This podcast is being brought to you by John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers, are subject to change as market and other conditions warrant, and do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation regarding any specific product or security. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy discussed will be successful or achieve any particular level of results. Any economic or market performance information is historical and is not indicative of future results, and no forecasts are guaranteed. Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal.

John Hancock and the Exit Planning Institute are not affiliated.

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 John Bryson
 Welcome to the Portfolio Intelligence podcast. I'm your host, John Bryson, Head of Investment Consulting and Education Savings at Manulife, John Hancock Investments. Today is June 29th, 2026. As always, the goal of this podcast is to help investment professionals deliver better outcomes for their clients and their practice.

At the intersection of those two goals today is the business owner. One of the largest wealth transfer opportunities facing financial advisors today isn't happening in the stock or bond market. It's happening on Main Street. As millions of business owners are approaching retirement over the next decade, for many of them, their business represents the single largest asset they own. Yet surprisingly few have a formal exit strategy in place. For financial advisors, that creates both an enormous opportunity and an important responsibility.

The advisor who can help clients navigate the transition from business owner to personal wealth management has the potential to deepen relationships, significantly create value for clients, and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Fortunately, advisors don't have to do it all alone. For the past several years, Manulife John Hancock Investments has invested heavily in helping advisors better serve business owner clients through education, specialized resources, and connections to some of the leading experts in the exit planning space.

To help us tell this story, I'm joined today by Kathleen Prichard, Director of Practice Management and one of the architects behind our business owner strategy. Kathleen has been at the center of our work with the Exit Planning Institute and has helped develop many of the resources advisors are using today to engage business owners and build more valuable practices. Kathleen, welcome to the podcast.

Kathleen Pritchard
Thanks, John. Happy to be here.

 John Bryson
 All right. Hey, listen, Kathleen. For several years now, I know you've been producing award-winning content on business owners. Can you tell us how and why we decided to focus on this space?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Sure. Well, I'm going to take you back a few years to 2022. And it was the spring. And several of the sales leaders came to me because they were looking for a speaker for a private wealth conference. And the reason they came to me is because at the time, I was on the conference committee for the Investments in Wealth Institute, and so they were like, who do you know? Who have you seen that could be good for us?

And I came back to them with Scott Snyder, who's the president of the Exit Planning Institute, which we call EPI. And the reason that I recommended Scott is not only that he's a great speaker, but as I said to them, this is where the money is. This is where the big money is in private wealth.

And then I said this. I said, I think we shouldn't be looking at this in terms of this client conference. I think we should be thinking about building content in this space. Now, to be really clear, I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about at that point in time. But nonetheless, we did sponsor the conference.

And then we started conversations with Scott Snyder about how we could collaborate together on some content. We came to an agreement later that year that we were going to build some content together. And as part of that agreement, anyone from Manulife John Hancock Investments who delivers that content does have to have their Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation, the CEPA designation that the Exit Planning Institute sponsors.

So I will tell you that the sales leaders, my team, and a few of us got out there right away, got our CEPA designations, and then Scott and I started working on the content, and we ended up launching that content in March of 2023. So that's how we got started.

 John Bryson
 Oh, wow. It's funny how such a small comment can lead to such a big project and initiative with such a big impact. That's great. So going back to EPI, the Exit Planning Institute. Why did you choose them as a partner initially?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Well, you know, I'll be honest, there wasn't really any contest, although we did look at other providers. But a couple of things about the Exit Planning Institute were important to us.

First of all, they are first and foremost an education company, and they sponsor a professional designation, the CEPA designation. And just so you know, today there's over 11,000 and growing every month. It's just getting huge.

The second thing is the research they do. One of the things we do a lot is quote their research. We've actually sponsored research with them, and it gives a lot of insight into what business owners are thinking and what they're looking for.

And the last thing, and this was really important, was that they actually have the most widely accepted exit planning methodology. It's called the Value Acceleration Methodology, and it's used across the globe. One of the things we really love about that methodology is that it puts the financial advisor, the wealth manager, front and center in the process.

 John Bryson
 So talking about the financial advisor, can you elaborate on the opportunity facing them when they work with business owners?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Sure. And you alluded to this in your opening remarks. It's really, really huge.

In the United States, there are approximately 390,000 privately held businesses that have sales revenue between $5 million and $100 million. That's what we call the mid-market. Anything above $100 million is where the big investment bankers are playing.

