For Senior Executives and Other Highly Compensated Employees
For Senior Executives and Other Highly Compensated Employees
Compensation Package Review: There are only so many senior executives, key technical specialists, and rainmakers to go around. So, congratulations – you have some bargaining power. Unfortunately, today’s compensation packages can be complex, and their performance under different future scenarios can be difficult to predict. That’s where we can help. Let us apply our financial experience to discovering and explaining just how good your compensation package, or another you’ve been offered, really is. Your career is your business, and you are your product.
Stock Option Advising: Compensation packages often include stock options, as the employer’s way to motivate a key employee to go the extra mile to contribute to the company’s success, but without risk for the employer if hoped-for growth does not occur. The question of when to exercise (cash in) your stock options, and in what way, is crucial to your maximizing their realized after-tax value to you. We know how to do this analysis and would be glad to help you with it.
Retirement Planning: High income or low, the retirement question is always the same: When will I be able to retire, and at what lifestyle level? The answer can depend on a complexity of factors that vary from one person to the next. No one size fits all. Bringing order and clarity to this confusion is our specialty. We’ll help you put a realistic plan in place, and then follow through to make it happen.
401(k) and Pension Account Rebalancing: Many employees participating in qualified retirement plans start out with sensible asset allocations and good diversification, but then don’t bother to re balance their accounts periodically as market action pushes their allocations out of the original balance. This can reduce performance over time to a very significant degree. We stay on top of all our clients’ accounts to help prevent this from happening.
Portfolio Management: We believe in Modern Portfolio Theory (asset allocation, diversification, periodic re balancing, and “staying the course” through normal volatility). On the other hand, in the last 10 years or so we’ve seen two large declines in the stock market, and another in real estate, that seem way outside the norm based on the previous 50 years. These “outlier” events are statistically unlikely, but they can and do happen, due to macroeconomic cycles, political interference, and investor psychology. They are the vulnerability of Modern Portfolio Theory. So, for those clients who are willing, we pursue a “core and satellite” strategy that reserves a portion of their portfolios for more flexible re-allocations based on the following two common sense rules: (1) Don’t get carried away with the crowd when an obvious bubble is forming. Ride it as it builds for awhile, but then err on the side of getting out of harm’s way too early rather than too late, if you can. (2) Don’t be afraid to jump back in after the bubble has had a significant collapse, as there is usually a rebound you can ride back to your advantage, especially in issues traditionally undervalued after the market takes a really big hit. We don’t claim to have a crystal ball or a magic wand, but we’ve been quite happy with our results using this approach.
For a complimentary initial consultation regarding any aspect of your financial affairs or concerns, please call us at 818-995-3500.