The Family Business Consulting Group and Plante Moran have recently released The American Family Business Survey 1995–2025: A 30-Year Benchmark Study, revisiting a survey conducted three decades ago.
The report covers ownership, succession, governance, strategy, and more. The report, available here, is an invaluable resource for family business directors and managers. As we were reviewing the results, two of the findings catching our attention are that 95% of respondents expect their businesses to remain family-controlled over the next five years, while only 36% report having a formal liquidity plan.
Just because a family is firmly committed to continued ownership does not mean that liquidity is not a significant concern for family shareholders. This tension raises a practical question for directors: If a shareholder wants or needs to sell their shares, how will the company respond in a way that supports both the shareholder and the enterprise?
Putting a shareholder liquidity plan on the board agenda prompts stakeholders to discuss the circumstances under which shares might be redeemed, how a price would be determined, and how a transaction could be funded. Those discussions are easier to have before a particular shareholder needs an answer.
We appreciate FBCG and Plante Moran making this research available. The 30-year comparison gives family business leaders a valuable point of reference, and the full report offers considerably more than the two findings noted here. We encourage directors and their advisors to explore the study on FBCG’s website and consider which questions its findings raise for their own companies.