And that's a tough space to play in. So you've got 390,000 businesses in what we think is the sweet spot. But there's also another 5.5 million with sales revenue under $5 million. We call them the micro market, and that's still a great opportunity for financial advisors.

We know from the Exit Planning Institute's State of Owner Readiness Research that they conducted at the end of 2024 that 48% of those businesses plan to transition in the next three years, and another 26% plan to transition in the next four to eight years.

So if you're doing the math, that's 74% that plan to exit in the next eight years, which translates to a $14 trillion opportunity.

 John Bryson
 Wow. That's impressive. So with all this opportunity for financial advisors, is there a downside?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Yeah, that's a great question, John. There is a downside, so to speak.

Nationally, 70% to 80% of businesses, when they go to market, never sell, or they sell for significantly less than the owner needed or wanted them to.

There's a few reasons for that. The first reason is they haven't taken the time to properly position their business for sale with the ultimate tax outcomes and maximum net proceeds.

Number two, and this is a big one, they are not prepared when an unplanned event forces them to sell. Fifty percent of businesses will face an unplanned event. It could be death, divorce, disability, partner disputes, or stress on the business such as AI disruption.

The third reason is they often can't pass the due diligence test. Third-party strategic buyers and private equity firms are extremely discerning. You have to be able to dot all the i's and cross all the t's.

The final reason is that a lack of planning often eliminates inside options such as selling to family members, management teams, or ESOPs because the appropriate planning wasn't put in place early enough.

That's why 70% to 80% either never sell or sell for significantly less than they had hoped.

 John Bryson
 Okay. Now, getting into this space is not a small step. I've heard you talk in the past about how financial advisors need to bring a team of experts to the table. Can you talk to us about that?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Yeah. And this is interesting because, you know, most financial advisors do have centers of influence. They have a team of them, a network they can bring into their wealth management practice as their clients need them. But this is a different group of experts.

So we first think about the core team. The core team obviously includes the financial advisor, who we want acting as the quarterback, and the business owner at the table. The other people sitting in that core team are the business owner's attorney, their CPA, and their banker.

And then the other person in that core team, which we believe is going to be one of the most strategic partners for financial advisors, is somebody we call a value growth advisor.

In addition to that core team, financial advisors will want to have estate attorneys and CPAs with exit planning experience because these can be very complex situations. They're also going to need M&A attorneys and CPAs who specialize in mergers and acquisitions. They're going to want private equity advisors, risk advisors such as insurance specialists, and business brokers.

Those business brokers are particularly important for some of the smaller businesses in the micro market. In addition, different types of coaches, such as family enterprise coaches and life coaches, can be really critical to have on your team so you can bring them in at the right time if they're needed.

 John Bryson
 Okay, so a lot of different expertise at the table. You mentioned the value growth advisor. Can you elaborate on who they are and what they do specifically?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Absolutely. And I will tell you that this is an area of a lot of confusion for people who go through the CEPA program and for financial advisors in general.

The first thing I want to say about value growth advisors is that they are not financial advisors, with a small exception that I'll get to in just a minute.

These people typically have successfully grown and exited at least one, if not multiple, businesses of their own. Alternatively, they may have come from the M&A groups within larger corporations or worked in the C-suite of privately held businesses where they did a lot of this type of work. They typically have very strong backgrounds in corporate finance.

As you can see, that's not your typical financial advisor. The one exception is that there are a small percentage of RIAs who are also CPAs, and they may be qualified to do some of this work. But the vast majority of financial advisors are not qualified to do this kind of work, and they do very different work than what a financial advisor does.

Their ultimate goal is not only to value the business and create action plans for the business owner. The goal is to help maximize the sales price the owner will receive by growing the value of the business. Businesses are ultimately going to sell based on a range of EBITDA multiples, so they're trying to maximize that value so the owner can achieve the best possible outcome.

 John Bryson
 Okay. People that have been there and done that and are really focused on helping business owners grow their businesses. So let's dig into that. How do they actually step in and help a business owner grow that value?

Kathleen Pritchard
 Yeah, that's a great question. A lot of people wonder that because they think, if this advisor wasn't in the same business, how are they going to help this business owner?

What I will tell you is that they focus on what we call the four intangible capitals.

The first is human capital. Human capital is the value of the talent in the company. All things being equal, the greater the value of the talent, the greater the value of the business.

