Tag Archives: #Investments

Feature 2021

23. The Gender Pay Gap Around Equity Compensation with Brooke Harley

Personal Finance, ,

According to a study by Rutgers Institute, 24% of male employees hold employer stock options while only 17% of female employees do. 

Looking at it from a dollars and cents perspective, in 2018, the average value of a stock option for a male employee was $104,902 compared to $26,361 for a woman. 

These staggering numbers made it imperative to jump back into our series on stock compensation much sooner than planned. In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined by Brooke Harley, founder and CEO of Class Rebel, as they talk about the gender disparity in owning equity, and how to negotiate for more. 

Brooke discusses: 

  • The advantage individuals who attended elite colleges have when raising money for their startups
  • Why she’s always focused negotiations on how much equity she’d receive over salary compensation
  • The idea that it might be easier to negotiate with your employer for more stock rather than cash when going up for a promotion
  • Courses that Class Rebel is introducing to help women understand how to negotiate their equity package
  • Reasons that women might be overlooked or offered less when it comes to stock options
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Brooke Harley:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge:

About Our Guest:

Before launching ClassRebel, Brooke Harley founded a venture fund in 2014, raising $32 million from 50 consumer industry founders, CEOs and executives for investment in early stage brands. She has evaluated hundreds of private investments.

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Feature 2021

21. Accessing the Value of Your Concentrated Stock Position with Anthony LoBalbo

Personal Finance, , ,

There are ways that you can access the value of your concentrated stock positions and avoid the huge tax bill. 

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge sits down with Anthony LoBalbo, regional manager with Schwab Bank, as they discuss the securities backed line of credit. Malcolm and Anthony discuss how it works and how you could be taking advantage of it yourself.

Anthony discusses: 

  • Situations when having an S Block makes sense
  • The application process and how long it takes to have the line open and available 
  • How amount extended through the line is determined
  • Interesting ways that this line of credit has been used in the past
  • And more

Connect With Anthony LoBalbo:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge: 

 

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Feature 2021

20. Managing the Tax Implications of Your Employer Stock and Options with Megan Gorman

Personal Finance, ,

Taxes are something that we will never be able to fully avoid, so it is imperative that we understand how they are going to impact all aspects of our finances, and prepare to manage them to pay as little as possible. 

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined by Megan Gorman, founder and managing partner of Chequers Financial, as they discuss the tax implications of managing your employer stock and options. Megan helps educate you on the things your employer might not, so you can be prepared to make the best decisions for your situation. 

Megan discusses: 

  • Her passion for working with taxes and stock options
  • Advice for how individuals can see the bigger picture when it comes to taxes
  • How the 10b5-1 fits into tax planning with employer stock options
  • The best ways to receive equity compensation
  • And more

Connect With Megan Gorman:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge:

About Our Guest:

Megan is the founding partner of Chequers Financial Management, a fee-only planning firm that specializes in high net worth and ultra-high net worth families in San Francisco, California. Chequers focuses on establishing long term relationships with families and helps them navigate through tax, estate, liquidity and investment planning. Megan heads the firm’s family office services practice.

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Feature 2021

19. Financial Planning Rules that Everyone With Employer Stock & Options Need to Know with Bruce Brumberg

Personal Finance, ,

Oftentimes, there is a significant gap between the information that companies who offer stock based comp to their employees think they are providing versus the amount of information those employees feel that they receive. And this information gap  can make it hard to know which end is up.

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined with Bruce Brumberg, co-founder and editor in chief of MyStockOptions.com, as they discuss some of the financial planning rules of thumb when it comes to stock options. Malcolm and Bruce go deep on some of the more technical factors that plan participants should consider before making decisions regarding their equity comp.

Bruce discusses: 

  • Setting goals to manage equity comp
  • The importance of learning what happens when you leave your company and telling your family members
  • Exceptions to the standard rule of waiting as long as possible to exercise your stock options
  • The tax bracketing approach to stock options
  • And more

Connect With Bruce Brumberg:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge:

About Our Guest:

Bruce Brumberg has devoted most of his professional career to making complex legal and tax concepts understandable to people who do not enjoy reading the securities laws or the Internal Revenue Code. In myStockOptions.com, Bruce created the premier source of web-based educational content and tools on stock compensation (stock options, restricted stock, and employee stock purchase plans) for plan participants, financial advisors, and companies. The creation and management of the website combine Bruce’s in-depth understanding of stock plans with his proven ability to present and explain complex legal, financial, human-resource, and compensation topics using innovative techniques.

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Feature 2021

18. The Importance of Diversification When Managing Your Employer Stock & Options with Bill Dillhoefer

Personal Finance, ,

Your equity compensation can have an outsized impact on your overall portfolio, so it is key to set your strategy ahead of time and find tools that will help you stick to your plan to diversify.

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge sits down with Bill Dillhoefer, CEO of Net Worth Strategies Inc, as they discuss the importance of diversification when managing employer stock and options. Bill introduces his platform, StockOpter.com, and how it helps financial planning professionals make decisions on behalf of clients who are paid in equity.

Bill Dillhoefer discusses: 

  • The information gap between employers and their employees who are paid in equity, and why it exists
  • The importance of reviewing and understanding the grant document
  • Forfeiture value and why you need to understand it
  • How concentration risk impacts your employer stocks and options
  • How to set a strategy to diversify a concentrated equity position 
  • And more

Resources

Connect With Bill Dillhoefer:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge:

About Our Guest:

The president and CEO of Net Worth Strategies, Bill DIllhoefer has been with the firm since 2000 and became its CEO in January 2018. His firm provides professional equity compensation risk analysis and tax planning tools. Bill is responsible for all business and product development activities for their industry acclaimed “StockOpter” platforms. His goal is to help advisors and their clients make timely, informed, and profitable company stock and option decisions.

