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Federal Capital Gains Tax Rate Update - Raising the rate…

By Admin | October 22, 2007

To most people in the financial and tax worlds the impending federal capital gains tax rate capital gains tax rates going up in 2011hike in 2011 is no new news. 

This has been scheduled since the 2003 capital gains tax rate changes and should really be no surprise to most people. 

However, with this federal capital gains tax rate increase (set to increase to 20% in 2011) is this a sign that everyone should run and sell off all of their assets before then to take advantage of these low rates?

For most people… I’d venture to say no.  Letting tax rates control an investment strategy is not usually a great idea.  However, there are certain people in certain situations that may benefit greatly from this lower federal capital gains tax rate period.

Here’s who should consider selling before 2011 to take advantage of the small capital gains tax rate savings:

If you do not apply to the above two groups, you should seriously crunch the numbers before you choose an exit strategy.  On one hand, many CPA’s out there are advising their clients to simply pay the capital gains tax and be done.  While this may be good advice for some sellers… there are many sellers out there who would benefit greatly from a capital gains tax deferral strategy.

When you compare simply paying the tax to a capital gains deferral strategy you need to keep in mind that capital gains tax is paid according to the tax rate in the years you receive funds.  So, once the capital gains tax rate climbs in 2011… you may be subject to a bit higher tax rate.

However, when you defer your capital gains taxes, depending on the strategy, many times you earn a pre-tax rate of return that can more than offset the extra capital gains taxes you may pay.

So, always basing a decision on just the tax rate can be a costly mistake.  Sit down with your financial advisor and put everything on paper.  Make a fact based decision based on actual numbers… not just the tax rate.

I stumbled on a good article in the Wall Street Journal about the upcoming capital gains tax rate hike.  Take a read.

==> Wall Street Journal Article

Bottom line, if the facts support selling and paying the tax now instead of a deferral strategy… go for it!  If a deferral strategy actually helps you come out ahead… consult with a qualified exit planning specialist to craft a solid plan.


Topics: Capital Gains, Daily musings | 3 Comments »

Selling a Business - Selling to a third party buyer

By Admin | October 19, 2007

One challenge that ALL business owners will face sooner or later is choosing the best way selling your business to a third partyfor them to exit their business. 

Most business owners will choose to sell their business… but even this isn’t as straight forward as it seems. 

As a business owner you need to decide how you will sell your business.

Will you:

Truly there is no right answer as to what is the best overall way to sell your business is.   As we always say, your exit strategy will really depend on your goals. 

In this article I’ll go over selling your business to a third party buyer… and the advantages and disadvantages of this option.

To put this in perspective, about 20% of businesses are for sale to a third party… but as you know… selling a business is not an easy task.  So, only about a quarter of these businesses actually sell.

If your business is bringing in over $11 million a year, your odds of selling your business actually increase by 100%.  If you fall into this category… congratulations!  If not, selling to a third party may be a bit more of a challenge that you need to be ready for.

So, what are some advantages of selling your business to a third party buyer?

Just like with any exit strategy, selling to a third party buyer does have its disadvantages.   Often times the disadvantages are not cause for worry for many sellers… but other sellers do have a difficult time with the following disadvantages.

What are the Disadvantages of selling to a third party buyer? 

To sum it up, whether you choose to sell your business to your employees, family, or a third party buyer… you will have to navigate the pros and cons of each strategy.

As a seller, you should begin thinking about how you want to exit your business as soon as possible.  The more time you have to plan… the better off your transfer will be.   So, if you’re within 5 years of your target selling date… you should begin to seriously think about who you want to sell the business to… someone on the inside or a third party buyer.

As always, feel free to shoot any questions our way or post them here in the comments section.

Cheers!


Topics: Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Planning Your Exit, Selling a Business | No Comments »

Zero In on the 76 Million Baby Boomers for Exit Planning…

By Admin | October 10, 2007

Here’s a quick post on a great article I found that can help financial advisors and exitcover image - exit planning planners capture… and keep their clients as they move into the retirement phase.

I recently ran across a great article on the impending Baby Boomer retirement influx and how you can better position yourself to capture more clients.

What most advisors don’t realize is that a majority of clients will switch their financial advisor before they retire.

It’s not because you are failing them as an advisor…

… but because you have not yet positioned yourself as an expert in managing income during retirement.

Most financial advisors position themselves as experts in investing for retirement… but are you currently positioning yourself as an expert in managing income DURING
RETIREMENT?

Take a look at this article from the National Underwriter Magazine from last week: (follow the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/2l825b

It provides a specific game plan and set of steps that will get you into the minds of your clients as a retirement income management expert.

