The ESOP Association

ESOP Association Resources

Mar. 31
Welcome to your March Issue of the ESOP Report. This month we've packed the report with tons of articles and news about ESOPs that you won't want to miss! 

As a benefit of your membership, you receive the ESOP Report in your inbox each month. Make sure to share with your colleagues and employee owners!

Inside this issue:
2020
Mar. 24
Executive Summary

On April 14, 2021, the DOL issued guidance on cybersecurity practices directed at plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers, and plan participants. Cybersecurity has emerged as a growing concern in our personal and professional lives. The risks and associated costs of a cybersecurity incident are becoming increasingly central to company valuations as professionals look to find and measure potential threats faced by companies.
1978
Mar. 17
It has been decades since we have seen the borrowing climate for deals change so sharply as it has recently outside of a recession. Financing for M&A and private equity transactions deteriorated dramatically through 2022, with third-quarter M&A financing down 70% from the previous quarter and buyout financing during the period less than half that completed in the first quarter. 
1977
Mar. 10
Now ends the 2022 ESOP plan year and so begins a new year.  With this annual cycle comes a myriad of contrasting economic, market, and other considerations that will influence new and existing ESOP valuations.  
1976
Mar. 06
After several weeks of negotiations and sometimes very public political maneuvering, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have chosen their respective leaders and committee structures for the 118th Congress. Now that the dust has cleared and the business of Congress has begun, it is critical from an advocacy perspective to understand how ESOPs and the employee ownership community will be affected.

 
1987
Mar. 03
Recently, more than 60 volunteer leaders from TEA’s State and Regional Chapter Council (SRCC) journeyed to our nation’s capital for two days of strategic planning meetings at TEA headquarters in preparation for a busy 2023. 
1975
Chapter News, Resource
Jan. 31
Review of 2017 government relations efforts.
550
ESOP Blog, Resource
Jan. 31
I am hearing increasingly from certain thought leaders that current ESOP laws do not create “good” employee ownership plans.

Anytime we ESOP advocates encounter someone who takes such a view of ESOPs, we need to ask ourselves, “Why does that person think ESOPs are not good employee ownership plans?” When we know the answer, we can counter the ESOP cynic’s point of view.

In my experience, there are three main criticisms of ESOPs. I’ll deal with each one in a separate blog post.

The first criticism maintains that ESOPs are bad retirement plans.
384
Resource, Press Releases
Jan. 21
For more than 28 years, Employee Ownership Month has been an opportunity for ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) companies across the nation to educate employee owners and the public about the undeniable benefits of employee ownership for employees, their companies, their communities, and the nation.
366
ESOP Blog, Resource
Jan. 17
For some time now, the data have shown that businesses with employee stock ownership are clearly better than conventionally owned companies at retaining employees. But new insights gleaned from existing research data show that, over a period of 12 years, businesses with employee stock ownership have gotten increasingly and dramatically better than conventionally owned firms at retaining employees.

How much better? Try 235 percent better!
385