Business Owners Struggle With Telling NextGens Their Plans – BBH Survey

Editorial Staff

4 November 2025

A Brown Brothers Harriman survey that drew 491 replies finds that many business owners struggle with deciding when to tell the next generation about their plans and how best to prepare them.

The are gaps in succession planning – a mixed level of confidence in how ready NextGen individuals are to shoulder responsibility. Owners are reconsidering dividend policies and foregoing equity to maintain business growth rates.

The survey throws light on the considerations that apply as Americans face tens of trillions of dollars in inter-generational wealth transfer.

“Succession planning remains one of the biggest vulnerabilities for private businesses, and a large part of that often stems from worries around successor readiness,” Kathryn George, a partner at BBH, said. “Owners may know who of the next generation they’d like to take over, but how can they know when the next generation is ready?”

Nearly half of owners think the next generation is only “somewhat prepared” to manage wealth, with 40 per cent saying they are unprepared.

Some 46 per cent of respondents have a formal succession plan in progress; 30 per cent have none.

A “skip-generation” trend is emerging, with some owners considering transfers that bypass the next generation of successors in favor of the generation that follows, the report said.

Growing the business is owners’ top capital priority, with 77.5 per cent of owners ranking it above receiving dividends or maintaining all their equity to maximize growth. However, ownership groups report uneven alignment on their long-term capital strategy.

Many are considering outside capital, from debt to minority equity to finance ownership transitions.