The Equity Compensation Guidebook

There are many things to consider when it comes to retiring with non qualified stock options… your spending number, your net worth, the status of your stock options, how much is in tax-deferred accounts, current tax rates, other income sources like social security, etc. If you work through all those things, you can work out a plan to sell off company stock, reduce your concentration risk, and by doing so, not pay too much in taxes. This episode highlights some of the issues to consider, and I’m happy for you to reach out to me to think it through from an experienced perspective.

• Why I’m breaking down this complicated issue into more than one episode [0:32]
• DISCLAIMER: This is NOT an options episode, the focus is Equity Compensation [1:56]
• First: figure out what you spend, then you can project retirement numbers [2:30]
• Get the numbers needed to calculate your entire net worth [4:32]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [11:23] 

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Today we are getting back to business and in this episode, we are back to one of several episodes that I have been doing that focus on retiring with equity compensation. There's too much to cover in one episode, especially since mine is pretty short. Blame the GenX lack of attention span I guess. In reality, I just wanted to break these up so you can pick and choose which to listen to since it’s unlikely that all will apply to each of you.

We'll talk about employee stock purchase plans today, but I'll just call it ESPP. I know there are others but we will stick with non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, and employee stock purchase plans for these episodes. Most of you will have some combination of these types of equity compensation. DISCLAIMER: These may sound slightly repetitive if you’ve listened to them back to back as there is some overlap between each type of equity compensation.

• The things to do first [1:59]
• What form does your ESPP take? [6:24]
• Nonqualified ESPPs [6:44]
• Qualified ESPPs [7:20]
• Disqualifying dispositions [11:47]
• Pulling it all together [14:41]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [16:09] 

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Today's episode is another break from equity compensation and as an added bonus, it will also be a short episode. I'm going to spend a couple of minutes talking about a few popular investment strategies that I recently read about in an article. 

I get asked on a regular basis what the best investment strategy is and the short answer is...one you will stick to. While that sounds trite, it is true. I've had clients over the years who constantly shifted their investment strategies based on a variety of reasons like news coverage, gut feelings, and conversations with family or friends were the most popular. It’s hard to make progress toward any goal when things keep shifting. So pick a strategy and stick with it.

• What is the “Dog” strategy? [1:35]
• What is the “Best” strategy? [1:51]
• What is the “Balanced” strategy? [2:15]
• Dog strategy findings [3:15]
• Best strategy findings [4:08]
• Balanced strategy findings [2:15]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [6:01] 

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Today we are taking a break from equity compensation. If you listen to the Equity Compensation Guidebook podcast regularly, you may be happy about getting off-topic!. In this episode, I'll spend a few minutes talking about Social Security. You may be thinking that Social Security is a complex topic so how in the world can I only spend a few minutes talking about it? Well, I just want to focus on the annual report from the Social Security trustees and what I see every year as a result of that report. For my own disclaimer, and even though I have lots of gray hair, I am decades away from Social Security. 

• Scary headlines from this year’s Social Security annual report [1:18]
• Taking Social Security early hurts beneficiaries [2:50]
• Will Congress and the President allow Social Security to go insolvent? [5:47]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [7:23] 

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Today's episode is the second of several episodes that I will be doing that focus on retiring with equity compensation. There's too much to cover in one episode, especially since mine are pretty short. Blame the GenX lack of attention span I guess. Really I just wanted to break these up so you can pick and choose which to listen to since it’s unlikely that all will apply to each of you.

We'll talk about restricted stock awards today, but I'll just call it restricted stock. I know there are others but we will stick with non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, and employee stock purchase plans for these episodes. Most of you will have some combination of these types of equity compensation. DISCLAIMER: If you listened to the last episode on retiring with restricted stock units, better known as RSUs, a lot of this will sound very familiar. Honestly, most parts are the same, except when it comes to taxation, dividends, and voting rights.

