WEALTH MANAGEMENT FOR BUSINESS OWNERS | ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA
You’ve spent decades building your business. What is it building for your life?
For most founders and business owners, personal wealth and business wealth are completely intertwined.
Your company isn’t just an asset on a balance sheet—it funds your lifestyle, employs family members, holds the bulk of your net worth, and represents years of hard work.
That creates immense opportunity, but it also creates unique financial complexity.
At Fountain Wealth Partners, we help business owners across North Georgia connect the enterprise they are building today with the lifelong personal independence they want tomorrow.
Why software alone falls short: How automated algorithms fail during critical life transitions, tax adjustments, and market volatility.
The four pillars of human wealth management: How direct access to a dedicated senior advisor, 100% fee-only fiduciary independence, comprehensive wealth coordination, and long-term continuity protect your legacy.
What you can expect as a client: The exact written deliverables, fee transparency, and local face-to-face access you gain by partnering with an independent CFP® lead advisor.
Why software alone falls short: How automated algorithms fail during critical life transitions, tax adjustments, and market volatility.
The four pillars of human wealth management: How direct access to a dedicated senior advisor, 100% fee-only fiduciary independence, comprehensive wealth coordination, and long-term continuity protect your legacy.
What you can expect as a client: The exact written deliverables, fee transparency, and local face-to-face access you gain by partnering with an independent CFP® lead advisor.
Schedule an introductory conversation. Direct partner access with David Fountain, CFP® professional • 100% fee-only fiduciary • Serving North Fulton and North Georgia since 1996 • No sales pitches or slide decks • Meet in-person in Alpharetta or via secure video.
Advisory services offered through Financial Consultants Group, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Fountain Wealth Partners is a marketing name for advisory services. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Fountain Wealth Partners and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Fountain Wealth Partners provides investment advisory and financial planning services. Clients should consult their qualified tax professional and legal counsel regarding specific corporate, tax, and estate situations. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS disclosures are available upon request or at
Disclosures.
Your business plan and your personal wealth plan should never live in separate silos.
It’s easy to spend all your energy solving problems for the company: managing cash flow, navigating payroll and taxes, investing in growth, and driving operations. The business demands your attention every day, so personal financial planning often gets pushed to the back burner.
Over time, critical questions go unanswered:
- How much wealth have we accumulated outside the business?
- Are we saving enough—or is too much of our future dependent upon the company?
- How much do we actually need from a future sale?
- Could I retire without selling the business?
- When should I begin diversifying?
- How would a sale affect our investments and income?
- What happens to my family if something happens to me before a transition occurs?
And perhaps the most important question:
What do I ultimately want the business to make possible?
We bring the business and personal sides of your balance sheet into one clear conversation—turning enterprise success into permanent family security.
Learn more about our integrated approach to Wealth Management and our overarching Our Process
Helping current and former business owners connect the value they have created in their companies with their personal retirement, investment, tax, and family objectives.
Helping families thoughtfully consider gifts, education funding, charitable priorities, support for children and grandchildren, and the responsibilities that accompany significant wealth.
Your business may be your best investment—it just shouldn't be your only one.
Reinvesting every spare dollar back into your company is often how you reach this level of success. But as the enterprise grows, so does your family's risk concentration.
When your income, net worth, and future retirement all depend on the same company, your financial well-being is tied to market conditions, industry shifts, and economic cycles you can’t control.
Building meaningful, independent wealth outside the business isn’t about pulling vital capital out of a growing enterprise. It’s about methodically securing your family's future so you aren't reliant on a single outcome.
We help owners strategically capture cash flow through tax-efficient retirement structures, personal investment reserves, and diversified portfolios. Explore how our disciplined
Investment Management,
Portfolio Strategy & Allocation, and
Tax-Efficient Investing
help protect and diversify owner wealth.
The strongest exit strategy begins the day you no longer need the business to fund your lifestyle.
