Ensuring business continuity

Building your family business is a rewarding career, with many fantastic benefits. But, naturally, there will come a time when you begin thinking about stepping back from your business, transitioning out of your leadership role, and passing the reins to someone else. It may be due to retirement, business growth, or a sales opportunity. Whatever […]

Preparing for your retirement

Retirement is something you’ve worked your entire life for. It’s your time to sit back, take stock of everything you’ve achieved in your working life, and to relax. But for some—family business owners in particular—the prospect of retiring after a lifetime of hard work can be a daunting one. And it’s not just the thought […]

Succession planning isn’t the end—it’s the beginning

When it comes to succession planning, many challenges family business owners face stem from the fact that the next stage of their life is unknown. There’s a reluctance to hand over the reins because they simply don’t know what’s coming. How will the family business look without them at the helm? Do future generations have […]

Circle of Advice

The importance of having the right team of experts on your side. Life is unpredictable. You may think there’s still time to make plans for your business, to put things in order for your retirement—but significant life changes can happen in the blink of an eye. When our Dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness […]

Planning for wealth

Most family business leaders feel the weight and burden of being the key decision maker of personal wealth decisions and largely feel unsupported in this role. In this paper I outline the key financial challenges and family considerations that can be a roadblock in transitioning from business success to enduring financial success. I will then […]

Special Report for Family Business

We’ve spoken with family business owners and specialist family business advisors across both Australia and the US to uncover the most pressing issues facing you today. DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE

5 Reasons to Make Philanthropy a Family Affair

A growing number of successful people have a strong urge to “pay it forward” by financially supporting causes and organisations that are near and dear to their hearts. Many business owners already make regular charitable contributions. Once you become successful, your focus can extend to how you can help others who may not be as […]

Having a Plan B

Family Business Owners live in fear of being the sinking ship. What happens to them, and their family if they are the one who brings their business down? There is one easy solution that can help them plan through a range of unforeseen financial events: having a Plan B. When it comes to their personal […]

Our Father’s Garden

What our father’s garden taught us about ongoing advice. When clients make time to see us, they often have a pressing issue they need solved. When we lift the “hood” on these issues, we find there are a number of reasons that have contributed to their issue. We also identify other aspects of their personal […]

The Road to Independence

For over 14 years, ifa magazine has been the trusted source of information for Australia’s financial planning sector. Our own Joe Stephan was recently interviewed for a feature article where he discussed how he and his brother, James, developed Stephan Strategic to be one of the few practices that can call itself truly independent. Here […]

UNEARTHED! The business nest egg fallacy

Relying on your small business for your retirement can be a foolish strategy. Many family Business Owners fear they could become the sinking ship. That is, the one who brings the business [and eventually] their family down. Many of the Business Owners that we see have a passion for their business, they deal with a […]

SMSFs: An Ideal Instrument for Business Owners

Self managed super funds (SMSFs) are the fastest growing products in the superannuation industry today. SMSFs offer a number of advantages and benefits that appeal to individuals. These include the freedom to choose investments, the flexibility in determining the tax position of the fund, estate planning, pension planning and asset protection, among others. There is […]