Here's a good New Year's Resolution for financial professionals: learn more about employee stock ownership plans. Why? Because if you don't know much about them, you may be missing a unique opportunity—one that could help you unlock millions of dollars in previously unavailable assets, demonstrate your value to high net worth clients and grow your business.

Baby boomers hold a tremendous amount of assets in privately owned businesses. According to a 2010 LIMRA study, the value of business ownership for individuals age 55 to 70 who haven't retired is estimated at $4.8 trillion.

Only one out of seven of these business owners plan to pass their businesses along to family. And nearly nine out of 10 have no exit strategy at all. With nearly 80 percent of their net worth tied to business ownership, these individuals need help converting some of those business assets into investable assets as they approach retirement.