For most entrepreneurs, retirement doesn't mean stopping cold turkey. It means having the freedom to choose:
- Handing day-to-day operations to key leadership while keeping equity
- Bringing in the next generation on your terms
- Selling all or part of the business without being forced to accept a discounted offer
- Or simply showing up to work every day knowing it’s a passion, not a financial requirement
When you achieve financial independence outside the company, you gain the single most valuable asset in any future transition: leverage and optionality.
Discover how strategic
Financial Planning and
Retirement Income Planning establish total personal optionality.
A company retirement plan should reward your team—and build significant wealth for you.
For a business owner, a retirement plan is far more than an employee perk.
Designed correctly, it is one of the most powerful tax-reduction and wealth-building engines available.
Depending upon the company, workforce, objectives, and existing plan, conversations may include:
- 401(k) plans and Safe Harbor arrangements
- Profit-sharing contributions
- SIMPLE IRA plans
- SEP IRA arrangements
- Cash Balance Defined Benefit plans (which can allow qualifying high-income owners to defer $150,000 to $300,000+ in pre-tax income annually, subject to IRS limits and plan design)
- Plan design and contribution considerations
- Investment options and participant education
- Coordination between company retirement assets and the owner's personal wealth strategy
The appropriate structure depends upon the business and should be evaluated with the company's tax, legal, and retirement-plan professionals as appropriate.
Our focus is on helping the retirement strategy support both the company and the owner's broader financial objectives.
Fountain Wealth Partners assists in plan coordination, asset allocation, and investment education. Plan legal documentation and third-party administration are coordinated alongside specialized ERISA plan administrators.
The best time to plan your exit is years before you're ready to leave.
Selling a company touches every corner of your life—taxes, estate plans, family dynamics, income streams, and your everyday purpose.
Starting the conversation two to five years before a transaction gives you the runway to structure deals properly, reduce unnecessary tax friction, and ensure you actually walk away with what you need.
We can help owners begin thinking through questions such as:
- How much do we need from a sale to support our lifestyle?
- How financially dependent are we upon the eventual sale price?
- What assets have we accumulated outside the business?
- How should our investment risk change as a sale approaches?
- Are there estate, trust, or charitable objectives that should be discussed before a transaction?
- How might a sale affect our future income and cash flow?
- What professionals should be involved?
- What does life after the business actually look like?
We don’t broker or value companies. Our sole focus is making sure your personal financial life, family, and wealth are ready for the sale.
Explore our dedicated framework for Business Succession & Exit.
What your company is worth and what you need from it are two very different numbers.
Owners often focus on gross enterprise valuation. But a $5 million or $10 million sale means very different things depending on your debt, taxes, spending goals, outside assets, and family commitments.
We run detailed stress tests and scenario models to translate potential sale prices into real, after-tax lifestyle numbers. That way, you know exactly what an offer means for your family before you enter negotiations. For families with significant complexity, explore our tailored
Private Wealth services.
Selling your business turns decades of sweat equity into liquid wealth overnight.
For decades, your capital had a clear job: fund and grow the business. After a liquidity event, millions of dollars suddenly need a new plan:
- How much should remain liquid?
- How much should be invested?
- How much investment risk is appropriate?
- Where will future income come from?
- Should debt be paid down?
- Should some wealth be given to family?
- Are there charitable opportunities worth considering?
- How does the transaction affect the estate plan?
- What tax obligations need to be anticipated?
The period surrounding a sale requires coordination among multiple professionals.