Let me give you an example. We often see businesses that are owner-dependent. The owner is involved in every decision and everything that happens in the business. They rarely take a vacation, and if they do, they're still involved the entire time.

That's a huge red flag for strategic buyers. They look at that and ask, "If the owner is the business, what exactly am I buying?" A value growth advisor will work with the owner to build a leadership team and create a strategy that allows the business to operate without that owner being involved in every detail.

The second area is customer capital. Ideally, you want tenured, contractual, recurring customers and revenue. For example, if 80% of a company's revenue comes from only two customers, that is another major red flag for buyers.

A value growth advisor will work with that business owner to diversify the customer base. That might even mean intentionally reducing dependence on a major customer in order to improve the long-term attractiveness of the business.

The third area is structural capital. Think of structural capital as the know-how of the business. It's the documented processes, systems, intellectual property, and operational playbooks that allow someone else to come in and successfully run the business.

If all the knowledge exists only in the owner's head, a buyer can't run the business effectively. Structural capital is often supported by investments in software, systems, and technology.

Finally, there's social capital, which is really the culture of the company. I don't want to underestimate how critical culture is to business success.

Private equity firms will tell you that these four capitals collectively make up 80% to 90% of the value of a business. That's where value growth advisors live, and that's what they focus on every day.

I think when people hear that, they start to understand why a financial advisor is not necessarily the right person to do this type of work.

 John Bryson
 I got it. And I love how you're breaking it down step by step for us because it is a great opportunity, but it requires some effort and a structured process.

So continuing that line of thinking, how does a financial advisor find these professional advisors, build relationships with them, and know when to pull them into the situation?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Yeah. The first thing we tell people is to revisit the relationships they already have and evaluate those relationships through the lens of exit planning.

For example, let's say you've got a great estate attorney who's part of a larger firm. Revisit that relationship and find out whether they have expertise in M&A or exit planning for business owners. If they don't, there may be someone else within that firm who does.

The same is true with CPAs. So step one is revisiting the relationships you already have and identifying whether they possess the expertise you're looking for.

Step two is leveraging your firm's resources. Many broker-dealers today are building vendor relationships and specialized resource networks. One of the most common areas is M&A.

Large firms often have investment banking relationships for larger clients and networks of low- and mid-market M&A advisors for other opportunities. Many firms also vet value growth advisors and provide business valuation tools.

One thing I always tell advisors is that it's not enough to simply know those resources exist. You need to proactively reach out. Schedule calls. Understand their process. Learn exactly how they work with financial advisors.

The financial advisor wants to remain the quarterback of the relationship. They're not doing the M&A work, but they also don't want to be out of sight and out of mind throughout the process.

Interview people. Have conversations. Learn how you'll work together before you need them.

You can also leverage the Exit Planning Institute website. There's a public resource called Find a CEPA, which allows you to search for different types of advisors geographically.

And then, of course, at Manulife John Hancock Investments, our sales team can help introduce advisors to many of these professionals as well.

Those are some of the best ways to build out the team. It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. But it's one of the first things we recommend advisors focus on.

 John Bryson
 Okay, so reaching out to the contacts you already have, vetting them through the lens of a business owner resource, and leveraging the resources that are out there. Let's talk about resources. So Empowering Business Owner Conversations was how we started supporting the business owner client segment. Where did this go from here?

 Kathleen Pritchcard
 Well, that's a great question.

When we launched what we call the Empowering Business Owner Conversations module, it had a lot to it. It included a fully scripted PowerPoint presentation, collateral pieces, white papers, guides, workbooks, checklists, flyers, and multiple supporting resources. We also had videos and all sorts of other materials that went along with it.

That was our first full module, and we launched it in March of 2023.

Fast forward to May and we were attending our first Exit Planning Summit, which is the largest exit planning conference in the world. That year there were approximately 500 attendees, and we were a sponsor. We had a large booth, a speaking slot, and all the usual conference activities.

All of us attending had earned our CEPA designations, we had our content, and we felt really good about what we had built.

During the first few hours at our booth, a lot of financial advisors came by. It's worth noting that roughly 70% to 80% of CEPA designees are financial advisors. The same conversation kept happening.

Someone would come up and say, "I'm a CEPA."

We'd respond, "That's great. Congratulations."

Then they'd ask, "Now what do I do?"

At first we'd point them toward our white papers, presentations, guides, worksheets, and checklists. But after hearing that question over and over again, there was a moment where we all looked at each other and realized we might not have a good answer.