All of us should have a specific plan and system set up to properly manage our marketing and contacts with our clients.  The year by year plan in this article is a great way to stay in front of your client and ensure that they continue to see you as an expert financial advisor who can help them… even through the retirement phase.

Enjoy…

Topics: Building Your Financial Planning Biz, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Financial Advisors | No Comments »

How to Find the Right Financial Advisor When Selling a Business or Real Estate

By Admin | October 5, 2007

Finding the right financial advisor / exit planning specialist is one of the most important Finding the right exit planning professionalfirst steps in creating a solid exit plan when selling appreciated real estate or a business.  However, many sellers take this task too lightly and believe that any ol’ advisor will do… because that is their job… to advise me on whats best for my situation.

If you are caught in this mindset… GET OUT OF IT.

Let me ask you this, if you have a prized race horse and it gets sick… who do you take it to?

You’re probably saying, “I’d take it to a vet.” 

Well… true… you would.  But, you wouldn’t take it to just any vet… you’d take it to the best horse specialist around so you know your prized horse is in good hands.  Afterall… the normal vet may be an excellent vet and have a great understanding of overall veterinary medicine… but they may not have vast experience in working on horses.

A sellers decision on their financial advisor and exit planner truly should be the same… but many sellers simply do not realize that most financial advisors simply do not have a specialty in creating exit plans… nor do they work in that specialty every day.  It’s not just knowing the different exit strategies… proper exit planning goes far beyond that.  It is knowing the minute details of exit planning that really separate the true experts from the “weekend exit planners”. 

What you as a seller need to find, is a financial advisor who specializes in creating exit plans for sellers of highly appreciated businesses and real estate.

So, how do you know a qualified exit planning specialist when you see one?

Below are some things to look for when you speak to a financial advisor about exiting your real estate or business effectively:

The points above are the minimums that a financial advisor should address.  If they do not address each point well… you should seek out another opinion.

I realize that the above points are not completely comprehensive and detailed… but the main things you need to take away from them is that not all financial advisors are created equally when it comes to creating a solid exit plan for you.  Sure, your advisor may be the best advisor with investments in the world and has earned you 15% returns year after year (I wish…)… but that truly has very little to do with being a qualified exit planner.

Another very important detail of gathering the right team…

Many sellers try to go it alone… or simply with only a CPA or Financial Advisor when selling their highly appreciated asset.

THIS IS DANGEROUS.

Often times the asset that people are selling is a major portion of their retirement.  Is it really worth the risk of possibly drastically affecting your retirement and financial well being simply to save a few bucks on attorney or CPA fees?  Simple answer… no.

As part of your overall exit plan, you as a seller should be sure that you have a team involved in planning your exit.  As I mentioned earlier, advisors have their specialties… and you should utilize different advisors for different specialties.

Before selling your highly appreciated asset you should gather a qualified team that consists of:

If you are selling to someone outside of your family or business…

Working solely with just one of these professionals really places a large amount of risk on you… that can be relieved simply by spending a few dollars and consulting with experts.

“But… all of these advisors cost me money… won’t that be too expensive?”

The truth is that involving advisors who specialize in specific areas actually is not as expensive as you think…. and can often actually decrease the overall costs.

When you have advisors working in their specialty… they are much more efficient than an advisor who is not a specialist in that particular area.  For instance, an advisor specializing in exit planning may be able to set up an entire exit plan in half of the time that your normal CPA can… resulting in cost savings.

Also, working with these specialists can save you huge sums of money down the road because you can rest assured that your strategy is solid.  If you implement the wrong strategy… it could truly cost you thousands (or hundreds of thousands) in unnecessary taxes and future income potential.

So… is there is no easy answer to the age old question of, “How do you choose the right financial advisor / exit planner when I’m selling my real estate or business?”

… but you can take the proper precautions when speaking with a financial advisor to ensure that they are a specialist in business or real estate exit planning by following the information in this article. 

If you are unsure whether or not your financial advisor is up to snuff, give us a call at The Settlement Institute at 800-666-5854 and we’ll help you to evaluate your advisor to ensure that you are on the right track.

More than once we have spoken to a seller who was told by their financial advisor or CPA that they were experienced in exit planning… to find out later that the extent of their knowledge was that they knew what a 1031 exchange was…

Topics: Estate Planning, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Financial Advisors, Planning Your Exit, Selling Real Estate, Selling a Business | No Comments »

Are you counting your CRM data as an asset when you sell your business?

By Admin | September 28, 2007

When selling a business there are so many things to think about and so many things to The value of a CRM to a business ownerstamp a value on. 

