4 Reasons Why We’re Passionate About Serving Family Businesses

By Ahmie Baum

It can be hard enough to manage your finances when your circumstances are relatively simple, let alone when you have extra challenges due to being a business owner. When you need help, how do you know who to turn to? Who can you rely on to understand your life and guide you through complicated decisions and opportunities? 

That’s why Interchange Capital Partners exists. We founded our firm to act as an advocate for your family business, with your interests in mind. Our meticulous attention to the details of your financial life and our well-coordinated approach allows you to experience confidence and security, no matter what your life looks like. Here’s why we believe family businesses need a specialized touch and tailored services for their unique situation.

1. You Juggle Multiple Responsibilities

Our firm is named Interchange Capital Partners because we serve you at the interchange between family and business, between the known and the unknown. As the leader of your family business, you aren’t just focused on your business’s success, but you also need to plan for the future of your family. 

You may have even asked yourself, “Is the business here to serve the family or is the family here to serve the business?” We help you have the difficult business, family, and personal conversations across multiple generations so you can clarify goals and values and get on the same page for what the family wants from the business, whether that’s growth, selling, or passing it on to the next generation. Our experience and knowledge can help you turn family values into shared family vision and promote meaningful intergenerational dialogue about what matters most. 

2. You Face Financial Complexities

Running a business is not for the faint of heart. You need more than a budget or an investment plan. You need expertise and guidance in many areas, including taxes, legal entities, insurance, investment management, and more. Coordinating with multiple professionals can create headaches and be a detriment to your goals if they aren’t collaborating to get you to your ideal future. By offering a boutique, family-office approach, we help you make sure your bases are covered, minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities.

After doing this for 40 years, we know how to capture your strengths and how to take action in ways that benefit both the business and the family. We have the knowledge to see the full picture and know how to implement plans to make them work for you. 

3. The Future Of Your Business Is The Future Of Your Family

As a business owner, you spend your days ensuring your business is successful so that it can provide for your family. But what about when it’s time to step back from the business? Do you have a plan for how that will happen and how it will impact your family, both emotionally and financially? You aren’t going to be working in your business forever. At some point, you will either sell or pass ownership on to someone else. We have walked many clients through the exit planning and succession planning process, and we can do the same for you. 

4. We Are A Family Business Too

We don’t just have professional experience with family businesses, we have personal experience too. We are truly in your shoes and understand your concerns and challenges. My son, Brian and I work together, which gives us the ability to have true empathy for both generations as we simultaneously build our business while also preparing for a leadership transition in the future. We’ve worked through the same questions we ask you, and we’ve dealt with similar situations and family dynamics, so we understand your struggles and the value of clarity, understanding and action.

We Want To Help You

As a fiduciary, independent registered investment advisory firm, we are dedicated to helping you find clarity in the midst of a very complex situation, offering experience and knowledge tailored to your circumstances, and recommending plans that create the outcomes you are looking for. If your family business needs the personalized touch of a dedicated firm, we would welcome the opportunity to show you how we can help. Email us at team@interchangecp.com or call our office at 412-307-4230 to schedule an introductory appointment. 

About Ahmie

Ahmie E. Baum is the CEO and founder of Interchange Capital Partners, an independent registered investment advisory firm providing collaborative, comprehensive, and disciplined wealth management around Transition Planning Unlocking a Lifetime of Work. With over 40 years of experience, Ahmie specializes in serving individuals, professionals, and family-owned businesses, helping them manage the complexity that comes with their unique circumstances. He is known for giving his clients guidance, education, and resources to make wise financial decisions that help them protect their wealth while achieving their goals. Ahmie and his firm strive to go above and beyond with their unparalleled client service and family office services that help their clients experience confidence in their future. 

Ahmie graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and holds the Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duquesne University School of Leadership and Professional Advancement. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. He recently received the Certificate for Family Business Advising (CFBA) from the Family Firm Institute. He spent 42 years working at EF Hutton and UBS, where he earned the prestigious Wealth Advisor designation. Nationally recognized, Ahmie has been named in the past to the Barron’s Top 1,000 Financial Advisor List. When he’s not working, Ahmie enjoys spending time with his wife, Sara, their three children, and their granddaughter. He also enjoys investing in his health through yoga, meditation, and plant-based eating. His other hobbies include woodturning, golf, reading, listening to music, and biking. He is active in his community and serves as the Foundation Chair of the Jewish Federation Community Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh and supports the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS). To learn more about Ahmie, connect with him on LinkedIn. You can also watch his latest webinar on The Hidden Dangers of Not Having an Exit Plan.

Interchange Capital Partners, LLC, (“INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS”) is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission providing investment advisory and financial planning services. Any reference to the terms “registered investment adviser” or “registered” does not imply that INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS or any person associated with INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS has achieved a certain level of skill or training. A copy of INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS’s current written disclosure (ADV 2A Firm Brochure) discussing our advisory services and fees is available for your review upon request. INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS, in addition to providing investment advisory and financial planning services, provides business consulting services. In connection with its business consulting services, INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS does not provide tax or legal advice.

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