Later in the conference there was a general session with a case study exercise. Everyone was asked to turn around and work with the people around them.

A colleague and I ended up talking with an RIA team from the Pittsburgh area. They were all wealth advisors, and every member of the team had earned their CEPA designation.

They told us that after becoming CEPAs, they spent roughly eight months building out a complete go-to-market strategy before proactively pursuing business owner clients.

That immediately caught my attention.

I asked them to tell us more.

They were incredibly generous with their time. They shared their approach, took calls with us, and walked us through what they had built.

Those conversations ultimately inspired our next major module: Developing Your Go-to-Market Strategy for Business Owners.

This module digs deeply into an advisor's practice. It challenges advisors and their teams to think critically about everything from their service process and team structure to how they communicate value, build capabilities, and deliver wealth management services in a consistent way.

It also focuses on revenue opportunities before a business exit event. After all, an exit could be three, five, seven, or even ten years away. Advisors need a way to generate revenue while serving these clients before that liquidity event occurs.

The module includes workbooks, checklists, client-approved materials, editable graphics, and a variety of resources designed to help advisors position themselves effectively.

That was really the next major thing we built.

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Gotcha.

 John Bryson
 So if you were to go back and answer that question again today, "I'm a CEPA. Now what do I do?" How would you answer it?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 I would say you do what you've always done.

You're a financial advisor or wealth manager, and you continue doing the work that you already do. The difference is that you're now doing that work alongside other professionals who are working on different aspects of the business owner's situation while you're focused on wealth management.

You're also likely elevating your own wealth management process because these clients tend to be high-net-worth individuals and business owners with more complex needs.

The second thing is that the team you're bringing to the table is different. The network of experts supporting the client is much broader than it would be in a traditional advisory relationship.

 John Bryson
 Yeah, that's great. One of the things you've mentioned before is that advisors become the stronger glue. They're elevating their own reputation by bringing all of these experts together and becoming the truly trusted advisor.

 Kathleen Pritchard
 That's great. Absolutely.

And, John, I'll also tell you that when the business finally transitions or exits, the financial advisor is typically the last one standing. They're the one managing the proceeds from that transaction and helping that family navigate their wealth for years to come.

Yep.

 John Bryson
 Totally makes sense. Be there at the beginning. Be there at the end.

 Kathleen Pritchard
 And all through.

 John Bryson
 All the way through. I love it.

So, Kathleen, I understand that the Exit Planning Institute also has a lot of resources for financial advisors. What's different about what we're doing with our content, and how does it all come together?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 The Exit Planning Institute has great resources. They produce infographics, content releases, and a variety of educational materials.

However, while those resources are valuable, they're not specifically designed for our business from a regulatory perspective.

At Manulife John Hancock Investments, we understand financial advisors, their practices, the challenges they face, and the regulatory environment they operate within.

As we're building content, whether it's designed for financial advisors or for their business owner clients, we're making sure it goes through the appropriate compliance approval process. We're including required disclosures and, when necessary, helping facilitate approval at the advisor's own firm.

That's really the biggest difference. We create content that advisors can actually use.

An advisor could certainly take content from the Exit Planning Institute, but they would then need to determine how to co-brand it, apply appropriate disclosures, adapt it to their firm's requirements, and navigate compliance approvals. That's a much more complicated process.

 John Bryson
 As I said at the beginning, we're trying to help financial advisors build better practices, and this is a big part of that. Have we built any other resources or content related to business owners besides the Empowering Business Owner Conversations module?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Yeah, absolutely. We have that module, plus the Developing Your Go-to-Market Strategy module, which is a really robust resource with a tremendous amount of supporting content.

We also have a module called The Changing Fee Landscape. This one draws on industry research from Michael Kitces, Bob Veres, and qualitative research from Purpose Consulting Group, which interviewed more than 100 top advisors about their fee models.

So why does that matter, and what does it have to do with business owners?

When you're looking for revenue opportunities before an exit event, it's important to remember that roughly 80% of a business owner's net worth is often tied up in the business itself. The remaining 20% may be in personal assets such as homes, retirement plans, education savings accounts, boats, cars, and other investments.

Because so much of their wealth is concentrated in the business, they may not have a large amount of liquid investable assets. At the same time, advisors still need to generate revenue while serving these clients and helping them prepare for an eventual transition.

