Integrated Platform Allows Clients to Structure Business Ownership or Control Changes in Context of Personal Financial Strategies
Includes Trust, Estate, Tax Planning, Retirement, Portfolio Considerations
BERKELEY, Calif., October 5, 2005 – Contango Capital Advisors, Inc., the wealth management affiliate of Zions Bancorporation (Nasdaq: ZION), today announced the launch of its Business Transition Services offering.
Contango’s Business Transition Services team works with owners of closely held businesses contemplating a change in their companies’ ownership or organization. The BTS team takes a truly integrated approach to structuring these transitions, ensuring they complement the business owner’s personal financial strategies – including trust, estate, tax-planning, retirement and portfolio considerations.
The ability to offer this integrated service is based on Contango’s use of innovative, customized models incorporating the financial statements of the business as well as the client’s personal financial information and strategies. With this data, Contango can quickly and accurately examine the various transition options to find the approach that best meets the client’s personal, as well as business, goals.
“Business Transition Services is a rarity in the marketplace today as it allows wealthy individuals and families to sell their businesses or reduce ownership or control in a way that builds upon and supports their personal financial strategies. Through the combined use of powerful analytical models and Contango’s wealth management expertise, we can create a truly integrated picture of different structures and how each might affect a client’s long-term goals,” explains George Feiger, Contango’s chief executive officer.
“This is a new and powerful approach. Typically, business owners are forced to marshal a large advisory team of business accountants, personal financial advisors, tax experts and perhaps investment bankers to design such transitions. Each brings a different perspective, and the business owner is left to make sense of it all. In contrast, Contango brings order and context to this analysis. We approach each transition in a holistic fashion, building upon our expertise in asset management, trusts, and estate and tax planning. Such an integrated offering represents the future of wealth management and we are pleased to be at the forefront of this trend.”
Kevin Mikan, head of wealth planning for Contango and leader of Business Transition Services, continues: “Selling or reducing control of a business is a complicated undertaking. Add to this the need to understand and act upon the implications for an individual or family’s personal financial strategies and this task becomes truly daunting.
“Our Business Transition Services team begins by helping clients ask the right questions: Can the business afford the transition and still continue to grow? How will the change affect my lifestyle? Can I ensure the transition is equitable and fair to my children? Then, we gather and evaluate the information needed to answer all questions accurately and comprehensively, providing business owners with the tools to make the right decisions for their companies and their families.”
About Contango Capital Advisors
Contango Capital Advisors, Inc. (www.contangoadvisors.com) is the wealth management affiliate of Zions Bancorporation. Contango offers a unique approach to managing assets, focusing on individuals’ real-life goals and using sophisticated analytical techniques and risk-management tools to design clients’ investment portfolios. Contango is an entrepreneurial organization backed by one of the nation’s premier financial services companies.
About Zions Bancorporation
Zions Bancorporation is one of the nation’s premier financial services companies, consisting of a collection of great banks in select high growth markets. Under local management teams and community identities, Zions operates approximately 400 full-service banking offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Washington. In addition, Zions is a national leader in SBA lending, public finance advisory services, agricultural finance and electronic bond trading. The company is included in the S&P 500 Index. Investor information and links to subsidiary banks can be accessed at www.zionsbancorporation.com.
Securities and investment products offered by Contango Capital Advisors, Inc. are NOT FDIC INSURED — NO BANK GUARANTEE — MAY LOSE VALUE
