Advice On How To Hedge Movements In Your Company’s Stock

Being based in the Seattle area means we get an above-average number of inquiries from people who work in the technology sector for companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook/Meta Platforms, Zillow, Redfin, Expedia, and many others. With stock-based compensation becoming an ever-larger percentage of total pay in this line of work, many workers are both thrilled when they receive stock options, restricted stock units, etc, but also realize that if they don’t vest immediately, financial market fluctuations can dramatically impact the cash value of this compensation over time.

It is fairly surprising for those of us in the professional investment advisory industry to learn how relatively few tech workers hedge the value of large stock awards to lock in guaranteed cash value. After all, making longer term financial plans for you and your family can be complicated if you are not completely sure whether the stock compensation you have been given will be worth more or less once it vests and is eligible to be sold. Rising stock market values are great, but during periods of decline your financial plans could be upended due to factors beyond your control.

Please contact us if you would like to learn more about how you can hedge the value of your company’s stock based compensation to ensure you maximize the value of your entire comp package regardless of underlying economic and market conditions.