Our expert team works with each client individually to understand their needs and develop an ESOP solution that works best for them. If you are looking to establish a new ESOP or want to re-evaluate your existing ESOP, our team would love to help.
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a qualified retirement plan for the benefit of a company’s employees. ESOPs primarily own stock in the employer company, and all contributions to the ESOP are made by the employer.
An ESOP provides a buyer for an owner of a closely-held business to sell his or her stock.
ESOPs can purchase the company on a highly tax-favored, pre-tax basis. For S-Corps, there is a major tax advantage, because S-Corp ESOPs do not pay any income tax on the income attributable to the ESOP. Additionally, ESOP companies can make acquisitions with pre-tax dollars.
ESOPs may allow for an owner to defer capital gains tax on the sale of his stock.
An ESOP rewards company employees with company stock and helps preserve company culture. They receive allocations of stock when contributions are made to the ESOP. There is no tax to the participants when company stock is allocated to their account.
An ESOP Trust is established for the purpose of owning company stock.
The ESOP Trustee acts as the fiduciary for the Trust, negotiating the purchase price of the stock and hiring legal, financial, and administrative partners to execute and maintain the Trust.
The company makes cash contributions or pays dividends to the ESOP, which the ESOP uses to purchase company stock. Alternatively, the Trust can use debt to buy stock from the seller, in which case the cash and dividends are used to pay down the debt.
The Trust allocates stock in similar fashion to a Qualified Profit Sharing Plan. Upon retirement, a retiree’s ESOP account is converted to cash within the ESOP and is available for retirement, just like other Qualified Retirement Plans (such as a 401(k)). At retirement, employees can defer the taxes on their ESOP proceeds by rolling them into an IRA.
Employees receive an annual statement showing the value of the stock in their ESOP account.
What we do
Genesis ESOP Advisors assists business owners in evaluation of ESOPs as a business succession or exit strategy. We work with a team of financial advisors, attorneys, and third-party administrators to establish and maintain ESOPs.
After the ESOP has been established, Genesis ESOP Advisors and Mike Mathioudakis serve as the ESOP Trustee for their clients.
Learn more about the essential functions an ESOP trustee performs here.
Who we are
Mike Mathioudakis graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in Accounting and Philosophy.
Mike started his career at Price Waterhouse then began serving successful business owners as a financial advisor. Mike formed Genesis Advisors in 1995. Genesis has focused on assisting successful, closely-held, business owners in their Business Succession, Estate, and Wealth Planning.
Mike has assisted his clients in over $1 billion of business value transactions (3rd party sales, ESOPs or family transfers).
Read the case studies on our Success Stories page to see how we have helped our clients with ESOPs:
How a Midwest manufacturing company used debt in their ESOP to provide an exit for the founders
How a chemical distribution company established an ESOP and purchased the stock gradually over time from both of the owners