• Do you know your spending number? [2:37]
• Do you know your net worth [4:46]
• Let’s talk about restricted stock awards! [5:56]
• Concentration risk and taxes [6:42]
• What sets restricted stock apart [9:16]
• Tracking various cost basis [11:09]
• 83b election option [13:13]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [16:24] 

• https://forwardthinkingwm.com 
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Today's episode is one of several that I will be doing that focuses on retirement with equity compensation. In my opinion, there is too much to cover in one episode, especially considering my episodes are short. You know, GenX, lack of attention span and all that. Honestly, it's just that I want to break these out because some topics may apply to just a few people and some will apply to more of you. I know there are others but we will stick with non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, and employee stock purchase plans for these episodes. Most of you will have some combination of these types of equity compensation. One last thing, these may become a bit repetitive if you listen to each and every one. There are key items that I'll mention in every episode because I expect listeners will pick and choose which episodes to listen to and I want to be sure to cover the critical terms in each episode so they don't get missed. 

• Projecting rough retirement numbers [1:57]
• Gather number for your entire net worth [3:58]
• After your prep work is done [5:07]
• Identifying and tracking various cost basis [9:51]
• Projecting big planned future expenses [11:12]
• Pulling it all together [12:04]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [13:40] 

• https://forwardthinkingwm.com 
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In today's episode, I'm going to spend a little time comparing restricted stock and restricted stock units. I know I've talked about them separately. However, I thought it was important to spend a few minutes discussing them in one episode. This isn't really a compare and contrast like we had to do a million years ago in grade school and high school. However, I want to be sure to hit the highlights for both. Both good and bad items. 

Before we start just a little bit of housekeeping as always. When I say restricted stock, I'm referring to restricted stock awards, or sometimes they're referred to as restricted stock grants, just to keep things simple, I'm going to call them restricted stock. Also, restricted stock units don't have any other names they're known by except for their abbreviation of RSUs. I'll most likely refer to restricted stock units as RSUs. Let's now get to it. 

• A little housekeeping before we start [0:53]
• What are restricted stock and restricted stock units? [1:27]
• Vesting requirements [2:27]
• Taxes make all the difference [3:14]
• Restricted stock is a slightly different animal [6:55]
• Unique aspects of restricted stock [10:23]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [13:44] 

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This episode, I decided to take a break from our normal Equity Compensation topics to cover something that’s happened in the U.S. that we all need to at least be aware of. What is it? The proposed tax changes we’ve all expected are finally unveiled and there are some stunners in the mix. The reasons behind these dramatic changes will become more clear in the weeks to come In this episode, I go through the basics on a high level and venture a few opinions as well. In the end, if you feel these changes are relevant to you, seek advice from your CPA or Tax Attorney.

• Highlights of the potential dramatic changes coming because of The American Families plan [0:23]
• Single and Married, filing jointly, with incomes below $400,000/$450,000 [1:50]
• Things NOT in this version of the bill that were expected [8:45]
• Flashback: When I first learned about interest rates [11:17]

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When you’re offered an Equity Compensation package, how do you decide which options are better for your situation? It’s not easy to wade through the differences, so I recorded this episode to help you understand them. In this episode you’ll learn the positives and negatives of both stock options and restricted stock. You might also learn how you can select both options — if your employer allows you to choose both. Listen to get the details.

• The current trends in Equity Compensation [1:26]
• Why the current changes are not all that bad [4:46]
• The positives and negatives, broken down [5:08]
• So which is better? [11:17]
• FLASHBACK: My time in the “speech trailer” [12:40]

• https://forwardthinkingwm.com 
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Today's episode of the Equity Compensation Guidebook is about what happens to your equity compensation if your company is bought out, merges, is acquired, or whatever it may be. I have had a few people ask about the topic specifically, so this one's for you! I will also touch briefly on what happens to if the company goes completely under, but that's a short depressing explanation so we won't start there. As always it’s short and to the point so have a listen!

• What happens with non-qualified stock options? [1:08]
• What happens with restricted stock units? [5:04]
• What happens if your company goes under? [9:54]
• This week’s FLASHBACK [11:13] 

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