What Are the Key Differences Between Restricted Stock and Employee Stock Options?

Restricted stock units and employee stock options are commonly-awarded types of equity compensation that you may receive as part of your overall pay from your employer. While both restricted stock units and stock options are forms of equity, they each have particular features and are treated very differently from a tax perspective. Restricted stock units or awards (RSUs) typically...

A new year can be an opportune time to review your equity compensation package. Not only does this give you a clean slate to work with, but it also affords you the most time to plan and implement your strategy for the fresh calendar year ahead. When it comes to annual planning for your equity...

You might not give much thought to the equity compensation you receive throughout the year (until you’re forced to take action with it). But even if you do have a long-term plan in mind, it’s smart to pause periodically and review the overall strategy. The end of the year is a prime opportunity for this...

Incentive stock options (ISOs) are a form of compensation distributed by a company to their employees. Typically, companies use incentive stock options as a vehicle to retain top employees, reward specific milestones or successes or as an incentive when hiring new employees. ISOs can be a lucrative long-term compensation benefit, particularly if you work for...

If you have employee stock options, you’ve likely spent time considering how and when to turn the value of those options into cash proceeds you can actually use. To turn stock employee stock options into cash, you have to exercise and sell them.  When you exercise, you are buying shares of company stock at the...

A stock swap can be a great strategy to use if you have employee stock options you’d like to exercise and hold. It allows you to use the fair market value (FMV) of company stock you already own to pay for the exercise cost of newly acquired employee stock option shares. Shares you own that...

If you are on the receiving end of employee stock options, you might want to understand the concept of leverage, as it may have a meaningful impact on the future value of your stock. As it relates to employee stock options, leverage is illustrated by the percentage change you see in the total value of...

If you done any research on equity compensation and employee stock options, you’ve likely come across terms and phrases like “concentration risk” and “too many eggs in one basket.” You may have also read up on stories that detail how a declining stock price wiped out someone’s net worth before they could exercise, sell, and...

If you have employee stock options, you’ve probably spent time considering the absolute best time to exercise those options — and from there, whether you should sell or hold your shares. Answering the question of “when” — when to exercise, and when to sell — is wrapped in complexity. With so many liquidation strategies at...

Some companies offer employee stock grants as part of a compensation package to help attract, retain, and reward key employees. Both the business and the employee share the hope that the stock price of the company will increase over time, which in turn can increase the success of the business and increase the wealth of...