For many affluent business owners, a         significant portion of their net worth is tied up in their business. This is an important consideration for their financial planning and long-term goals to which an advisor must be sensitive. Per Spectrem Group research, affluent business owners only report a 56% satisfaction rate with their current advisors. Part of this frustration stems from the fact that a business owner’s needs are different from the other affluent investor’s; they prefer a financial advisor who can handle both their personal and business needs simultaneously. Those needs can be more demanding than those of a non-business owning client, and can include expanded insurance needs when business          equity-holding partners are involved, as well as the expectation of advisors to provide and manage that company’s employee retirement plan.

Affluent business owners keep 23% of their investable income in cash and cash equivalents (checking, savings, CDs, money market accounts). The average affluent household keeps 9%. These more liquid assets can be easily put back into the business if need be. Affluent business owners also invest 52% less in managed accounts than do their non-business owning counterparts (11%). This all speaks to the need that business owners have for asset fluidity.

Business owners are self-directed, confident, and used to making their own decisions but still crave specialized, regular contact from their   advisors. They report that the frequency and  quality of contact with their current advisors is extremely low. Because of this, it is not surprising that over a third of these households do not feel they receive adequate communication from their advisors.

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