Sure, there are some obvious assets that have relatively straightforward values.  For instance:

But…

There are some assets that are extremely valuable that many business seller simply do not value as highly as they should. 

One case in point is the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database that businesses have… or at least they should have. 

What is the value of all of those contacts, attributes, and information? 

I would venture to say that it can be extremely valuable.  Especially if many of the people in the database have some sort of loyalty to the business and its reputation. 

But, here’s the catch…

Many small businesses really do not have a formal CRM that they use to track client data including:

Many small businesses simply have a database with names and addresses… but no real attributes that a future 3rd party buyer of the business can use to tell the value of each client for their future marketing and business building activities.

So, if you own a business and are getting ready to sell…

Take a good hard look at your customer data and your CRM system if it exists.  If you have a robust system that provides high value to your future buyer… that alone can up the possible sales price by a good margin.

On the other hand, if you are looking at selling your business sometime in the future but aren’t keeping and tracking your customer data in a way that your new buyer can come right in… look at your CRM… and immediately see a huge amount of value in its contents… you should  look into integrating a CRM into your business. 

I promise you, it will be an excellent investment if you can truly provide a CRM system filled with valuable client information when it comes time to selling your business.

As professional advisors, we need to key in on this little detail when helping our clients evaluate their exit plan.  Also, relationships strategic with trustworthy CRM solution companies may be a way to provide more value to your client because you can then point them in the right direction if their current CRM situation needs a little work.

So, get that client data gathered up into a useful and high value package before you sell your business and reap the profits.

Cheers 


Topics: Building Your Financial Planning Biz, Planning Your Exit, Selling a Business | No Comments »

How exit planning done right, adds more to your bottom line…

By Trevor Mauch | September 10, 2007

Here’s Part 2 of the 5 part series of our
Exit Planning Business Builders series.

In Part 1 I went over the importance of
over delivering and how it does more than
just bring in more clients, it actually
increases your profit per client and weeds
out the bad ones.

In this issue we’ll go over how using the
right comprehensive exit planning approach
with your clients can add more revenue for you,
more referrals to your partners, and a strong
practice that now relies more on your relationships
than your marketing.

…..

Are you currently implementing exit planning into
your financial services practice? If not, you
are completely ingoring the leading edge of one
of the largest opportunities for financial planner
in U.S. history with the 76 million strong
Baby Boomer generation nearing retirement.

If you are implementing exit planning, are you
optimizing the process to:

- better help your client meet their goals
- put more income in your pocket
- add more referrals from your referral partners
- farm for clients 2,3,5,10 years before they
even sell their businesses or investment property

If you did not answer yes to each and every one
of those points, read on.

The Settlement Institute works with financial planners
all over the U.S. and has gathered the best practices
from our members.

What our members have learned is that using the right
system to plan and implement exit plans for their
clients can increase their business ten fold when
done correctly.

Here’s a system that just one of our members uses.

Notice how this system has triggers built into the
process that actually builds referrals right into
each clients plan.

Proven Exit Planning Process:

1. Figure out the goals and objectives of the seller

2. Figure out how much the asset is worth now, and
is projected to be worth when the seller sells

3. How can you as an advisor maximize the cashflow
value of this asset for the seller?

4. To whom does the seller picture selling the business
to?
- i.e. - family members, employees, outside buyers

5. Develop a plan that enables the company to run smoothly
even if something were to happen to the seller unexpectedly
before the planned sale.

6. How does the seller want his/her overall wealth preserved
after he/she passes? Develop a plan that helps address
family wealth preservation.

This 6 step plan is a proven approach to ensure your clients
goals are met at each and every point in the sales process.

Now, how does this proven system help to actually grow your
business?

Well, one way is the power of referrals.

Each of the steps above require a different skill set.

Rather than try to do them all yourself (many advisors
think they should), you should both work with the clients
current professional advisors or refer them to advisors
in your network.

For instance, below reviews advisors who may be consulted
in each step of the process:

1. You, clients financial planner, CPA
2. Business broker, realtor, etc.
3. You, clients financial planner
4. You, insurance agent (buy-sell agreement), attorney, CPA
5. You, attorney, business process consultant
6. You, attorney, financial planner, CPA

There are many more professionals that will be part of
your referral network including bankers, P&C insurance
agents, etc.

With a single transaction done the right way, you can
be referring work to many of your referral partners and
also forming new relationships with your clients current
professional advisors.

In the long run, your network will grow with each and
every transaction and… eventually referrals will start
coming your way as well.

It’s a beautiful thing!

Anyhow, use a proven system that has check points built
in that make it easy for you to refer business to your
referral partners along the way. It will pay big
dividends to your bottom line over time.

