By Barbara Baksa, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) Stock ownership guidelines for executives are now de rigueur at publicly held companies, as a result of considerable pressure from investors, proxy advisory firms, and the media. But there are many nuances in how stock ownership guidelines can be implemented. For today’s blog entry, I […]
Category: Industry Articles
Equity Compensation Diversification News
Fidelity Study: Financial Planning Helps Employees Get More Value Out of Their Stock Awards
According to newly released research from Fidelity Investments, the top four reasons employers should want their employees to include their company stock in their overall financial planning are: 1) They are twice as likely to take proactive steps to manage their stock awards, such as accepting awards, exercising options or selling shares; 2) they are twice […]
Elevator Pitch for Engaging Corporate Executives
Financial advisors who work with or are targeting corporate executives need to be able to explain how they can provide value in a quick and succinct manner. Here are some ideas that will help you to be more effective at engaging executives. Corporate executives have one key financial issue that other types of clients don’t have: equity compensation grants (i.e. employee stock […]
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPPs) Trends
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. […]
Gaining Referrals in the Age of COVID
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 […]
Employees Seek More Guidance on Equity Awards During Crisis
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 Compensation and Charitable Giving
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 […]
Executive Share Ownership Guidelines and Stock Retention Requirements 2020
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 […]
10b5-1 Plan Best Practices for any Market Climate
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 […]
COVID-19 and Equity Awards
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 […]