One way they can do that is by charging planning fees, where regulations and firm policies permit. The Changing Fee Landscape module explores what's happening across the industry, highlights different fee models, provides real-world case studies, and includes a guide designed to help advisors think through and structure their own approach.

We also have a module called Communicating Your Value to Business Owner Clients, which focuses on advisor messaging. It includes presentations, worksheets, and exercises designed to help advisors clearly articulate their value proposition to business owners.

In addition, we offer a client seminar called Taking Your Company from Successful to Significant. We've delivered that seminar extensively with advisors and their clients. It's fully compliance-approved and designed specifically for business owner audiences.

Beyond the modules, we've developed a number of standalone resources.

We have a comprehensive educational brochure on buy-sell arrangements. We also have a brochure covering Section 6166, which is a component of estate planning law that can allow families to defer estate taxes under certain circumstances if the proper election is made before death.

We've created an advisor resource on business entities as well, which serves as a practical reference guide.

And I also want to mention that I oversee practice management across all of North America. For our Canadian retail business, we sponsored Canadian business owner research with the Exit Planning Institute. They conducted the research and we sponsored it.

As a result, we're releasing not only the research findings, but also fully customized Canadian versions of Empowering Business Owner Conversations and Developing Your Go-to-Market Strategy over the next couple of months.

All of that is coming out specifically for Canada.

 John Bryson
 Wow. That's impressive. Now, for me as Head of Investment Consulting, most of my time and my team's time is spent focusing on investments.

But after being in this industry for nearly 30 years, I know this is the type of work that can truly transform an advisor's business.

Thank you for walking through all of that. I've got a few more questions if you have time.

All right. I want to know, where are we going next with the business owner space?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 Well, right now I'm working on a robust discovery module.

Our goal is to build a business owner profile that helps uncover all of the opportunities that exist with a particular business and a particular owner over time. It's not something an advisor would sit down and complete in one meeting. Rather, it's something that would evolve over the course of the relationship.

We want to bring together all of the important questions advisors should be asking and create a structured framework around them. That will become a complete module.

We're also looking at expanding our buy-sell arrangements brochure into a full educational module with a presentation component.

Looking ahead to next year, we're evaluating content focused on prospecting, although I don't really like that word. The goal is really helping advisors understand how to identify, attract, and build a pipeline of business owner relationships.

We're also exploring more advanced markets content. Nothing is finalized yet, but we're considering topics such as common estate planning strategies for business owners and common tax-planning approaches that advisors should understand and discuss with clients.

We're still evaluating exactly where we want to go, but we're definitely committed to continuing to build content in this space.

 John Bryson
 That's fantastic.

Kathleen, you've covered so much today. There's a tremendous amount to this topic, and I appreciate the level of detail you've provided.

I think there's a lot more we could discuss, but if you had to summarize the value that Manulife John Hancock Investments brings to financial advisors in the business owner space, how would you put a bow on it?

 Kathleen Pritchard
 We see ourselves as providing two critical functions.

The first is education. We help financial advisors understand this space, strengthen their practices, position themselves effectively, and educate their business owner clients.

The second is connection.

We've spent a lot of time building relationships and helping advisors connect with the specialists they need, whether that's value growth advisors, M&A professionals, or other experts who are critical to supporting business owners throughout the transition process.

So ultimately, our role is centered around education and connection. Those are the two lanes we're focused on.

 John Bryson
 Kathleen, thank you.

If I were to share one takeaway from today's conversation, it's that serving business owners is about much more than preparing for a future liquidity event.

It's about helping clients maximize the value they've spent a lifetime building within their businesses, and it's about bringing together the right team to help them achieve their personal, financial, and business goals.

Kathleen, thank you again for sharing your insights. This has been a tremendous conversation, and I know our advisors will appreciate it.

Folks, if you enjoyed listening today, please subscribe to the Portfolio Intelligence Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

And until next time, thanks, as always, for listening.

 

 

This podcast is brought to you by John Hancock Investment Management Distributors LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and are subject to change based on market and other conditions. They do not constitute investment advice or a recommendation regarding any specific product or security.

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy discussed will be successful or achieve any particular level of results. Any economic or market performance information discussed is historical and is not indicative of future results, and no forecasts are guaranteed. Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal.

John Hancock and the Exit Planning Institute are not affiliated.

EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, is one of the most widely used measures of a company's financial health and its ability to generate cash flow.

This material does not constitute tax, legal, or accounting advice. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Please consult your tax, legal, or financial professional before making any investment decisions.