The best of luck in building your business!

==========================================
Do you want to build your financial services
practice and earn 2,3,5,10 times what you make
right now?

The Exit Advisors Training Network enables you
to learn the proven systems used by some of the
nations top exit planning specialists.

Also, you receive professional marketing materials,
tools, resources, and the ability to be certified
by the nations most respected structured annuity
firm to offer your clients the Structured Sale.

Learn more by following the link below:

http://www.settlementinstitute.org/affiliate_join.html

Topics: Building Your Financial Planning Biz, Exit Planning, Financial Advisors | No Comments »

California life insurance CE Credit now available! - Continuing Education Credit

By Admin | September 6, 2007

We are proud to announce that our Life Insurance Continuing Education (CE) course on Life insurance CE course now available in California!the Structured Sale annuity for capital gains deferral is now approved in California!

The reason we over here at The Settlement Institute decided to create this life insurance CE course is because of the high demand from financial professionals inquiring to us about the new capital gains deferral strategy.

As you know, The Settlement Institute was created to provide professional advisors top quality and cutting edge educational and business building information and resources to help them make more money by implementing exit planning into their business.  

One way to increase revenues in a financial advisory practice is to add more tools to your arsenal so you can better serve more clients.  A little metaphor that I like to use is comparing financial professionals to golfers.

Tiger Woods and every other PGA professional carries 14 clubs in their bag.  Why is this?  Well, at least two reasons:

  1. The maximum clubs allowed in a bag by PGA rules is 14
  2. Each club serves a different purpose and helps the golfer get their desired results in different situations

How does this translate over to financial professionals who advise their clients on exiting real estate, businesses, or other appreciated assets?

Well, professional advisors should have as many tools in their bag as they can so they can serve their unique clients who also have very unique solutions.

If you are a professional advisor who is currently in a rut where you try to put every client into one strategy, either you are specializing in that strategy only and only work with clients who’s problem will actually be solved with that strategy…

 OR

… you are hurting your business by putting clients into strategies that really aren’t the best solution for their problem.  While this may mean a commission now… I can guarantee that this will not help you build continuity into your business. 

Anyhow, the Structured Sale annuity is a niche capital gains deferral strategy that works perfectly for probably 5% of sellers out there.  But, when you do meet sellers that fall into that 5%… what will you do? 

Will you fulfill your fiduciary responsibility and help them implement the Structured Sale annuity to solve their problem?

Or… will you act like the Structured Sale annuity (Ensured Installment Sale) does not exist and settle for a strategy that you know more about… but does not fully help your seller meet their goals?

The choice is yours.

If you want to learn more about the Structured Sale annuity (Ensured Installment Sale) so you can be better equipped to help serve your clients well (and build your business), feel free to take our life insurance CE course on the topic today.

NOTE:  We always provide our customers with extremely high value education and products.  Included in this CE course is over $200 in bonus learning and training materials on this topic including several of the products that we are currently selling in our store… THOSE ARE INCLUDED IN THE INVESTMENT. 

Click to go to the Life Insurance CE page

Cheers!

Topics: Building Your Financial Planning Biz, Financial Advisors, SI Product News | No Comments »

When business partners want to sell their stock in a private corporation

By Admin | August 30, 2007

We recently received a question from a concerned business owner who asked the question:

“Can my business partner sell his portion of stock in our private corporation? ”
B.R. Montana

Well B.R.,

This answer really depends on several factors.  First off, of course, your business partner is able to sell his stock in the private company that you guys share ownership.  At least, it would be crazy for anyone to enter into a business where they cannot sell their portion of the ownership if and when they wish.

However, it really depends on your state and your articles of incorporation on how your partner must sell his portion. 

For instance, most articles of incorporation will include a clause that allows the other partners (you) to have the first right to purchase the selling partners stock.  Afterall, you may not want to go into business with someone that you don’t know… so it may be in your best interest to purchase your partners share. 

My advice is to check your articles of incorporation and to see if your state has any special laws regarding your sale. 

As far as the actual sale, there are several very good strategies for purchasing your partners shares.  Get together with a qualified exit planner or contact us at 800-666-5854 for a reference to a certified exit planner in your area.

******************

Do you have questions about selling your business or real estate and how to gracefully plan your exit? 

Post a comment on our blog or send your question to:

info[at]settlementinstitute[dot]org

Topics: Exit Planning, Planning Your Exit, Questions From Our Readers, Selling a Business | No Comments »

Debt relief with unsecured debt consolidation loan

By Admin | August 29, 2007

If you are burdened with loads of debts but are not able to get rid of them due to lack of collateral, then do not panic! Unsecured debt consolidation loans are a viable solution for the ones who have a good credit report but don’t want to put their property to place as collateral. In general terms you can avail an unsecured loan on the strength of your credit, your income, and your payment history.