With your permission, we can work alongside your CPA, transaction attorney, estate attorney, and other advisors to help evaluate the financial implications and prepare for what comes next.
| Cost & compensation element | Traditional commissioned broker | Hybrid "fee-based" firm | Fountain Wealth Partners (100% fee-only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct advisory / management fee | Varies or zero (built into products) | 1.00%–1.50% advisory fee | Transparent flat or percentage-based fee |
| Insurance & annuity commissions | Up to 7.00% upfront + trail | Earned on insurance side | 0%—Never accepted |
| 12b-1 mutual fund distribution fees | Collected directly | Permitted on brokerage side | 0%—Rebated or avoided |
| Revenue sharing / custodial kickbacks | Standard practice | Common in hybrid setups | 0%—Banned by firm mandate |
| Written fiduciary agreement | No (Suitability standard) | Partial (Only on select accounts) | 100% written fiduciary commitment |
David Fountain, CFP® — Founder & Lead Advisor
Your investment portfolio now becomes the business that supports your life.
Shifting from running an operating business to managing a diversified investment portfolio is a major psychological and strategic adjustment.
The goal changes from driving revenue growth to protecting purchasing power, generating dependable cash flow, and preserving family legacy:
- Creating dependable income
- Preserving financial independence
- Growing wealth for future decades
- Managing taxes
- Supporting family members
- Making significant charitable gifts
- Purchasing real estate or other assets
- Funding new business opportunities
- Transferring wealth to future generations
The proceeds of your sale represent decades of grit and dedication. We ensure that capital works just as hard for you as you did to earn it.
Explore our disciplined approach to
Investment & Portfolio Management.
Smart business decisions and personal tax strategies must move in lockstep.
From bonus distributions and pass-through income to transaction structures and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusions, tax efficiency requires year-round coordination.
We proactively partner with your CPA to model the tax impact of major transactions, retirement contributions, and Roth conversions before the tax year closes.
Whenever possible, conversations involving the financial implications of a sale, charitable intentions, retirement contributions, investment gains, Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) considerations,
Tax-Efficient Investing, or
Roth Conversion Strategy should occur before the transaction is complete.
Fountain Wealth Partners does not prepare tax returns or provide tax advice. We practice Tax-Aware Wealth Planning, working collaboratively with your qualified CPAs and tax professionals to incorporate their guidance into the broader wealth strategy.
Learn more about our comprehensive approach to
Financial Planning.
Explore our dedicated framework for Business Succession & Exit.
Passing the business to the next generation takes a different kind of plan.
Family succession brings unique emotional and operational challenges:
- Does the next generation genuinely want the leadership reins?
- How do you treat children who work in the business fairly compared to those who don’t?
- How does the founder extract retirement income without overburdening the company?
We help families navigate these conversations thoughtfully, ensuring financial security for the retiring generation and a clean runway for the successors.
Explore our approach to
Estate & Legacy Wealth, including
Trust & Estate Administration and
Charitable & Philanthropic Planning.
Not every business transition happens on your planned timetable.
Health changes, unexpected offers, partner disputes, or sudden life events can alter plans overnight. A truly resilient financial plan ensures your family and business are protected with funded buy-sell agreements, updated estate documents, and clear liquidity reserves—regardless of what comes your way.
We help clients consider how an unexpected change could affect the family's income, investments, liquidity, retirement strategy, and longer-term financial security.
When insurance, buy-sell agreements, business valuations, or legal structures deserve attention, we help identify the issue and coordinate with the appropriate professionals.
A strong financial plan should not depend upon everything happening exactly as expected.
Many come to us because they have outgrown an investment-only or transactional advisory relationship. They want more than someone managing a portfolio—they want a team that understands the complete financial picture and helps them make informed decisions as their lives evolve.
Selling your business answers the financial question. It opens a bigger one: What’s next?
Your business was your routine, community, identity, and challenge. Stepping away is exciting, but it also creates space to fill.
Whether your next chapter involves travel, advisory boards, angel investing, philanthropy, mentorship, or launching a new venture, our role is to build a financial foundation that lets you pursue what's next with total freedom.
