Strategic Planning for Business Owners

In the previous episode of Strategic Planning for Business Owners, host Steven Young, Senior Vice President at UBS and senior member of the Business Transition Consultants team introduced the concept of captive insurance companies and explained why many sophisticated businesses use them as part of their risk management and wealth-building strategy. In this episode, Steven walks business owners through the practical side of captive insurance. Captive insurance companies can be powerful strategic tools for the right businesses—but they require careful planning, experienced advisors, and disciplined management. If you’re a middle-market business owner looking for smarter ways to manage risk, control insurance costs, and build long-term financial reserves, this episode will give you a clear and practical roadmap.

Most business owners think of insurance as a necessary expense—premiums paid year after year with little thought beyond basic protection. But what if insurance could become a powerful strategic asset for your business and your personal wealth? In this episode of Strategic Planning for Business Owners, host Steven Young explores one of the most sophisticated—and least understood—strategies available to privately held companies: captive insurance companies. Captives have been used by large corporations for decades to manage risk, control insurance costs, and retain underwriting profits. Today, this strategy is increasingly available to successful middle-market business owners. When structured properly, captive insurance companies can allow businesses to insure specialized risks, accumulate substantial financial reserves, and potentially benefit from significant tax efficiency. If you are a business owner, entrepreneur, or advisor who works with privately held companies, this episode will introduce you to a strategic planning tool that has the potential to transform insurance from a recurring expense into a long-term financial asset. In the next episode, Steven will explain how captive insurance companies are actually established, the professionals involved in structuring and operating them, and the ongoing governance required to manage a captive successfully.

In this crucial episode of Strategic Planning for Business Owners, host Steven Young tackles a topic that affects nearly everyone, regardless of whether you own a business or not: long-term care planning. Drawing from comprehensive research by UBS's Chief Investment Office, Steven reveals a sobering statistic—approximately 85% of couples will use at least one long-term care service before they pass away. Yet most people either underestimate the likelihood they'll need care or catastrophize the potential costs based on worst-case scenarios. Steven cuts through the confusion to provide real numbers, real probabilities, and practical strategies you can implement now to protect your retirement and your legacy. Discover why long-term care expenses can derail even the most carefully crafted financial plans, with analysis showing that 30% of otherwise-successful retirement plans for $1 million households fail when long-term care costs are included. Steven breaks down the three main types of long-term care—home health aides, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes—and explains why the median couple will face approximately $323,000 in lifetime expenses, while 37% of families will exceed $500,000 and nearly one in five will surpass $1 million. Learn about the pros and cons of traditional long-term care insurance, hybrid policies, and self-funding strategies, and how to evaluate which approach makes sense for your unique situation. Whether you're a business owner planning your exit strategy or simply planning for a secure retirement, this episode provides the framework you need to make informed decisions about one of retirement's biggest uncertainties. Steven concludes with actionable next steps and explains how proper long-term care planning integrates with holistic financial planning to give you confidence in your retirement strategy. For a copy of the full UBS report discussed in this episode, email Steven directly.

As a business owner, your company likely represents the majority of your wealth—often 70-90% of your net worth. Yet many owners focus solely on growing their business while overlooking the critical importance of comprehensive estate planning. In this episode, Steven Young, Senior Vice President at UBS Wealth Management and senior member of the Business Transition Consultants team, explores the unique challenges business owners face when planning for the future. Discover why estate planning for business owners goes far beyond traditional wealth transfer. Steven walks you through essential topics including business succession strategies, buy-sell agreements, tax-efficient transfers, valuation considerations, and creating liquidity for estate obligations. Learn how to balance fair treatment among heirs when not all family members are involved in the business, and why incapacity planning is just as critical as planning for death. Whether you're considering passing your business to the next generation, transitioning to key employees, or planning an eventual sale, this episode provides actionable insights to help you protect your life's work and provide for your family's future. Don't let poor planning destroy the value you've spent decades building.

Discover how cash balance plans can revolutionize your retirement strategy as a business owner. In this comprehensive episode, UBS Senior Vice President Steve Young explores one of the most powerful yet underutilized retirement planning tools available to successful entrepreneurs and business owners. Learn why cash balance plans are particularly advantageous for owners over 40, how they enable contributions of $200,000-$350,000+ annually (far exceeding 401(k) limits), and how these contributions directly reduce your taxable income. Steve explains how cash balance plans work seamlessly alongside existing 401(k) and profit-sharing plans—or can be implemented independently—without disrupting your current retirement strategy.

In this episode of Strategic Planning for Business Owners, host Steven Young, Senior Vice President at UBS and senior member of the Business Transition Consultants team, tackles the most critical question every business owner faces: How do you plan for retirement when your business is your retirement plan? Most business owners have the majority of their net worth tied up in a single, illiquid asset—their company. While this concentration can create extraordinary wealth, it also exposes them to massive vulnerability that traditional employees never face. Steven breaks down why the "my business is my retirement plan" approach is a dangerous trap and reveals the sophisticated strategies successful entrepreneurs use to build true financial independence.

In this essential episode, host Steven Young, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at UBS and Senior Member of the Business Transition Consultants team, reveals why most Middle-market business owners face a unique financial dilemma that most professionals never encounter: the challenge of managing two deeply intertwined financial identities simultaneously. On one hand, they’re business leaders responsible for corporate strategy, growth, and sustainability. On the other, they’re individuals with personal financial goals, family obligations, and retirement aspirations. This dual financial identity creates complexities that require specialized approaches to wealth management.

Are you among the 70-80% of business owners whose companies will never successfully sell? In this essential episode, host Steven Young, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at UBS and Senior Member of the Business Transition Consultants team, reveals why most business exits fail and introduces the Value Acceleration Methodology. Drawing from hundreds of successful transitions, Steven exposes the critical disconnect between owner expectations and market realities that traps entrepreneurs in businesses they can no longer grow or enjoy, and shows how to integrate business enhancement, personal financial planning, and exit option development into a comprehensive process that creates value whether you plan to exit next year or in twenty years.

In this episode, Steven Young, Senior Vice President at UBS Wealth Management, and Randy Hooper, partner in Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Business Advisory Group speak to the changing trends in the transportation business and their impacts on M&A in the industry. Listen in as the conversation looks at how the industry has changed from pre-COVID to today. With the pandemic came uncertainty. However, soon after the start of COVID, the world saw just how crucial transportation was to the overall economy. When the world shutdown, transportation did not. According to Hooper, 80% of our nations freight is being brought in on a truck, this really showcased that the transportation industry is reliable and stable, which changed the dynamics for a new group of investors to enter the market. Stay tuned to learn more…

In this insightful episode of Strategic Planning for Business Owners, host Steve Young, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at UBS, welcomes Kim Ledger, Senior Vice President of Complex Assets for Ren, Inc., and Jordan Richardson, Strategic Growth Advisor at Ren, to explore Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). Kim and Jordan explain how business owners can strategically use DAFs during business transitions and liquidity events to maximize their philanthropic impact and tax benefits. The discussion covers essential topics, including the timing of charitable contributions before a business sale, how to gift complex assets like private company shares, and the key differences between DAFs and private foundations. The guests share practical insights on contribution limits, eligible assets, and how business owners can potentially grow their charitable impact through strategic investment in DAF assets. Whether planning a business exit or simply looking to optimize your charitable giving strategy, this episode offers valuable guidance on leveraging DAFs effectively.