Equity Unpacked: The Stock Plan Administrator's Podcast

As tech continues to evolve and faster settlement dates are possible, there are things every issuer should know about how this new timeline will impact equity activity. In the wake of the SEC’s announcement to move from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement date, Amy clarifies what this means for stock plan administration.

We’re back for part two of our conversation around who should make equity plan decisions. HR, legal, tax, and accounting all have a hand in equity compensation administration, and it’s not always clear how to get the decisions and provisions needed to move forward. Amy Reback is joined by Stacy Fox, Equity Administration Lead at Confluent; Christine Zwerling, Head of Stock Administration at Asana; and Georgina Lai, Director of Global Equity Programs at Alation, to finish the discussion.

Complexity is part of a stock plan administrator’s job—they work at the intersection of HR, legal, tax, and accounting. But they don't always have a clear map of where to go to get the decisions and provisions they need to move forward. Amy sits down (in person!) with Stacy Fox, Equity Administration Lead at Confluent; Christine Zwerling, Head of Stock Administration at Asana; and Georgina Lai, Director of Global Equity Programs at Alation, to answer the question, who should make equity plan decisions?

There are new rules and regulations for 10b5-1 plans, and Amy unpacks what stock plan administrators should consider to protect participants from the negative market impacts of insider trading. She takes a hard look at the specifics that stock plan administrators and vendors need to be aware of.

We’ve covered why equity compensation should be part of your financial plan. But the strongest plans address how to protect equity. Amy outlines three common scenarios that put participants at risk of losing the wealth they’ve worked hard to gain—and of course, how to avoid them.

The responsibilities of a SPA are sometimes vaguely defined and can vary from company to company, putting a lot of opportunity in the hands of the admin to make equity meaningful for their employees and their company’s bottom line. Amy sits down with Lamont Walker, Director of Equity Programs at Lyft, to talk about what drew him to the role, where he thinks it’s headed, and how he makes sense of the nebulous world of equity management.

It all starts with equity compensation. Really. Equity is not just compensation, it’s a key player in the global economy. Amy unpacks the chain reaction between corporate metrics and equity and shares how equity compensation plays a role in the economic cycle in ways you may not have thought of before.

With strong economic winds blowing, Amy and her guest Liz Ann Sonders, our Chief Investment Strategist at Schwab, bust some myths about these economic forces, clarify what’s going on in right now with equity markets, and discuss what to watch for that could signal some stability.

When your participants need help with their equity compensation, it can be hard to know where to begin. To help bring some clarity to the nebulous world of equity compensation, Amy shares five things your participants must know—a great place to start with any participant.

Most companies don’t know what story is hidden behind their data until they start to peel it back. But before you can begin to analyze any of it, you need to know what you’re trying to achieve. In this episode, Amy is joined by Wendy Jennings, Vice President of Shareholder Services at DataRobot, talk about the stories that are revealed by equity compensation data and how to be proactive about uncovering them.