Selling Your Business and Retiring to Arizona: Wealth Management Guide

We work with business owners and retirees across the United States, including clients who are relocating or retiring to Arizona. In this guide, we walk through how to think about your sale proceeds, how precious metals can support your wealth management plan, and how to take advantage of Arizona’s favorable environment for gold and silver owners.

If you are planning a move, our state-focused overview is a helpful companion to this article:

Gold and silver for Arizona investors – state overview

Step 1 – Reframing your wealth after a business sale

From concentrated risk to diversified wealth

Before the sale, most of your net worth was probably tied to one asset: your business. You knew the risks, you understood the cash flow, and you could influence the outcome through your own decisions. After the sale, that single concentrated asset turns into cash and securities that need a different kind of discipline.

Instead of one business, you now have a portfolio. That portfolio faces its own set of risks: market volatility, inflation, currency devaluation, credit events, and tax changes. Our role is to help you understand where physical gold and silver fit in that picture, alongside traditional investments and cash reserves.

Clarifying your retirement in Arizona

Retiring to Arizona usually comes with clear lifestyle goals: more sun, more golf, less day-to-day pressure. Financially, it also means a new cost structure. Housing, healthcare, insurance, and leisure costs will look different than they did while you were running your business in your previous state.

Before you allocate sale proceeds, it helps to outline your Arizona retirement in practical terms. How much do you expect to spend each year? How much risk are you willing to take? How important is leaving a legacy to children or charities? Those answers shape everything from your stock allocation to your precious metals position.

Cash, growth, and protection buckets

One simple way to think about your post-sale wealth is to divide it into three buckets:

• Cash & near-cash for 1–3 years of living expenses and short-term plans.
• Growth assets like stocks, real estate, and business interests for long-term appreciation.
• Protection assets such as physical gold and silver that sit outside the banking system and help hedge tail risks.

Gold and silver live primarily in the third bucket. They do not replace your entire investment portfolio. They complement it by giving you a tangible store of value that responds differently than financial assets in times of stress.

Step 2 – Why retiring to Arizona is metals-friendly

Precious metals culture and awareness

Arizona has a long history with mining, hard assets, and self-reliance. That culture shows up in how many residents think about wealth protection. When we speak with Arizona clients, gold and silver are often already on their radar as part of a “real assets” strategy that also includes land, property, or other stores of value.

For someone selling a business and retiring there, that mindset can be a strength. It means you are in a state where owning metal is common, and where service providers, advisors, and peers understand why you want part of your wealth in tangible form.

Structuring your precious metals allocation in Arizona

Once you know that Arizona will be home base, you can design a metals allocation around your new reality. That includes decisions about how much to keep in physical form, where to store it, and which products make the most sense for your goals.

Our Arizona-focused content is designed to support that planning process and give you a clear view of how gold and silver work in your new state:

Arizona gold and silver guide – state-specific insights

Step 3 – Defining your target allocation to gold and silver

How much of your sale proceeds should be in metals?

There is no single “correct” percentage for everyone, but most business owners retiring to Arizona tend to think in ranges. A common starting point is allocating 5–15% of liquid net worth to physical metals, with adjustments up or down based on risk tolerance and other assets.

If your sale proceeds give you more than enough to fund your lifestyle and legacy goals, you may choose a higher allocation to metals as a long-term insurance policy. If your margin is tighter and you need more growth from stocks or real estate, you may opt for a smaller metals position while still establishing a meaningful base.

Balancing gold and silver in retirement

Gold and silver play different roles inside your metals allocation:

• Gold is your core store of value: compact, globally recognized, and typically less volatile.
• Silver is your complementary metal: more affordable per ounce, more volatile, and more sensitive to industrial demand.

A simple structure for many retirees is a gold-heavy mix, such as 60–80% in gold and the remainder in silver. You can adjust that ratio as you get more comfortable and as your broader portfolio evolves.

Sample allocation framework

These are illustrative numbers, not recommendations. The actual figures should be tailored with your financial planner, but they show how metals can sit alongside other assets in a structured way.

Step 4 – Choosing the right gold and silver products

Core bullion coins for retirees

For most retiring business owners, the foundation of a metals allocation should be straightforward, widely recognized bullion coins. These give you high liquidity, clear pricing, and flexibility if you ever need to sell in stages.

Popular options include one-ounce gold and silver coins from major sovereign mints. You can explore our bullion coin offerings here:

Gold bullion coins and products
Silver bullion coins and products

Gold bars: efficient for larger allocations

If your metals allocation will be six figures or more, gold bars can play a major role. Bars typically offer lower premiums per ounce than coins, especially in sizes like 10 oz or larger. They are ideal for long-term storage and wealth preservation.

Many retiring owners will combine coins for flexibility with bars for efficiency. Our bar selection is designed to support that mix:

Gold bars – various sizes and mints

Silver bars for volume and diversification

On the silver side, bars allow you to build a large number of ounces without overpaying in premiums. Common sizes include 10 oz and 100 oz bars. These are particularly useful if you want silver to be a meaningful, but cost-effective, part of your Arizona retirement plan.

