Stock Option Financial Advisor for Equity Compensation & Pre-IPO Planning
Stock Option and RSU Financial Advisor for Employees, Executives, and Founders
If your company has announced an IPO, acquisition, SPAC, or tender offer, some of the most important financial decisions of your life are happening right now — most of them are time-sensitive and many are irreversible. This is exactly what we do.
From pre-liquidity event financial planning to wealth management for your life after, we’re here to help you through the entire sudden wealth lifecycle.
Darrow Wealth Management specializes in stock option advisory and planning for individuals at public and private companies who are navigating equity compensation. If you’re an employee (or former employee) at a pre-IPO company preparing for an IPO, acquisition, merger, or tender offer, it’s important to work with a financial advisor who specializes in stock options, RSUs, and executive stock compensation.
A stock option advisor understands the planning opportunities, tax considerations, and risk management decisions that often need to happen before liquidity.
Let's Talk About Your Equity.
We work with clients who receive different types of equity compensation, including:
- Incentive stock options (ISOs)
- Nonqualified stock options (NQSOs)
- Restricted stock awards (RSAs)
- Restricted stock units (RSUs)
- Founders shares
- Profits interests
- Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs)
Many clients have a mix of common shares, exercisable options, and equity subject to vesting. Through an ongoing advisory relationship, we help clients plan across the full equity compensation lifecycle from early-stage grants and exercise decisions to diversification planning after a liquidity event.
Tax Planning for ISOs, Exercises, AMT, and RSUs is also a key part of our Wealth Management services for clients with equity compensation.
Let's Talk About Your Equity.
Financial Advisor for ISOs, NSOs, RSUs, and Equity Compensation
Equity compensation can be one of the most valuable and complex parts of your financial life. Effective planning depends on understanding not just what you’ve been granted, but also how upcoming events, tax rules, and personal goals intersect.
We work with individuals navigating stock option and equity compensation decisions, including:
- Pre-IPO, post-IPO, and acquisition planning decisions
- Founders and executives with concentrated company stock exposure
- Deciding when (and how) to exercise ISOs or NQSOs
- Tech employees evaluating tender offers, secondary sales, or post-IPO sales
- What happens to equity when you leave the company
Nationally Recognized Specialist in Stock Compensation
Kristin McKenna, CFP®, President of Darrow Wealth Management, is a nationally recognized specialist in employee stock options and equity compensation planning. Our work and perspectives have been featured by a range of media outlets.
Publications above reflect media organizations that have quoted and/or published articles authored by Kristin McKenna and should not be misconstrued as a current or past endorsement of Kristin McKenna, Darrow Wealth Management, or any of its advisors. Please refer to the media page for more information and links to published works.
Specialists in Managing Stock Options or RSUs and Planning After an IPO or Liquidity Event
For founders, early employees, and executives, stock options can create a life-changing liquidity event and the most important planning opportunities often happen before you make irreversible decisions. A strong plan helps you weigh tradeoffs across taxes, concentration risk, timing, and long-term goals.
Our team of stock option financial advisors can help current and former employees — including shareholders of public or pre-IPO companies — build a strategy around five key components:
Pre-IPO and Sudden Wealth Event Planning
Comprehensive pre-IPO (SPAC or direct listing) wealth planning for stock compensation
Planning after an acquisition, sale, tender offer, or other stock-based windfall
- Long-term partner in navigating the transition to diversified wealth—from the strategic unwinding of concentrated equity to mapping the possibilities of your post-IPO life
Tax Strategy and Exercise Planning
Tax strategies for exercising ISOs and NSOs; managing RSUs; early exercises and AMT considerations
Tax-efficient sales strategies after an IPO lockup or tender offer; qualified small business stock planning
Tax-efficient wealth planning across the equity compensation lifecycle
Learn more about tax planning for stock options
Post-IPO Sales Strategy
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Customized sales and trading strategies to manage post-IPO lockup liquidity and other windfalls
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Advanced risk management to hedge concentrated single-stock holdings and diversify employer equity
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Implement a multi-year diversification strategy through our ongoing advisory relationship
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Full-time fiduciary and SEC-registered fee-only investment advisor
Equity Planning for Job Changes or Early Retirement
- Treatment of vested and unvested stock options and RSUs if you quit or retire
Navigating an acquisition or sale of a business and what it means for your equity
- Employment negotiations involving stock options and equity
Planning Beyond an IPO Windfall or Liquidity Event
Ongoing advisory support and asset management; integrating new wealth with your lifestyle and goals
Financial planning and retirement projections, major purchase feasibility analysis
Coordinate strategy with your tax advisor and estate planning attorney
Advising Employees & Founders Expecting a Stock Option Payout
Ongoing Wealth Management (As Part of the Advisory Relationship)
Darrow Wealth Management is a fee-only financial advisory firm and full-time fiduciary. All of our clients need ongoing support, and the Darrow Private Wealth Management Program provides investment management and comprehensive financial planning designed to help you implement a long-term strategy after a liquidity event.