That makes planning for what comes after the transaction more than a financial exercise:
- Travel
- Family
- Golf
- Community involvement
- Charitable work
- Board service
- Mentoring other entrepreneurs
- Investing
- Starting another company
- Or simply having more control over your time
| Cost & compensation element | Traditional commissioned broker | Hybrid "fee-based" firm | Fountain Wealth Partners (100% fee-only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct advisory / management fee | Varies or zero (built into products) | 1.00%–1.50% advisory fee | Transparent flat or percentage-based fee |
| Insurance & annuity commissions | Up to 7.00% upfront + trail | Earned on insurance side | 0%—Never accepted |
| 12b-1 mutual fund distribution fees | Collected directly | Permitted on brokerage side | 0%—Rebated or avoided |
| Revenue sharing / custodial kickbacks | Standard practice | Common in hybrid setups | 0%—Banned by firm mandate |
| Written fiduciary agreement | No (Suitability standard) | Partial (Only on select accounts) | 100% written fiduciary commitment |
Understanding what you are moving toward can be just as important as deciding when to step away.
Your financial plan should help give you the freedom to answer that question on your terms.
CLIENT PROFILES & PRACTICE AREAS
Tailored wealth strategies for leaders across North Fulton & North Georgia
We design custom business owner wealth strategies for privately held enterprise founders, pre-exit owners, executive leaders, and medical practice professionals throughout Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, and North Georgia:
Privately Held Business Founders & Owners
- Extract enterprise cash flow into protected, diversified personal wealth
- Implement paired Safe Harbor 401(k) and Cash Balance Defined Benefit plans
- Uncouple personal balance sheets from company liabilities and debt guarantees
Pre-Liquidity & Transitioning Owners
- Pre-Sale Tax Modeling: Multi-year tax projections and evaluating Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) opportunities.
- Pre-Transaction Trust Planning: Coordinating with estate counsel on pre-sale gifting trusts (SLATs, CRTs) before valuation milestones.
- Structure post-sale income portfolios to replace business distributions. Learn more about our Business Succession & Exit.
Corporate Executives & Medical Practice Leaders
- Executive Equity Strategies: Managing complex corporate equity, including RSUs, Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSOs), and phantom stock.
- Structured Rule 10b5-1 plans for concentrated company stock
- Integrate deferred compensation with long-term tax bracket planning. Learn more about our Executives — Equity & Options.
Explore our dedicated framework for Business Succession & Exit.
We don't replace your CPA or attorney—we bring everyone onto the same page.
Managing significant wealth requires specialized expertise: CPAs, corporate attorneys, estate planners, and valuation experts. We act as the quarterback, keeping your family's personal financial goals at the center of every professional conversation.
Depending upon the circumstances, a business owner may need the expertise of a:
- CPA
- Business or transaction attorney
- Estate-planning attorney
- Business valuation professional
- Investment banker or business broker
- Insurance professional
- Retirement-plan professional
- Wealth advisor
Each brings a different perspective.
With your permission, Fountain Wealth Partners works collaboratively with the professionals involved to help connect their work with your personal financial plan.
Learn more about
Why Fountain Wealth, read
Questions to Ask Your Advisor, and meet our team on
Meet the Team.
Our Unified Wealth Management Framework
We connect your entire financial life into a continuous, disciplined fiduciary strategy designed to protect and grow your family's capital. Our core wealth management methodology operates across three synchronized disciplines:
Unified balance sheet management
We consolidate and actively manage your entire net worth—liquid investment accounts, executive compensation assets, real estate holdings, and private business interests—into a single, coordinated dashboard.
Proactive tax and cash flow alignment
Wealth management requires looking ahead, not backward. We model multi-year tax brackets, analyze withdrawal sequencing, and coordinate directly with your CPA prior to year-end to minimize lifetime tax drag.
Fiduciary legacy and generational protection
We ensure your estate documents, account titling, and beneficiary structures reflect your exact intentions, working alongside your legal counsel to protect assets from unnecessary probate, litigation, and tax erosion.
Some families require an additional level of planning and coordination.
