understand which role they are acting in at any given time. If you’re not sure, you can simply ask whether they are acting as a fiduciary for you. Transparent pricing and a clear explanation of services can help you compare wealth management options and better understand the role of your financial professional. We believe it’s best to avoid wealth managers that can’t give you simple, comprehensive answers when you ask about their fees. For more on the differences between fiduciary investment advisers and other financial professionals, please visit our fiduciary-focused website.

Finally, consider the quality of communication and service. In our view, the best wealth managers take the time to understand their clients’ unique circumstances and financial priorities, rather than providing “out of the box” options. Wealth managers should explain complex topics in straightforward terms and keep you informed with regular updates and ongoing guidance. Trust, clarity, and alignment are essential. We believe the best type of wealth manager should act as a long-term partner—helping you make informed decisions and stay focused on what matters most for your financial future.

How Fisher Investments Can Help

Fisher Investments is an independent, fee-only investment adviser. Fisher Investments and its affiliates manage over $386 billion in assets under management, serving over 195,000 individuals, families, businesses and institutions around the world.*

With decades of experience, Fisher Investments specializes in helping small business owners balance their long-term personal and professional financial goals. What sets us apart? We can review your business structure to help ensure it supports tax efficiency and limits liability. We can also facilitate business lending through our custodial partners, help develop a future exit strategy, review your estate plan and coordinate with legal and tax professionals to help ensure small business owners experience a unified approach to their finances.

At Fisher, we don’t offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We take the time to get to know our clients personally and help tailor a wealth management plan that meets them wherever they are on their financial journey. Unlike some options available to small business owners, where advisers may juggle everything from sales and portfolio management to administrative tasks and client service, our professionals serve clients in their areas of specialization. That way, Fisher Investments clients can feel confident they are receiving advice and service from someone dedicated to, and focused on, their needs.

We believe you deserve simplicity and transparency when it comes to the fees you pay. We also believe an investment adviser’s interests should align with your own. That’s why we offer a simple, transparent and competitive advisory fee based on the size of your portfolio.

We invite you to contact us and learn more about how our client-first culture, time-tested investment process and suite of services can help small business owners like you take control of your financial future.

Learn More About Our Services Here

*As of 12/31/2025. Includes Fisher Investments and its affiliates.

Please note, Fisher Investments is not a business consultant, and the information provided is for general guidance only. Please consult a qualified tax advisor, CPA, or business consultant before making any financial or business decisions.

^[i] Source: https://exit-planning-institute.org/hubfs/Member%20Center%20Resources/2023%20National%20State%20of%20Owner%20Readiness%20Report.pdf