- Fiduciary Advisor
- Fee-Only Wealth Manager
- CFP® professionals
- Independent
Work With a Financial Advisor Who Specializes in Stock Options and Equity Compensation
Frequently Asked Questions About Stock Option Wealth Advisory
Should I work with a financial advisor who specializes in equity compensation?
Most financial advisors don’t specialize in executive stock compensation, so it’s important to find an advisor with deep experience if you’re planning for a major liquidity event such as an IPO, acquisition, or tender offer. For example, we’ve flagged shares as eligible for tax-free QSBS sales that others missed, preventing major tax-saving opportunities from slipping through the cracks.
Darrow Wealth Management specializes in helping executives and employees (typically tech employees) manage stock options, RSUs, and other forms of stock compensation. We often refer to ourselves as stock option advisors, though this service is part of our wealth management program.
Who do your equity compensation clients tend to be?
Many clients fit into the following categories, either now or when they received their stock:
- Software engineer/developer
- Tech employee
- Product manager
- Biotech or tech founder
- C-Suite
And generally, an event prompted them to seek a fiduciary financial advisor:
- Pre-IPO or post-IPO planning (or SPAC/direct listing)
- Tender offer
- Company acquisition or merger
- Leaving the company
- Expiring lockup period
- Major change in equity value sparking a need for a formal strategy and professional support
Do I need a professional to help me manage my stock options and diversify?
During an IPO or major sudden wealth event, it’s crucial to take control where you can to help ensure the best outcome. This typically involves a long-term partnership with a financial and tax advisor to manage your equity strategy, optimize for taxes, diversify proceeds with the tools and strategies available to institutional asset managers, and map post-liquidity possibilities through planning and projections.
Support from a wealth manager can also reduce the risk of making a costly, irreversible mistake with your equity, like triggering a large AMT bill without liquidity or passing on a tender offer due to concentration bias, missing a major opportunity to diversify.
Do you offer financial planning support for employees and executives with ISOs, NSOs, and RSUs?
Yes. Many employees receive multiple types of equity compensation over time. Planning typically considers how each grant works, how vesting schedules align, and how potential tax outcomes may differ across equity types.
We advise clients who have ISOs, NSOs, performance shares, restricted stock units, restricted stock awards, common stock, founders shares, and other forms of stock-based pay.
Can you help diversify out of concentrated company stock after an IPO?
Yes. After an IPO, many individuals face concentrated stock exposure. Through our ongoing investment management relationship, we’ll discuss specialized diversification strategies and help you build a diversified portfolio to support your long-term financial goals.
Do you coordinate with my CPA or estate planning attorney?
Yes. Coordination with the entire advisory team is often essential, particularly on the tax side. Working together helps ensure decisions around equity compensation align with your broader tax and estate plans.
Are services offered on an hourly or project basis or only as part of an ongoing wealth management relationship?
Stock option advisory services are only offered to wealth management clients as part of an ongoing relationship, which includes asset management and comprehensive financial planning.
As a fee-only advisor, our fees are based on a percentage of the assets we manage. We are currently accepting new clients, with an investment minimum of $2M (upcoming liquidity events may qualify). Please see this FAQ page for more common questions about working with us.
My company is doing a stock split or reverse stock split before going public. What does it mean for my shares?
It is not uncommon for a company to do a stock split or reverse split ahead of an IPO or SPAC. A stock split reduces the stock price and increases the number of shares while a reverse stock split increases the stock price and reduces the number of shares. Neither will change the economic value of your shares, but there may be tax basis tracking implications.
Stock Option Advisory Insights
What Does an IPO Mean for Stock Options? What Happens to Employees When a Company Goes Public
Whether you work for a private company about to IPO or one that’s recently gone public, you may wonder what that means for employees and their stock options. An IPO provides liquidity for the company and serves as an exit strategy for founders and investors, while also creating a way
ISO Taxes: How AMT and AMT Credits Work + Avoiding AMT on ISO Exercises
If you have incentive stock options, you’ve probably heard of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Essentially, the alternative minimum tax is a prepayment of taxes. In years when not subject to the AMT, you can receive an AMT credit, which reduces your tax bill to reflect prepaid tax. The alternative
Should You Exercise Stock Options Before An IPO?
Is exercising stock options right before a company goes public a good idea? With SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others set to go public in 2026, we’re getting a lot of questions employees with stock options asking if they should exercise in the months leading up to an expected IPO. In
Qualified Small Business Stock: QSBS Tax Exemption for Startup Shares
Key takeaway: If you have qualified small business stock you can exclude up to 100% of the capital gain from federal taxes. In most cases, QSBS eligibility depends on owning shares of a C corporation for five years, beginning before the company’s value exceeded $50M. There are other requirements and