Unlike secured loans, unsecured debt consolidation loans can be availed without placing any security. All you have to do is just a signature! An unsecured loan is a great idea, but there are many things that one should consider. As you are not placing any property as a security against the loan, the banks and other lending institutions will want some of the conditions to be satisfied before they let you avail the loan.

The lending institutions maintain very strict criteria for offering the loan. Your credit status and employment history will be reviewed by the lenders before they offer you the loan. If you have a good score and an unblemished report then you are a perfect candidate for an unsecured loan.

Though an unsecured loan is undoubtedly a viable option to get rid off your outstanding debts but before making any financial decision you must weigh the pros and cons.

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

When should sellers begin looking for an exit strategy?

By Admin | August 28, 2007

When should you as a seller begin looking for an exit strategy?

>NOTE: If you’d like to learn how to choose the right exit strategy… which of the top 9 strategies are right for which situations… and take advantage of new and unknown IRS tax loopholes… then go and  check THIS out now:

http://www.settlementinstitute.org/?page_id=8
**QUESTION**

“Hi Trevor and the rest of the Settlement Institute team…, when should I begin narrowing down my choices of an exit plan?  I’m selling my 25 unit apartment
building hopefully within the next 3 months… am I too late?”

M.P. California

>> OUR COMMENTS

Well, the answer is… the sooner the better.  All too often us and our network of financial professionals receive calls from sellers saying the sale is closing “next week”, or even worse, in some cases “tomorrow”.

What you need to realize is that this sale is one of the largest financial transactions in your life.

Do you really want to rush into making perhaps one of the largest financial decisions in your life? We hope not. 

Ideally, here are the time frames that you should be looking at when planning your exit strategy.

- 1-5 years before sale:

Contact a qualified Exit Planning professional and get your goals on paper, and chart the priorities before the sale. Many times you can narrow down to one or two choices this far in advance.

- 6-12 months before sale:

Narrow down your exit strategy to no more than 2 serious strategy solution mixes.  Be sure that  you work with your real estate/business broker and let them know your intentions and what strategies you are looking at.

- 3 months before sale:

You should Have your exit strategy on paper and pretty much finalized.  Now, when you find a buyer, you will already have your exit strategy in the works.

- 1 month before sale:

By now there is usually a signed purchase and sales contract for the sale.  If you have not finalized your exit strategy, you are really putting yourself at huge risk.

If you have not yet contacted a qualified exit planner, do it now, or your options will be very limited.

- 1 week before the sale:
  
You shouldn’t even be thinking about choosing an exit strategy… IT SHOULD ALREADY BE IN PLACE!  If you have not chosen an exit strategy your choices are down to one or two, which may not truly help you meet your goals.

What you as a seller need to realize is that most exit strategies (i.e.- 1031 exchange, installmentsale, structured sale, etc.), will all require a change to the purchase and sales contract.

So, if you’re going into the final couple weeks before sale, you need to know that the contract will usually need to be changed to fit your exit strategy.  Often times this may delay the process.

Bottom line M.P. from California, you need to have your exit strategy pretty much set in stone at least 3 months before the sale ideally… absolutely no less than 30 days… but sometimes even 30 days is cutting it close.

Don’t procrastinate on one of the biggest financial decisions in your life.

********

**QUESTION**

“What is the deal with the state capital gains tax rate?”

J.M. Oregon

>> OUR COMMENTS

Hi J.M., state capital gains are often a surprise for many sellers.

Each state has their own capital gains tax guidelines.

Some states such as Alaska, Nevada, and Texas don’t have a formal capital gains tax.  So if your property is in one of those states, excellent.

However, some states tax capital gains at the normal income tax rate. Among the highest are California, Iowa, and Idaho up over 8%.

So, you really should contact a qualified exit planner or your CPA to find out what type of state capital gains taxes you will be up against.

All of this information is in our comprehensive manual. M.P. I’d suggest you download it now, you have nothing to lose.  If it doesn’t save you a ton of money, we’ll gladly give you your money back.

Get the ebook in our store right here:

http://www.settlementinstitute.org/?page_id=8

************

If you have any questions keep them coming. Each and every day we receive questions from our readers and answer them personally.

As we receive questions, we’ll keep passing them on, with the answers to you by email.

Topics: Daily musings, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Planning Your Exit, Questions From Our Readers | No Comments »


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