If you’re planning to sell your business, the planning should start long before the offer.
We’ve guided households through this transition before. The decisions that often matter most, limiting the tax impact, charitable giving, legacy planning, and recreating a paycheck from your investments, are best discussed before the offer is signed.
A money-in-motion event.
Selling a business is the moment a sum of money you’ve spent decades building must find its next purpose. Before the money lands, the decisions begin.
We call moments like these “money in motion” and a business sale is one of the highest-stakes versions of it. It is often the largest single financial event of an owner’s life. Minimizing the tax impact, structuring charitable giving before (or after) the close, managing new liquidity, and planning for the long-term tax picture that follows are decisions that carry real weight. The right calls, made early, compound in your favor.
You don’t need a salesperson at this moment. You need a guide. Trusting someone with the proceeds of a lifetime of work is a responsibility we don’t take lightly.
The cost of getting it wrong is bigger than most people realize.
The proceeds from a sale are only as valuable as the plan and the team behind them. Here are a few instances where the math matters most:
Post-sale liquidity
Transitioning from a concentrated, illiquid asset to investable capital is one of the biggest financial shifts an owner will ever make. We help you navigate it by diversifying the proceeds, creating a reliable paycheck from your investments, and continuing to compound your wealth for years to come.
Tax planning
The tax decisions around a business sale are time-sensitive and largely irreversible. We can work with your accountant to help you understand the tax impact and identify opportunities to reduce it.
Charitable giving structures
Donor-advised funds, private foundations, charitable remainder trusts, and other vehicles can be more powerful when established before the sale.
Family and estate alignment
A sale can change what’s possible for your family in your lifetime, and beyond. Hiring a financial advisory team who can collaborate with your estate attorney is essential.
Restricted stock & 10b5-1 plans
If a portion of your compensation is in restricted stock, the rules for selling it are tighter than most people realize. A 10b5-1 trading plan can give you a structured, defensible way to diversify on a schedule. Setting one up requires planning ahead.
A plan, then a partner.
You won’t find a one-size-fits-all framework here.
You’ll find a process that starts where you are.
Step 1
Listen.
Before any recommendation, we listen. What you’ve built. What you want next. What’s already working. What’s keeping you up. The plan we build only works if it’s built around what matters to you.
Step 2
Clarify.
A business sale has a lot of moving parts, and the order matters. Understanding how all the pieces fit together is what separates a well-planned sale from a suboptimal one.
Step 3
Plan.
Planning isn’t a one-time event. Markets shift. Tax rules change. Family situations evolve. Your investments and financial plan must, too. We review, adjust, and guide you through every market and every milestone.
We’ve helped many households navigate this transition.
Many of the clients we serve today came to us due to a business sale. Are you looking to:
Craft a financial plan that shows you what’s possible after the sale?
Optimize taxes around the sale, including charitable giving strategies?
Manage the proceeds to grow for your family’s long-term benefit?
The team behind your plan.
You’ll work with named advisors, not a call center. Get to know the team on our Team page.
This ranking was issued by CNBC in October 2025 and covers the period October 2025 to October 2026. Pittenger & Anderson did not pay to obtain this rating; however, we have licensed the CNBC FA 100 logo for use in our own advertising materials.
More about P&A.
#5 on the 2025 CNBC FA 100. The only Nebraska firm to make the list all seven years it’s been published.
Fee-only, full-time fiduciary, since 1995. No commissions. No product sales. No kickbacks. Our advice is aligned with your goals, not a sales quota.
Approximately $3 billion in assets under management. 900+ client households in over 30 states.
Questions business owners often ask
What’s the typical Pittenger & Anderson client profile?
Most P&A clients have at least $1 million in investable assets when we begin working together. If you’re close to that mark, or about to receive a sum from a business sale, we’re happy to have a conversation about whether we’re a fit for each other.
Do you work alongside my CPA, attorney, or M&A advisor?
Yes. A business sale is a team sport. Your CPA, attorney, and M&A advisor each bring expertise and see a piece of the picture that we don’t. Our role is the financial-life piece: the long-term plan, the post-sale portfolio, charitable and family giving, and more. We’re glad to coordinate directly with the rest of your team, in whatever way works for you.
What about restricted stock and 10b5-1 plans?
If part of your compensation is in restricted stock, the rules for selling it can be tighter than most people realize. A 10b5-1 plan, which is a pre-defined and automated trading plan adopted while you don’t have material non-public information, can give you a structured way to diversify on a schedule. We can help you understand how these plans may fit into your overall financial plan.
How do you handle charitable giving around a sale?
Charitable giving is often most powerful when structured before the close, not after. Donor-advised funds, private foundations, charitable remainder trusts, and direct gifts of pre-sale shares can each shift the tax math meaningfully. We work alongside your CPA and attorney to identify which structures fit your goals, and your timeline.
What happens after the deal closes?
The work of managing the proceeds begins. We help you build a post-sale portfolio, think through cash management for the early years, recreate an income stream, and make space for what you want the next chapter to look like.
What if I’m contemplating a sale but haven’t decided?
That’s a good time to talk. We can help you understand what a sale could mean for you and your family, run scenarios, and identify which planning moves are worth making whether or not the sale happens. A conversation costs nothing.
What are your credentials?
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals are required to complete rigorous education, have relevant experience, and are committed to acting in their clients’ best interests. The following advisors at our firm are CFP® professionals: Blake Anderson, Dan Anderson, Dan Frost, Diane Klein, Audrey Mines, A.J. Natter, Trey Pittenger, and Jon Sevenker.
Shane Riley and Dan Frost are both Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholders, a designation widely recognized as one of the most respected in the investment management industry.
Elizabeth Sydzyik is a CRPC™ designee. Kristin Kliewer holds the IACCP® designation. Audrey Mines is a licensed Insurance Consultant who can help you analyze any insurance policies and annuities you own, even though we do not sell insurance products.
Start with a conversation.
Fifteen minutes. No presentation. No pressure. Just a call to see whether P&A is the right fit for the decision you’re facing.
