Strategic Wealth Planning for Entrepreneurs and Founders
Entrepreneurs face a unique set of financial opportunities and challenges. Building a business requires vision, resilience, and risk but managing the wealth that results from that success demands a different kind of discipline. At Gifford Roth, we provide business owners with integrated financial strategies that protect personal wealth, support business growth, and prepare for transition or succession.
Whether you’re launching, scaling, or preparing to exit, we deliver tailored guidance to help you make confident financial decisions at every stage of your entrepreneurial journey.
Understanding the Business Owner Profile
Business owners often hold significant wealth in illiquid, concentrated positions – typically tied to their company. Unlike salaried professionals, your personal finances are often interwoven with your business performance, cash flow, and long-term value creation.
- Diversify and protect personal assets
- Manage concentrated equity risk
- Plan for liquidity events or business transitions
- Align personal and corporate tax strategies
- Prepare for succession or intergenerational wealth transfer
We help you separate the business from the balance sheet — so you can build and preserve wealth on your own terms.
Risk Assessment: A Crucial First Step
Every business carries risk. But not all risk is visible on a balance sheet. For entrepreneurs, understanding the full picture of risk is essential – not just within the business, but across personal finances, tax exposures, and succession vulnerabilities.
We conduct a holistic risk assessment that examines:
- Concentration risk: How much of your net worth depends on your business?
- Liquidity risk: How easily can you access capital outside your enterprise?
- Operational risk: What happens if you're no longer at the helm?
- Jurisdictional and regulatory risk: Particularly for cross-border businesses
- Succession risk: Are there plans in place to protect continuity or exit value?
By identifying these risks early, we can implement strategies to mitigate them while supporting the continued success of your company.
Wealth Management Strategies for Business Owners
Personal Asset Protection & Diversification
- Establishing investment portfolios distinct from business assets
- Using trusts or corporate structures to ring-fence personal capital
- Designing liquidity strategies in anticipation of future transitions
The goal is to reduce vulnerability and increase financial independence, so your personal future doesn’t depend entirely on the business.
Pre- and Post-Exit Planning
Our services include:
- Scenario modelling for business valuation outcomes
- Exit liquidity planning and reinvestment strategies
- Cross-border tax planning around proceeds
- Estate and trust strategies for preserving legacy value
We help you plan for the event before it happens so that when it does, you’re ready.
Executive Compensation & Retirement Solutions
- Dividend and salary optimisation
- International retirement plans or pension alternatives
- Deferred compensation and incentive planning
- Insurance-backed solutions for income or key-person risk
We ensure you are rewarded for the risks you’ve taken and that your compensation supports long-term goals.
Our Integrated Advisory Approach
At Gifford Roth, we work closely with your existing advisers – legal, tax, corporate, or compliance – to provide a coordinated, holistic financial strategy. Where needed, we can also connect you with trusted professionals in our international network.
Our goal is not only to manage capital but to strategically orchestrate your entire financial life. We bring together:
- Investment management tailored to entrepreneurs
- Cross-border tax and structuring strategies
- Succession and estate planning with global relevance
- Risk management aligned with personal and business realities
- Long-term wealth preservation for families and future generations
Why Gifford Roth?
Business owners value independence, clarity, and efficiency. At Gifford Roth, we bring those same qualities to our work. Our clients choose us because we offer:
- Specialised expertise in entrepreneurial wealth
- Risk-aware investment strategies designed for founders
- Cross-jurisdictional planning capabilities
- A fiduciary approach, always in your best interest
- Unbiased advice, with no hidden incentives or product agendas
We speak the language of business owners. We understand that your wealth plan must be as agile and ambitious as you are.
Let’s Talk About Your Business and Beyond
Whether you’re just starting to build personal wealth or navigating the complexities of a successful exit, Gifford Roth is here to help you make the most of what you’ve created, and to protect it for what comes next.