Chris Murphy
NEW! A down market provides ideal circumstances for negotiating a larger stake of equity compensation as part of your pay package. With companies looking to conserve cash and find effective ways to recruit, retain, and motivate executives and key employees, your interest in this type of compensation may be well received. This article explores the possibilities you may want to consider if this opportunity arises.
Alisa J. Baker
You may find a gap between what you expect from your equity compensation and what you receive. Often the problem stems from the complexity of the related documents and rules. Learn about them, and understand why you must focus on conflicting or inconsistent provisions.
Alisa J. Baker
NEW! Part 1 looked at the problems of conflicting or inconsistent provisions among different documents. Part 2 discusses which existing documents and rules nonfounder executives must consider when negotiating for equity compensation during the early (pre-public) stages of a company's development and growth.
Richard Friedman
UPDATED! Get a sense of what you should, and should not, expect in the terms of your stock option grant. This survey of 300 companies in 2007 looks at trends in vesting schedules, post-termination exercise rules, and other plan features (includes some details on restricted stock grants).
Edwin L. Miller, Jr.
Understand what could happen to your stock options or restricted stock in venture capital financings, in an acquisition, or in an IPO. Part 1 looks at M&A deals; Part 2 analyzes IPOs.
Kate Victory
UPDATED! How typical are your grants of stock options or restricted stock? Compare their terms and provisions with the results of the NASPP's
Domestic Stock Plan Design & Administration Survey.
Kate Victory
UPDATED! It's hard to find comparative data on grants of stock options and restricted stock. The NASPP's
Domestic Stock Plan Design & Administration Survey includes data on grant guidelines, expiration provisions, job termination exercise rules, and M&A.
Bruce Brumberg
The days of exercising your stock options, pocketing the gains, and walking to a direct competitor may soon be over. Your company may put noncompete forfeiture provisions in your stock grants.
Marie Leone
CFO
Understand the range of issues in structuring your employment contract, including provisions on stock options and restricted stock.
Matt Ericson and Alan McLean
The New York Times
This interactive article presents the compensation and wealth accumulation of the highest-paid CEOs. The figures, including the value of stock and options awards, are calculated from companies' proxy statements.
Lisa Yoon
CFO.com
As stock option expensing causes public companies to reduce stock grants, it similarly affects stock grants at private companies. The pay packages at private companies can now more evenly match those at public companies, and private companies can offer more generous option grants.
Ian Mount
Business 2.0
Learn basic ways to calculate whether trading salary for equity makes sense.
KC Swanson
TheStreet.com
Stock options are a nice incentive but probably not the road to riches.
Ivan Godard
InformIT
As this blunt article points out, it is wise to be aware of the cynical realities that may lurk behind a grant of stock options at a technology startup.
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The likelihood depends mainly on your position, its salary grade, and/or...
Changes in executive and equity pay practices during the current downturn may eventually be far more wrenching than those caused by the 2000–2002 market drop. The focus in stock compensation has shifted from adjusting grant practices for mandatory expensing to questions about...
In most instances, stock grants are subject to the same types of practical limitations as negotiations for your cash compensation. For example, an employer may...
Not usually. An exception would occur if your...
If your skills are in great demand, employers may...
If a company makes a grant with a specific vesting schedule and the schedule is later shortened from its original terms, the accountants will usually...
A clawback is triggered when you leave to work for a direct competitor or engage in...
For various reasons, clawbacks are becoming more common. According to surveys of proxy statements and other sources, the exact percentage of companies that use clawbacks is...
During the early stages of a company's existence (e.g., up to the first round of venture financing) you may be able to get...
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Tax errors can be costly! Don't draw unwanted attention from the IRS. Our Tax Center explains and illustrates the tax rules for sales of company stock, W-2s, withholding, estimated taxes, AMT, and more.
