Leveraging our relationship with our parent company, M&T Bank, we can help you access a comprehensive suite of business cash management solutions designed to automate routine financial tasks, improve cash flow visibility, and keep your receivables and payables on track.{{wt-d214*}}

M&T Bank also has a full array of financing options that may fit the specific needs of your business, including term loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, farm and rural business loans, and medical practice loans.{{wt-d214*}}

A buy-sell agreement (BSA) is a legally binding contract that stipulates how a partner’s share of a business may be reassigned if that partner dies or otherwise leaves the business. BSAs have many features, one of the most critical of which is to help current owners maintain control and preserve the marketability of ownership interests. We can provide guidance on the potential importance of a BSA and how it should be treated as a living document that can evolve as your business moves through its life cycle and the owners’ personal circumstances change.{{wt-d212*}}

While you are building your business, it’s important not to lose sight of your personal planning needs. A foundational estate plan is a critical first step that can inform your more comprehensive wealth planning efforts. Our team can help create a tailored plan that includes an analysis of your assets and liabilities, income and expenses, future retirement needs, investments, insurance, and risk mitigation.

As a business owner, you face a spectrum of complex risks that can affect your financial security. Our team can conduct a review of your current insurance to help evaluate if you have appropriate coverage, including life, property, casualty, and others. We can help you identify gaps and provide guidance on risk management, including cybersecurity and employee-related risks.{{wt-d213*}}

Planning for the future of your business is one of the most important steps you can take to help protect its legacy and value. Whether you’re considering a sale to an outside buyer, passing to the next generation of family, or selling to employees, early and thoughtful planning typically leads to better operational, financial, and tax outcomes. We can help you assess the options and prepare for your transition.

As your business succession efforts are underway, it’s important to be sure that your wealth plan is evolving as well. Our specialized planning services leverage the extensive experience of our full wealth planning team and can deliver custom advice on more complex concerns, such as estate tax planning{{wt-d212*}}, family governance, charitable giving, and more.

Trusts can be used for a variety of purposes for both your business and personal objectives. We can help you explore the different types of trusts available to potentially protect your business, mitigate taxes, and create a multigenerational legacy for your family. Our team has considerable experience serving as a fiduciary for business owners and their families.  

Throughout the transition process, our team can review your cash flow needs and implement short-term investment strategies, followed by the development of a long-term investment policy statement based on your risk tolerance, time horizon, and other factors. We work closely with our investment team to develop a suitable portfolio construction based on your goals and objectives at each stage.

When your needs go beyond traditional wealth management solutions, our Advanced Planning Platform can help create clarity from complexity. Solutions include our virtual family office platform, advanced financial reporting, strategic planning, family legacy and education services, and concierge services and solutions.

You may consider implementing generational trusts designed to leave a lasting legacy for your heirs and charitable organizations, as well as vehicles that may provide confidentiality and privacy. We can also advise on asset protection and trust strategies that may safeguard your assets from creditors or in the event of divorce.

Wealth can bring vast opportunities to families, but also many challenges. As part of our integrated services for families with complex needs, we can help facilitate communication and learning and foster individuality among family members, while cultivating shared family values and honoring family history. This process can help set a path for effective family governance.

We can help you take advantage of opportunities under the current tax law while creating strategies that may enable you to leave more of a legacy for your heirs. Our team will review the tax impact of important life events that affect planning considerations, including educational funding, beneficiary designations, and survivorship planning, along with exploring charitable gifting strategies to determine how to make the most tax-efficient gifts. {{wt-d212*}}

Developing a philanthropic plan helps to promote family values and social responsibility while leveraging the tax-deductible nature of charitable gifts. Our team offers guidance on the different benefits of a variety of strategies, including: charitable trusts; outright gifts of appreciated securities; and private/family foundations.