Survey Say Stock Plan Participants Need Advisor Assistance

Posted on by

According to new research from Schwab Stock Plan Services, the average vested value of U.S. workers’ equity compensation is $97,711 and the average total value of their equity compensation is $149,835. The study, which examines the attitudes and behaviors of 1,000 equity compensation plan participants who currently receive employee stock options or restricted stock awards and/or participate in employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs), finds that 59% of respondents have NOT exercised or sold at least some of their equity compensation...

More

Marketing More Effectively to Corporate Executives

Posted on by

By Jill Addison You’ve chosen to focus on corporate executive clients as a niche in your financial advisory practice. Great! But here’s the biggest mistake so many advisors make: they don’t put this niche focus and specialty front and center in their marketing. Having a niche is one of the biggest keys to growing a successful practice. But if no one knows about your niche, the power of it is lost. That’s where marketing comes in. You must platform your...

More

The Do's and Don'ts for Engaging Executives with Equity Compensation

Posted on by

Financial advisors contact me regularly to ask for ideas on how to grow their practices by acquiring corporate executive clients.  Having been in the equity compensation guidance space for 20 years I've seen what works and what doesn't.  Here are some do's and don'ts for pursuing this market: Do have a few questions and an elevator pitch memorized for whenever you meet an executive that receives equity compensation (i.e. employee stock options and restricted stock/units).  Read this article on the Four Questions to Ask...

More

4 Questions to Ask Clients with Equity Compensation

Posted on by

Employees with equity compensation represent a great opportunity for advisors to generate new and ongoing business.  This is because the market is largely under served and highly lucrative.  Of the approximately 8+ million employees who receive equity compensation awards, only a small percentage utilize professional assistance.  So when financial advisors cross paths with these prospects it's important to be prepared to seize the opportunity.  Here are 4 questions to ask after meeting someone who works for a company that provides equity compensation: "What type(s) of...

More

Incentive Stock Option (ISO) Planning Guidelines

Posted on by

According to the NASPP, Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) are now rarely granted to employees of publicly traded companies, yet they are still popular with pre-IPO private companies. Consequently, advisors may encounter clients or prospects with ISOs that want to take advantage of the lower Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) tax rates on these grants and optimizing for tax efficiency. Financial advisors often turn to us for an easy way to deal with Incentive Stock Options. Unfortunately, there is no simple way...

More

Setting Better Employee Stock Option Price Targets

Posted on by

If you’re a financial advisor with clients or prospects that receive stock options from their employers, it can be like falling into a well and finding a bag of money at the bottom.  These individuals represent a fantastic long-term business opportunity; but there’s a catch, you need to be able to help them determine “why” and “when” they should exercise, sell and diversify. Here's 3 quick lessons on what advisors need to explain to their clients to make timely and...

More

Insight Ratio: The Stock Option Exercise Secret

Posted on by

Determining the right time to exercise and sell  one's employee stock options is the key to maximizing the value of this benefit. Stock options are granted at a fixed grant price that must be exercised after vesting and prior to the expiration date to realize their value. During the time between vesting and expiration (usually 10 years after the grant date) the current stock price for publicly traded companies will generally fluctuate significantly and no one can predict the peaks...

More
Stock Plan Participant Attitudes

Age, Gender, and Stock Plan Participant Attitudes

Posted on by

As one of the first surveys to report statistics by gender as well as age, the recently released biennial Fidelity Stock Plan Services Participant Survey highlights a unique opportunity for advisors to provide equity compensation guidance and education to not one, but two niche groups. Women While 66% of men reported understanding their stock plans “very well,” only 48% of women reported the same. When asked if they were aware of the tax implications of selling the stock in their...

More

Maximizing Restricted Stock Awards

Posted on by

Financial advisor and StockOpter user Megan Gorman in her Forbes article How A Restricted Stock Strategy Can Maximize Your Wealth has some great tips for restricted stock recipients. Megan explains "Restricted stock is simply shares issued to an employee that cannot be transferred to them until certain conditions have been met. These conditions can be time- or performance-based." However she continues, "while restricted stock creates great upside potential, if employees do not know how to manage the risks, they might...

More

Trends in Private Company Stock Plans and How They Effect Advisors

Posted on by

According to a recent post by Barbra Baksa of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, a soon to be released NASPP’s survey on equity compensation at private companies found the following five trends: #1: Stock options are the equity vehicle of choice, with 74% of respondents granting them. #2: Private companies are committed to ISOs, with close to 60% of private companies that offer stock options granting them. #3: For most private companies, when deciding whom to grant to,...

More