Multiple investment accounts and entities. Trusts. Concentrated holdings. Business interests. Real estate. Charitable strategies.
Significant tax considerations. Multiple generations with different needs and responsibilities.
When greater wealth creates greater complexity
Some families require an additional level of planning and coordination.
Multiple investment accounts and entities. Trusts. Concentrated holdings. Business interests. Real estate. Charitable strategies. Significant tax considerations. Multiple generations with different needs and responsibilities.
For families with substantial wealth and more complex financial circumstances, Fountain Wealth Partners offers a Private Wealth relationship designed to provide enhanced planning and coordination across the family's complete financial picture.
The objective is not to make wealth more complicated.
It is to make the complexity more manageable.
Specialized Wealth Management Pathways
Fountain Wealth Partners organizes advisory services into two dedicated practices: Private Wealth for complex multi-generational estates and Virtual Wealth for mobile families nationwide.
To match your specific level of wealth complexity and family footprint, we deliver unconflicted fiduciary guidance through two structured pathways:
Private Wealth for High-Net-Worth Families
Virtual and National Wealth Management
Some families require an additional level of planning and coordination.
Multiple investment accounts and entities. Trusts. Concentrated holdings. Business interests. Real estate. Charitable strategies. Significant tax considerations. Multiple generations with different needs and responsibilities.
For families with substantial wealth and more complex financial circumstances, Fountain Wealth Partners offers a Private Wealth relationship designed to provide enhanced planning and coordination across the family's complete financial picture.
The objective is not to make wealth more complicated.
It is to make the complexity more manageable.
Customized fiduciary guidance for multi-generational estates, family governance, and complex balance sheets.
As your balance sheet expands, managing multi-tiered accounts, private holdings, and multi-generational stewardship requires deliberate, partner-level coordination. Our private wealth practice provides dedicated senior advisor access, custom asset allocation, and family office services.
- Family governance and stewardship: Structured frameworks to prepare children and grandchildren for responsible wealth stewardship across generations.
- Family office coordination: Consolidated reporting and active management across liquid portfolios, real estate, and private assets.
- Direct partner access: Proactive, ongoing strategy and balance sheet reviews led directly by firm partners.
High-touch, fee-only fiduciary advisory for mobile families and clients nationwide.
Whether you're relocating from Georgia, managing assets across multiple states, or prefer the convenience of modern digital advisory, our national practice delivers the same fiduciary care without geographical limits.
- Multi-state continuity: Seamless advisory for North Fulton families with secondary residences or family members across the country.
- Tax and domicile coordination: Guidance on multi-state real estate assets and tax-efficient retirement relocation.
- Direct partner access: Collaborative video strategy sessions with your lead advisor, wherever you are.
A straightforward, no-pressure advisory process
Our onboarding process delivers a complete written financial roadmap before you commit to working together. Learn how
Our Process / How We Work coordinates your business and personal wealth:
1. Introductory Discovery Conversation
A confidential discussion about your business, your timeline, and what you want to achieve. No documents or commitments required..
2. Business & Personal Wealth Assessment
We review your tax returns, retirement plan design, and balance sheet to identify tax opportunities, risk gaps, and transition strategies—yours to keep with zero obligation
3. Implementation & Cross-Professional Coordination
We execute tax-efficient transfers, align your investments, and establish regular syncs with your CPA and legal team.
Frequently asked questions about business owner wealth management
Direct answers to common questions regarding business owner wealth management in Alpharetta, retirement plans, exit coordination, and fiduciary standards.
How does wealth management for business owners differ from personal financial planning?
Standard personal planning focuses primarily on IRAs and personal portfolios. Business owner wealth management bridges the corporate balance sheet and personal life—coordinating entity tax deductions, paired Cash Balance plans, debt uncoupling, and pre-exit planning alongside your corporate CPA.
How do Cash Balance Defined Benefit plans help business owners reduce current taxes?