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Feature 2021

17. The Basics of Equity Compensation with Amy Reback

Personal Finance, ,

Navigating the world of equity compensation can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to. As a participant in an equity compensation plan, a good place to start is by getting acquainted with your plan document and its various terms and conditions.

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined by Amy Reback, head of Charles Schwab stock plan services, as they discuss the basics of equity compensation. Amy shares rules of thumb and other helpful information that every plan participant needs to know about their equity compensation.

Amy discusses: 

  • The recent trend of more companies offering stock plans to their employees
  • The employer versus the employee when it comes to stock equity
  • How the employee stock purchase plans works and how it differs from other stock plans
  • Recommendations stock participants should be following
  • And more

Connect With Amy Reback:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge  

About Our Guest:

As Vice President and General Manager of Stock Plan Services, Amy is personally committed to helping ensure client satisfaction. Charles Schwab’s goal is to help stock plan sponsors generate employee pride about being invested in their company. By providing flexible support for employee stock purchase plans and equity awards, the team at Schwab is dedicated to meeting the needs of our plans sponsor clients by offering a range of plan options. 

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Feature 2021

16. Financial Therapy vs Financial Planning with guest Dr. Preston Cherry

Personal Finance

Have you ever wondered why you make the financial decisions you make? Or what has influenced your relationship with money?

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined by Dr. Preston Cherry, president elect of the Financial Therapy Association and founder of Concurrent Financial planning , as they unpack the key differences between financial therapy and financial planning. The pair talk through ways to better understand your money mindset and how your thoughts and beliefs impact the way you interact with your money.   

In this episode, we discuss:

  • What financial therapy is and how it works  
  • The training required to help financial therapists better understand their clients 
  • How to discover your money mindset  
  • Ways financial therapists help clients move past a negative mindset 
  • How financial stress can impact your professional life  
  • And more!

Tune in to hear the benefits of understanding your money mindset.

Resources: MalcomEthridge.com | Malcolm Ethridge | Malcolm’s Blog | Malcolm on Twitter | Dr. Preston Cherry | Concurrent Financial Planning 

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Feature 2021

15. Trends in Personal Finance Brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic with Liz Weston

Personal Finance,

The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a lot of impacts on how people interact with their money. 

Will these changes stick around forever?

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined with Liz Weston, personal finance expert and senior writer for NerdWallet, as they talk about some of the major influences the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the personal finance landscape. Malcolm and Liz discuss the ways in which financial behaviors have either been changed or created, and whether they will stick around after the pandemic is over.

Liz discusses: 

  • The enhanced child tax credit, whether it will stick around and how you should plan with it
  • How people’s relationships with life insurance has been impacted by the pandemic
  • Changes in the way people are handling retirement over the last 18 months
  • Money shame and how it has influenced decision making throughout the pandemic
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Liz Weston:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge:

About Our Guest:

Liz is an award-winning personal finance columnist and author of several books about money, including the best-seller “Your Credit Score.” At NerdWallet, Liz helps provide clarity for all of life’s financial decisions. Liz’s weekly syndicated Q&A column, which appears in the Los Angeles Times and other papers, gives straight, clear answers to the money problems Americans face.

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Feature 2021

14. Investing in Alternative Assets Through Self-Directed IRAs with Patrick Hagen

Personal Finance,

What else exists that you could be investing your dollars into, other than traditional investments?

How about a franchise, real-estate or even cryptocurrency?

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge is joined by Patrick Hagen, national director of business development with Strata Trust. The duo discuss alternative investments through self-directed IRAs along with the advantages of using this investment tool and what it really means to be self-directed. 

Patrick discusses: 

  • What a self-directed IRA is and how it works
  • What you can invest in when you use a self-directed IRA
  • How a self-directed IRA is funded and how long it takes
  • The risks involved with using a self-directed IRA
  • And more

Connect With Patrick Hagen:

Connect With Malcolm Ethridge

About Our Guest:

Patrick serves as the National Director of Business Development for STRATA Trust Company, a self-directed IRA custodian that specializes in holding alternative assets for IRA investors. Clients use Strata Trust to invest their IRA funds into ‘alternative’ assets like private equity, real estate, precious metals and private debt. Patrick has been in the self-directed IRA space for over 16 years. He has been the top producer with each firm that he’s worked for.

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Feature 2021

13. Building Generational Wealth Through Proper Estate Planning with Elsa W. Smith

Personal Finance

Did you know that 70% of families lose their wealth by the second generation, and 90% lose wealth by the third? 

There are actionable steps you could be taking to avoid this from happening.

In this episode, Malcolm Ethridge sits down with Elsa W. Smith, founder of the Law Offices of Elsa W. Smith, as they discuss the role that proper estate planning plays in maintaining generational wealth. The duo discuss the importance of planning now and keeping your documents up to date.

Elsa discusses: 

  • What led her to create the Law Offices of Elsa W. Smith and how she found a passion for estate planning
  • The differences between a will and a trust, and why you might want to consider having both
  • What happens in the probate process and how you can avoid it
  • How to make sure your trust is properly funded
  • Bringing multiple generations into the estate planning conversation
  • And more

Connect With Elsa W. Smith:

 

About Our Guest:

Elsa W. Smith is the founder and principal of the Law Offices of Elsa W. Smith, LLC. Elsa focuses her practice on wills and estate planning and startup business consulting. She counsels individuals, families and business owners in the creation of wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney and advance directives. In addition, Elsa assists small and emerging businesses with contract drafting and review, corporate organization, drafting business policies, expansion and growth consultations, and business succession planning.

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