Here We Grow Again: myStockOptions.com Expertise Expands With New Articles On Diversification, IPOs, And Foreign-Asset Reporting For Employees With Equity Compensation

At myStockOptions.com, our array of award-winning articles on all aspects of equity compensation has grown. In recent weeks, we have welcomed new contributions from expert authors on three crucial topics.

Importance Of Diversification For Employees With Equity Awards And Company Stock

Through its author's personal example, a new article at myStockOptions.com presents the dangers of a concentrated stock position, discusses why diversification may be hard for employees with shares from equity compensation, and explores strategies for preserving your net worth. In Your Company Stock: The Importance Of Diversification, CFP Laura Tanner recounts her experience with stock compensation at a company where she used to work as a research scientist, and she explains the lessons she learned.

To read the article and find more insights into investment diversification for employees with stock options, restricted stock/RSUs, or ESPPs, see our section Financial Planning: Diversification.

Careful Planning For Pre-IPO Equity Comp When The Company Goes Public

Initial public offerings (IPOs) are on the rise. The high-profile IPOs of Facebook and Twitter are just two of many IPOs that have been launched over the past couple of years, including several in Silicon Valley. In the newest installment of our Stockbrokers' Secrets series, our pseudonymous financial advisor W.E.B. Bantling provides a pep talk about smart planning for pre-IPO stock options, restricted stock, or RSUs when the company goes public. At the time of the IPO, when the company finally pours long-awaited liquidity into those grants, planning considerations must be carefully weighed.

In the author's experience, clients at companies preparing for an IPO are often giddy with thoughts of the wealth and opportunities it will provide. Many of them have worked at these companies since the startup stage, and the IPO represents a long-awaited event that may be life-altering for both their company and them. However, the author always emphasizes five planning points that may help to manage employee expectations in an IPO situation. He shares some of this wisdom in the new article, Stockbrokers' Secrets: Financial Planning For Equity Compensation At IPO Companies, available in our section Pre-IPO: Going Public.

International Equity Awards And Company Stock: Tricky Rules Of IRS Reporting For Assets And Income In Foreign Financial Accounts

United States citizens and resident aliens are taxable on their worldwide income. The related IRS reporting rules are complicated, and mistakes can lead to costly penalties. In fact, the IRS has launched an aggressive initiative to identify taxpayers with unreported foreign income and/or assets in foreign financial institutions. Charges of tax evasion stemming from unreported foreign income have been brought against dozens of individual taxpayers, including bankers, lawyers, and advisors.

In a new article at myStockOptions.com, compensation and tax expert Richard Friedman presents the rules and related issues of IRS reporting for assets and income that an international US taxpayer may hold in a foreign financial account—including those acquired through stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, or other equity awards. The article, International Equity Awards And Company Stock: The Confusing World Of IRS Reporting For Overseas Assets And Income, is available in our section Financial Planning: High Net Worth.

License Our Expertise For Your Employees

For companies, education is vital for ensuring that stock compensation motivates and retains highly valued employees and executives. All of our expert yet reader-friendly articles, FAQs, and other content are available for licensing by companies that want to improve their stock plan education and communications for participants. Content licensing is just part of the suite of corporate services that we offer.