A Cash Balance Defined Benefit plan sits on top of a Safe Harbor 401(k), allowing high-earning business owners to defer an additional $150,000 to $300,000+ in pre-tax income annually, substantially reducing both corporate and personal tax obligations.
When should a business owner begin planning for an exit or liquidity event?
Ideally, two to five years prior to an anticipated transaction. Early planning allows business owners to evaluate entity structures, explore Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) eligibility, establish pre-sale gifting trusts (such as SLATs), and clean up balance sheets to maximize personal optionality before signing a letter of intent. Explore our specialized Business Succession & Exit.
Will you collaborate directly with my corporate CPA and M&A attorney?
Yes. We proactively coordinate with your external CPA and legal counsel, sharing contribution calculations, gain/loss reports, and tax summaries to keep everyone aligned.
How are your advisory fees structured for business owners?
As a 100% fee-only fiduciary, we are compensated solely through a transparent, tiered percentage of the assets we manage. We never accept commissions, sales loads, or third-party referral fees. Review Our Fees / What to Expect and Form ADV Part 2A on our Disclosures page.
How are my personal and business investment assets protected?
Fountain Wealth Partners never holds custody of your funds. Leading independent custodians (Charles Schwab & Co. and Axos) hold all accounts in your name, with 24/7 direct access and third-party statements.
Have additional questions? Browse our complete FAQs.
David Fountain, CFP® — Founder & Lead Advisor
Someday you will leave the business. The only question is what you want to take with you.
Financial independence. Time. Choices. Security for your spouse. Opportunities for your children. A legacy for the next generation.
You don’t have to be ready to sell today to start planning for what’s ahead. Building independent wealth outside your company gives you the freedom, choices, and leverage to step away on your own terms when the time is right.
Let's discuss where your business is today and where you want your wealth to take you tomorrow.
A confidential, no-obligation opportunity to determine whether Fountain Wealth Partners is the right partner for you and your family.
YOUR GOALS. OUR GUIDANCE. YOUR LEGACY.
Alpharetta Office: 12600 Deerfield Parkway, Suite 100, Alpharetta, GA 30004 | Cumming Office: Cumming, GA Serving business owners throughout North Georgia and beyond.
Who we serve
We provide specialized fiduciary wealth management engineered for established pre-retirees, corporate executives, and privately held business owners.
Our advisory model solves distinct financial complexities for three core client profiles across North Fulton and nationwide:
What our clients say
Verified client experiences reflect our commitment to fiduciary transparency, proactive tax savings, and generational peace of mind.
Explore verified
Client Stories & Reviews to see how our fiduciary approach impacts families across North Fulton.
TESTIMONIALS HERE
SEC Rule 206(4)-1 Disclosure: Testimonial provided by a current client. No direct or indirect compensation was provided in exchange for this testimonial. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FEES & TRANSPARENCY
Transparent, flat-fee pricing. No surprises
We believe you should know exactly what you are paying for and what you are getting in return. We operate under a transparent, flat fee-only pricing model.
Zero Commissions: We never profit from product sales or transactions
Zero Hidden Costs: No referral fees, third-party incentives, or asset-under-management markups
Complete Alignment: Our flat-fee structure ensures our incentives are completely aligned with your long-term financial security
Talk with an independent fiduciary advisor
Connect with our advisory team to discuss how integrated fiduciary wealth management supports your long-term family goals.
Direct Advisor Access • 12600 Deerfield Parkway, Suite 100, Alpharetta, GA 30004 • (770) 650-9392
Regulatory Disclosures & Trademarks
Advisory services offered through Financial Consultants Group, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Fountain Wealth Partners is a marketing name for advisory services. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Fountain Wealth Partners and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Fountain Wealth Partners does not provide legal, tax, business valuation, or transaction advisory services. We coordinate with appropriately qualified professionals based upon each client's individual circumstances. Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS are available upon request or by visiting our Disclosures page. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.
