There’s a strategy
to equity compensation.
Equity comp is usually the single largest wealth-building lever — and the one most likely to be mismanaged in isolation.
By coordinating all calculations in consideration with your plan and tax liability, we apply a thoughtful and tuned strategy.
How we approach
equity compensation:
The specific levers we work across for equity-heavy clients.
RSU vesting & selling discipline
ISOs & AMT coordination
ESPP strategy & 83(b) elections
NSO exercise planning
NUA on company stock
Deferred-compensation election windows
Concentrated-stock diversification
Integration with the rest of the plan
RSU selling discipline as a rule, not a judgment call
Most equity-heavy clients are diversified on paper but concentrated in practice — vested RSUs sit in the brokerage account because selling them feels like a market call.
They aren’t, of course; they’re a paycheck the company already paid in stock. But the loss-aversion math doesn’t care.
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The pattern that works is removing the decision. A written rule says vested shares get sold on a regular cadence, with the proceeds redeployed into the rest of the portfolio.
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The rule absorbs the discomfort so the client doesn’t have to make the same hard call every quarter.
Deferred comp, sized for lifetime taxes
A senior executive had access to a deferred-compensation plan, but wasn’t using it.
The default — taking the full bonus as W-2 income — meant the dollars were taxed at the top federal and state brackets in the year earned, with no flexibility on when that bill arrived.
We mapped the picture together: W-2 income, RSU vesting cadence, the deferred-comp election windows, and the years ahead when income would step down.
Several scenarios were modeled side by side under different assumptions about retirement timing and the deferral schedule. Once the cash flows were on the page, the math came clear — deferring a meaningful slice of bonus into lower-bracket years cut the effective tax rate on those dollars substantially over a lifetime.
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The strategy that came out of the work was one we could both stand behind — mathematically consistent, and psychologically comfortable enough to actually live with.
DIVE DEEPER:
Retirement Income Design
We turn what you've saved into reliable income. Always a tax-efficient approach, without outliving it.
Schedule a conversation. We’d love to hear your story.
Meet with our team to see how we can help.
