News & ESOP Resources

Market-oriented solutions have long been a catalyst for social change. Wealth creation can bridge socioeconomic gaps and amplify diverse voices. At a time of increasing inequality, employee stock ownership plans deserve a closer look. 

Financial advisors have a dynamic and demanding set of responsibilities, made only more difficult during times of uncertainty.  When their client is a business owner, these challenges are amplified even further – the result of communication complexities and portfolio concentration.

Congress and the Federal Reserve have already pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to limit the Coronavirus’s economic damage. Additional stimulus is likely. However, once the immediate crisis has passed, elected officials will have to face the music.

With so many ESOP-owned companies in the food and hospitality industries, we wanted to highlight a federal tax provision that’s taken-on out-sized importance in 2020. 

More than half of all proposed M&A transactions either fail to close or are consummated on terms that are substantially different than the original LOI.

Since passage of the CARES and SECURE Acts, we’ve seen several deadline and policy shifts in relation to employee stock ownership plans. On April 9, 2020, the IRS further redefined this year’s ESOP management calendar.

Moments of adversity offer business owners an opportunity to step back and evaluate their operations and strategies.

The Coronavirus epidemic has brought an abrupt and unexpected change to the operating environment.  Even if your company wasn’t impacted financially, the human toll on your staff, customers, and partners has likely been a management challenge in and of itself. 

Since passage of the CARES Act, our team has been reviewing the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) implications for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The PPP should provide significant support to middle market businesses in the form of low interest loans (1%) that are potentially forgivable.

One aspect of the CARES Act of 2020 that's especially relevant to ESOP companies is the relaxation of the SBA's Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program requirements.