Strategic Planning for the Exercise and Sale of Stock Options
Darrow Wealth Management regularly works with individuals who have incentive stock options (ISOs) or non-qualified stock options (NQSOs) to develop a plan to exercise and diversify shares. If your employer is going public or getting bought out, it’s important to work with a financial advisor experienced with strategic stock option planning and the tax implications.
Financial Advisor for Stock Options
Especially for early employees, stock options can create a major liquidity event that transforms your financial life. To maximize the opportunity, it’s critical to get the right team of advisors in place before making irreversible decisions with your stock options.
Our team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals can work to help you:
- Discuss your goals to identify how to best utilize stock options in your financial plan or retirement plan
- Develop an exercise strategy considering possible tax implications like triggering the alternative minimum tax (AMT) alongside the risk of holding a concentrated stock position
- Analyze different holding periods when developing a liquidation strategy, factoring in risk, cash needs, and taxes
- Coordinate the approach with your CPA and tax advisor
- Decide on a strategy to best use the proceeds, including funding multiple goals and investment management services to help you diversify after sale
- Understand how vested and unvested stock options may be treated if you leave the company or retire
- Explore cashless exercises of stock options
- Implement a multi-year diversification strategy through an ongoing wealth management advisory relationship