You can explore our silver bar offerings within the broader silver category:

Silver bars – stackable, investment-grade

Why we steer retirees away from speculative collectibles

After a business sale, you will attract pitches for “rare” or “limited edition” metals products. We generally discourage retirees from building their core allocation around collectibles or numismatic coins. These products often carry high markups, complex pricing, and lower liquidity.

A clean, transparent retirement strategy is built on bullion that is easy to value and easy to sell when you or your family need it. Collectibles, if included at all, should be a small, deliberate layer on top of a strong bullion foundation.

Step 5 – Deciding where to store your metals in retirement

Home storage: pros and cons

Some retirees prefer to keep a portion of their metals close at hand, especially a small amount of gold or silver for peace of mind. Home storage gives you immediate access and full visibility, but it also raises questions about security, insurance, and discretion.

If you choose this route, we recommend treating home-held metals as one layer of your strategy, backed by proper safes, security measures, and clear communication with your insurer.

Professional storage for larger holdings

For larger allocations—especially six- or seven-figure metals positions—professional storage is often the more practical choice. This is where we see many Arizona retirees focus their long-term holdings. Professional vaulting gives you:

• High-security facilities with institutional-grade protocols.
• Insurance coverage for stored bullion.
• Segregated, allocated holdings in your name.
• Documentation and reporting that support estate and tax planning.

You can learn how our storage solutions work, and how they can integrate with your Arizona retirement plan, here:

Precious metals storage – secure and allocated

Blended approach: Arizona life, diversified storage

Many former business owners retiring to Arizona adopt a blended storage strategy. They keep a modest amount of bullion in state and rely on professional vaulting for the majority. That way, they enjoy the comfort of having some metal accessible while the bulk of their position is protected and documented off-site.

This blended approach also simplifies logistics if you travel seasonally, split time between states, or plan to leave metals to heirs who live elsewhere.

Step 6 – Integrating metals into your overall wealth management plan

Coordinating with your advisor team

After selling a business, you likely work with a team that includes a financial planner, tax professional, and estate attorney. We encourage you to bring precious metals into that conversation early, rather than treating them as a side project.

With clear communication, your advisors can:

• Position metals within your broader asset allocation.
• Plan for liquidity events and rebalancing over time.
• Integrate metals into trusts, gifting, or succession plans.

Our job is to make the metals side transparent and straightforward so your advisory team can plug accurate information into your plan.

Income, growth, and protection in retirement

In your working years, your business provided income and growth. In retirement, those roles shift to your investment portfolio, while metals primarily provide protection. That does not mean they are static. You can still rebalance, add selectively, or trim holdings as your needs change.

However, it is helpful to avoid thinking of metals as something to “trade” aggressively. For most Arizona retirees, gold and silver do their best work quietly in the background, holding value through cycles and extremes while other assets do the heavy lifting for income and growth.

Planning for heirs and simplicity

A major part of wealth management in retirement is making life easier for the next generation. When we work with former business owners, we emphasize clarity: clear records of what metals you own, where they are stored, and how heirs can access or liquidate them.

Segregated, professionally stored metals are often easier for heirs to manage than a large number of small, undocumented pieces. If you prefer more direct control during your life and simplicity for your family later, we can help you design a structure that balances both.

Step 7 – A practical roadmap for selling your business and transitioning to Arizona

From liquidity event to metals allocation

To make this concrete, here is one possible roadmap for a business owner who sells, relocates to Arizona, and wants to integrate metals into their plan:

1. Complete the sale and set aside a portion of proceeds in safe, short-term vehicles while you plan.
2. Work with your advisors to determine a target metals allocation as part of your Arizona retirement plan.
3. Use our Arizona state overview to understand how gold and silver fit locally.
4. Select core bullion products from our gold and silver categories, focusing on simple, liquid coins and bars.
5. Decide on your storage mix between home-held and professionally stored metals.
6. Document everything clearly and share the relevant details with your advisor team and, where appropriate, your heirs.

Why we focus on education and transparency for retirees

We know that selling a business is emotional as well as financial. You are closing one chapter and opening another. Our goal is not to sell you the most metal possible. It is to help you build a metals position that genuinely supports your Arizona retirement, fits your risk tolerance, and complements the rest of your wealth.

That is why we emphasize clear product descriptions, visible premiums, secure processes, and dedicated educational content for Arizona investors. When you can see the numbers and understand the logic behind a recommendation, you can move forward with real confidence.

Conclusion – Turning a lifetime of work into protected, long-term wealth

Selling your business and retiring to Arizona is a major milestone. It gives you a new landscape, a new lifestyle, and a new responsibility: turning decades of effort into durable, well-structured wealth. Physical gold and silver are not the only tools in that effort, but they are powerful ones when used deliberately.

By setting a thoughtful metals allocation, choosing straightforward bullion products, using appropriate storage, and integrating everything into your broader plan, you can make precious metals a steady pillar of your Arizona retirement instead of a source of confusion or stress.

If you are planning your move—or you are already in Arizona and ready to put your sale proceeds to work—you can start with our state guide and then explore our core bullion offerings:

Arizona gold and silver – state overview
Explore our gold bullion selection
Explore our silver bullion selection
Learn about secure metals storage

From there, we are ready to help you design and implement a precious metals strategy that honors the work you put into your business and supports the Arizona retirement you have earned.