Financial planning support for corporate finance, M&A & business exit advisers
A successful business sale can create one of the largest financial transitions a client will ever experience.
The transaction team may handle valuation, deal structure, negotiations and completion, while the owner still needs to decide what the proceeds mean for retirement, investment, liquidity, family wealth and future residence.
Josh Clancey works alongside corporate finance, M&A and business exit advisers where business owners need personal financial planning before, during or after a liquidity event.
Financial planning alongside the transaction
The corporate finance or M&A adviser remains responsible for the transaction and the commercial work within their remit.
Josh's role is personal financial planning.
That can include:
- retirement planning before an exit
- cash-flow modelling
- post-sale investment planning
- liquidity management
- diversification
- protection
- pension planning
- beneficiary planning
- estate coordination
- planning around future residence
- financial independence after sale
The objective is to help the client understand what the transaction means for their personal financial life rather than becoming involved in the transaction itself.
Client situations where transaction advice and financial planning commonly intersect
A business owner is preparing to sell
The client may know the likely valuation but still have no clear view of how much capital they actually need to achieve financial independence.
The client's wealth is heavily concentrated in the business
A sale can turn concentrated private-company wealth into a large pool of liquid capital almost overnight.
The owner is approaching retirement
The transaction may represent the client's retirement event rather than simply a corporate event.
The client expects to move country after the sale
Future residence can affect banking, investment structure, currency and the tax advice required before capital is deployed.
A significant proportion of the proceeds will remain invested
The client may need to move from entrepreneurial risk to a diversified personal investment strategy.
The owner wants to provide for children or wider family
A liquidity event may prompt wider estate, beneficiary and intergenerational planning.
Questions that may indicate a wider financial-planning need
How much does the owner actually need from the transaction?
Cash-flow modelling can help connect the expected proceeds with retirement spending and long-term financial independence.
Is the business the client's main retirement asset?
If so, the transaction may materially change the client's risk profile and income strategy.
What happens to the proceeds after completion?
Large cash balances can create their own risks if no investment strategy has been agreed.
Does the client have other pensions and investments?
The sale should be considered alongside the rest of the client's balance sheet.
Is the client moving country?
Future residence may affect the specialist tax and legal advice required before implementation.
Is there significant family or estate planning to consider?
The transaction may create new beneficiary, protection and succession planning needs.
Does the client understand the difference between business wealth and personal financial security?
A high business valuation does not automatically translate into a sustainable personal financial plan.
Professional resources for corporate finance & business exit advisers
The Document Centre includes technical briefs, professional guides and practical checklists covering business exits, liquidity events, concentrated share positions, international retirement, estate planning and cross-border financial planning.
Useful resources for corporate finance, M&A & business exit advisers
The Professional Adviser's Guide to Business Exit and Liquidity Planning
A broader guide to the personal financial-planning issues that can arise before and after a major transaction.
Financial Planning Before and After a Business Sale
A focused technical brief covering retirement, liquidity, investment and family planning around a business exit.
Concentrated Share Positions for International Clients
A technical resource covering diversification and wider planning where significant wealth is tied to one company.
Business Sale and Liquidity Event Checklist
A practical checklist for identifying the personal financial-planning issues that may need to be addressed around a transaction.
The Professional Adviser's Guide to International Retirement Planning
A broader resource for owners whose exit is linked to retirement or relocation.
Cross-Border Referral Checklist
A practical checklist for identifying where additional international financial-planning support may be appropriate.
Pre-sale planning can be as important as post-sale planning
Many owners focus on the transaction value first and their personal financial plan second.
That sequencing can create avoidable uncertainty.
Before completion, the client may benefit from understanding:
- the level of capital required for long-term financial independence
- whether retirement is immediately affordable
- how much liquidity should remain accessible
- how dependent future plans are on the final sale price
- how much investment risk will be required after the transaction
- whether the sale changes family or estate-planning objectives
- whether relocation or retirement abroad is likely
The financial plan does not replace the transaction work.
It gives the transaction personal context.
Working alongside the transaction team
Josh can work with the client without interfering with the corporate finance or M&A engagement.
For example:
- the transaction adviser manages the sale, while Josh models the client's post-sale financial independence
- the tax adviser establishes the tax consequences of the transaction, while Josh incorporates the net proceeds into the client's financial plan
- the lawyer advises on deal documentation, while Josh considers liquidity, retirement and investment planning
- the corporate finance adviser manages completion, while Josh prepares the client for the transition from business ownership to personal wealth
- the transaction team remains responsible for the deal, with Josh involved only in the client's personal planning
Josh does not provide corporate finance, transaction, valuation or M&A advice.
Where financial planning depends on legal, tax or transaction advice, the relevant professional should establish that position first.
Technical briefings for corporate finance and M&A teams
Josh can provide focused briefings for corporate finance, M&A and business exit teams dealing with internationally mobile business owners.
Topics can include pre-sale financial planning, liquidity events, post-sale investing, concentrated wealth, retirement, relocation and family wealth planning.
Have a business owner case you would like to discuss?
If a client is approaching a sale, liquidity event or major transition from business ownership to personal wealth, an initial discussion can help establish whether financial-planning input would add value alongside the transaction team.
There is no requirement to make a formal introduction simply to determine whether the case falls within Josh's remit.