For decades, BMO Harris Bank has helped business owners in the Chicagoland area navigate market swings with an eye towards implementing strategies aimed to benefit their personal finances. This was especially true through the “Great Recession” of 2008-2009, and more recently, with the market volatility caused by the aftereffects of the pandemic on general business conditions. It is during these times that business owners need a Wealth Advisor who can provide the right strategic advice tailored to the business owner’s individual situation.

“I would tell you during ’08 and ’09, the last recession, there were a lot of business owners who made it through that slog and survived that economic trauma,” says Kamiar Vossoughi, Senior Managing Director for BMO Private Bank in Hinsdale. “Those business owners built their businesses back. Then, when the pandemic hit, a lot of challenges popped up and we are still working our way through those stresses. The businesses that have survived, even thrived in these times, are super attractive to financial and strategic buyers.”

Vossoughi ads that “there is a lot of cash on the sidelines” and there is a general feeling that if people are thinking about selling their business, this may be the time. The amount of wealth that’s going to be transferred in the next 20 years will be enormous as baby boomers begin transitioning their wealth—either through an outright sale or to the next generation.

“I think this volume of business sales is a byproduct of the battle-tested owner trying to capitalize on some of the current economic conditions—relatively low interest rates, a generally healthy economy and a lot of liquidity in Private Equity looking to deploy their capital,” Vossoughi says.

Much of BMO’s value proposition for business owners is focused on planning strategies. The company works with clients who have over $1 million of liquidity or clients with significant illiquid assets looking to monetize positions or effectively transfer them to the next generation and to charitable organizations.

“We really focus on business owners, and over the last few years we created a team—the acronym is BOSS—which stands for business owner strategies and solutions,” Vossoughi says. “We’re trying to help our business owner clientele analyze and review their options for their business and help them optimally plan for the future.”

Vossoughi says interest from strategic buyers and financial buyers has increased the volume and pace of sales over the past 2½ years.

“Some of the business owners just outright decided this was the right time to sell the business, and so we’re trying to help them understand the proper planning strategies to make sure that when they receive the proceeds it’s structured the right way,” he says. “Our discovery process helps them understand the minimum value they need to obtain for their business in order to live the lifestyle that they want to going forward.”

Vossoughi was raised in Hinsdale, and he says connections to the community among him and the BMO staff are important to fostering relationships with clients in the area. Most of the employees in the Hinsdale office live close by and some have ties to the legacy Harris Bank, which BMO acquired in the 1980s.

The bank has been a pillar of the Hinsdale community for many decades. Its wealth management team was created in the mid-90s and was the first suburban location for BMO. It’s also the largest single market for BMO in the United States in terms of assets under management with approximately $4 billion handled by the local team.

“Being in the suburbs, we do feel like we’re part of the community. A lot of us live in town, or adjacent towns, so there’s an investment in terms of local involvement,” Vossoughi says. “Some of our tenured clients are parents of my friends that I grew up with, some are our neighbors and others that have been great supporters of us on a personal basis. That connectivity helps make these client relationships very special.”

BMO Harris Bank is located at 120 W. Hinsdale Ave. in Hinsdale, 630-920-6880, bmoharris.com.