Business owners want integrated advice – and almost half aren't getting it

Most business owners want a financial advisor who treats their company and their personal wealth as one plan, but only about half actually have one. Nearly nine in 10 respondents (89%) in PNC Private Bank's Business Owner Wealth Insights 2026 report value advice that considers both business and personal needs, yet only 55% currently work with an advisor on both.

The survey, conducted online by Ipsos from Nov. 19 to Dec. 10, 2025, polled 300 private business owners whose companies generate between $10 million and $125 million in annual revenue. It also exposed a discipline problem. Although 98% of owners said they reassess business decisions against their personal goals, about 40% do so only occasionally or rarely. Nearly a third of all owners (31%) have no succession plan in place.

"Our research clearly shows that many business owners are seeking holistic advice that brings together their personal finances and business goals," said Don Heberle, head of PNC Private Bank.

For advisors, the shortfall is an opening with a demanding client segment. Owners typically hold most of their net worth in a single illiquid asset. The work that fixes that is rarely started without an outside push: converting business equity into a diversified personal portfolio, protecting the family if the owner dies or becomes incapacitated, and keeping the plan current. The communication gap runs through families, too. InvestmentNews has reported that most potential business successors assume a plan already exists when owners say it doesn't.

Diversifying business equity before an exit

Rick Simonetti, founding partner, CEO and head of wealth planning at Fidelis Capital, said the hardest step is getting owners to move money out of the company at all. The business is usually the owner's pride and their highest-growth asset, so redirecting cash into outside liquidity meets heavy resistance.

His approach is to start early and small, which limits the impact on the company. He also sets a finite target for the outside portfolio rather than an open-ended goal. Simonetti also recommends holding assets such as real estate in entities separate from the operating business, and doing it from the outset. That separation gives the owner more flexibility ahead of an exit or an unexpected event.

Andrew Schiff, CEO of TritonPoint Wealth, views a private owner's equity as their "alternatives allocation." The business already supplies illiquid, low-correlation exposure, so he cautions advisors against adding much private equity or venture capital on top of it.

"We often tend to focus their investable assets on public markets, be they stocks or bonds, to ensure the client retains sufficient liquidity to meet normal and emergency needs, outside of the value of their business. Said another way, the client's largest asset is illiquid…why compound that situation by adding similar investments?" Schiff said.

Matthew Fulton, associate wealth advisor at Atlas Legacy Advisors, encourages owners to build a second balance sheet for their life outside the company. That work starts with how they picture their next chapter, a theme central to the exit planning conversations advisors need to have with owners.

"A financial plan puts a number to that vision, showing what the owner needs to sustain their lifestyle and how much they may need to unlock from the business. We also test it against a delayed sale or lower-than-expected proceeds. From there, diversification becomes an ongoing practice, instead of a decision made when a buyer appears," Fulton said.

What happens if an owner dies or becomes incapacitated?

If illness, incapacity or death forced a transition tomorrow, Schiff said the corporate documents must already place control with the family, not just the owner, so any sale happens on the family's terms. He recommends paying an attorney to review those documents and revise them if needed.

Schiff also calls buy-sell life insurance critical, simple to arrange and frequently overlooked. A buy-sell agreement sets out how an owner's stake is transferred, and insurance funds the purchase when an owner dies. Where the corporate documents allow it, he also suggests revocable or irrevocable trusts to hold some or all of the equity. He considers irrevocable trusts among the most effective tools for keeping a company under family control across generations.

Simonetti said company-level coverage alone falls short.

"Ideally, and sadly way too infrequently, a defined succession plan for both ownership and management should be developed and in place. A safety net like key person insurance at the company level may help in the case of an unplanned passing but doesn't solve for the whole. Outside insurance at the family level, or the existence of the previously mentioned outside pool of liquidity, can be a critical safety net there," he said.

Timing matters for estate tax, too. The federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per individual for 2026 gifts and deaths, up from $13.99 million in 2025. A fast-growing company can push an estate past that threshold quickly.

"Planning the right organizational structure at the ownership level is much easier before the business has great value. This approach also positions the owners to avoid the economic disaster that the estate tax can impose on their legacy," Simonetti said.

Fulton added that the company itself has to be able to run without its owner. That means documenting key processes, developing leaders and making sure important relationships belong to the business rather than one person. These steps also shape valuation when advisors look at how to help clients sell their businesses on favorable terms.

How often should business owners revisit their financial plan?

All three advisors said once a year is the floor. Simonetti said planning never stops, because businesses, laws, families and the economy all change and new tools, such as novel financing structures, keep emerging.

"A disciplined review, at least annually, is of great benefit, especially in high-growth mode," Simonetti said.

Schiff said growth rate should set the cadence.

"If the business is growing quickly, the owner should meet with their financial advisors and estate lawyers a few times a year. Small tweaks – such as moving equity into irrevocable trusts for the children of the owner – can result in enormous estate tax savings in a fast growing company," he said.

For steadier companies that throw off substantial cash, Schiff said fewer, more impactful meetings work better. Those meetings should produce a plan to invest the excess cash away from the business, which the advisor then carries out.

Fulton said certain events should trigger a review outside the annual cycle: a purchase offer, a partner's departure, a health issue or a wish to step back sooner.

"If years pass without a check-in, the owner may find that too much wealth is tied up in the business and some choices have disappeared. The review doesn't have to be a big production. It does have to happen," Fulton said.