Category: Financial Advisors

Bend, OR, December 1, 2020 – StockOpter.com, the industry leading application for equity compensation valuation and risk analysis has been completely redesigned and enhanced. This new version of StockOpter is now available making it easier than ever for advisors to analyze client company stock and option holdings and provide professional guidance. Initially released in 2008, StockOpter.com […]

Trends in ESPPs: Four Facts and a Myth By Barbara Baksa at the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) Spoiler alert: ESPPs are both common and generous, but participation rates are disappointing. In today’s NASPP Blog entry, I discuss these and other ESPP trends from the NASPP/Deloitte Consulting 2020 Domestic Stock Plan Administration Survey. […]

StockOpter.com version 10 was released on November 9, 2020. This video provides an overview and first look at a completely new version of StockOpter.com. First released in 2008, StockOpter enables financial advisors to attract high net worth corporate employees and generate fees by providing equity compensation guidance. Unlike general financial planning applications designed specifically for […]

I recently came across a great article from the FPA regarding referrals. In her article Stay Top of Mind to Gain Referrals, Kristine McManus at the Commonwealth Financial Network states that referrals are the best way to attract high-quality prospects to your business. This is particularly true for the equity compensation niche because grant recipients have […]

In 2013, the stock plan services team at UBS set out to better understand how employees engage with their equity awards. Through research conducted for the UBS Participant Voice, they identified trends that impact how much employees value their equity awards. It was discovered that employees do not value what they don’t understand, and that […]

Equity awards can provide a powerful planning opportunity for advisors to educate their clients on the benefits of donating vested company stock and options to maximize their charitable giving in a tax-smart way. The following information on equity compensation and charitable planning guidance is from Fidelity Charitable. Recorded Presentation on Equity Compensation Awards and Charitable […]

This article is from the Ayco Compensation & Benefits Digest May 15, 2020 edition. Share ownership guidelines for executives continue to be a common feature at an overwhelming majority of U.S. public companies. The basic premise of mandating ownership of company stock is that the interests of senior management will more closely align with those […]

Geoffrey M. Zimmerman, CFP® This article was first published at myStockOptions.com. It is kindly reprinted here with permission. Executives, as corporate insiders, face both planning concerns and potential landmines in their equity compensation. Your actions are highly visible, and you must perform a delicate balancing act to meet the needs, demands, and perceptions of the […]

Now that StockOpter.com provides 10b5-1 trading plan tracking, this recent NASPP blog post caught my eye. StockOpter’s functionality tracks individual 10b5-1 plans for company insiders. This article explains four best practices issuer companies should consider to make their 10b5-1 programs more effective. by Jenifer Namazi Rule 10b5-1 trading plans are one of the tools that […]

The NASPP (National Association of Stock Plan Professionals) has published the results of a quick survey they conducted of how companies are responding to COVID-19 when it comes to their equity award programs. Here are the key findings detailed in the full report: Top Concerns: Restoring lost value to equity awards and adjusting performance targets […]