Executive compensation planning
Your compensation got more complex.
Your plan can stay clear.
RSUs vesting on a schedule you didn't pick. Options with expiration dates. A deferred compensation plan with one-time election windows. A growing share of your net worth in one company's stock. This kind of compensation is opportunity and complication in the same package, and most of the decisions carry a tax consequence and a deadline. We help you see the whole position clearly and make each move deliberately, not by default.
Start a conversationWhen people come to us
More than one decision. A clear way through each.
There's more to your compensation than salary. Here's where Charlotte-area professionals seek guidance:
New role, new package
What you've actually been offered
A new role or promotion arrives as a package: base salary, bonus, equity, and deferred compensation. Each come with its own rules and timing. We translate what you've really been given, what it could be worth under different scenarios, and how it reshapes your financial plan.
Vesting years
Vesting brings choices
As equity vests, awards become decisions: sell, hold, diversify, and how each interacts with your tax picture and financial goals. We plan for vesting before it happens, then treat each event as its own decision, shaped by where you are and what you need.
Concentration
Too much in one place
Years of vesting can leave a meaningful slice of your net worth in one employer's stock. Your paycheck and your savings ride on the same company. We help you plan a deliberate way to diversify, coordinated with your tax picture.
What we analyze
Every piece, and how it fits the plan.
RSUs & restricted stock
Vesting schedules, what's taxed when shares vest, and a sell-or-hold decision planned ahead of each vest and made with your whole picture in view.
Stock options
ISOs and NSOs, when to exercise, expiration risk, and the tax consequences of each path, modeled in coordination with your tax professional.
Deferred compensation
Election windows, distribution timing, and how a nonqualified plan fits with your other retirement assets, including the trade-offs and risks worth weighing before you commit.
Concentrated stock
How much single-stock exposure your plan can carry, and a deliberate way to reduce it over time, planned around your tax picture and any restrictions on when you can trade.
ESPP & benefits
ESPP participation, the 401(k) and its match, HSA, and insurance, coordinated so the whole benefit picture works as one plan.
Cash flow & the bigger plan
Equity compensation doesn't arrive like a paycheck. We map it against your goals, your taxes, and your cash needs, so every payout has a purpose in your plan.
How it works
What the engagement looks like.
1
Initial conversation
A no-cost conversation about your compensation, your timeline, and the decisions in front of you. We'll also walk through how the engagement and fees work, so you can decide if we're a fit. No commitment, no pressure.
2
The full picture
We read the plan documents and grant agreements, then map your vesting schedule, elections, and deadlines alongside everything else you own.
3
Analysis and scenarios
We model the decisions: sell-at-vest versus hold, exercise timing, and how to unwind a concentrated position and put the proceeds to work in the rest of your investment plan, so you can compare potential outcomes instead of guessing.
4
The walk-through
We go through the analysis and decisions together, in plain language, so you can understand every recommendation and how that fits within your overall plan and investment approach.
5
An ongoing, managed relationship
From here, your equity compensation becomes one part of a plan we manage with you. As shares vest or positions are sold, we redeploy into a portfolio built around your goals, and coordinate each equity decision as it comes, new grants, vesting dates, election windows, against the rest of your picture. When a decision comes up, you're not facing it alone.
What you'll have in place
A plan you can see clearly.
✓
A map of everything you've been granted, with every date that matters
✓
A sell-or-hold plan for vesting, decided ahead of time and revisited at each vest
✓
Scenarios for option exercises and deferred comp decisions
✓
A deliberate approach to concentrated stock, on your timeline
✓
One managed plan that connects your compensation, your investments, and the life behind it
Common questions
What clients usually want to know.
How are RSUs taxed, and should I sell or hold?
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RSUs are taxed as ordinary income when they vest, based on the share value that day. Many employers withhold at a flat supplemental rate, which often doesn't cover what a higher earner actually owes, so a vest can bring a tax bill you didn't expect. Whether to sell or hold the shares after that is a separate decision, one that depends on your concentration, your goals, and your tax picture. We model both with you and coordinate with your tax professional, so the vest is planned for rather than a surprise.
When should I exercise my stock options?
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It depends on factors specific to you: how long until they expire, the difference between your strike price and the current value, the tax treatment of your option type, and how the cost of exercising fits your broader plan. There's no single right time, and the wrong time can be costly in taxes or lost value. We model the trade-offs with you and coordinate with your tax professional before you act.
How much company stock is too much?
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There's no single threshold, but concentration risk compounds quietly: your salary, your bonus, your equity, and sometimes your sense of identity all ride on one company. We look at what share of your net worth and future income sits in one place, model what different levels of concentration would mean for your plan, and build a deliberate path you control.
What should I look at in a new offer's equity package?
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The headline grant number means little by itself. What matters: the vesting schedule, what happens to unvested shares if you leave or the company is acquired, whether the shares are liquid, and how the package compares to the cash you may be trading for it. We read offers with clients and translate them into comparable terms.
What happens to my equity if I leave or retire?
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It depends on your plan documents: unvested RSUs are usually forfeited, vested options often have a limited window to exercise after you leave, and deferred comp distributions follow the elections you made earlier. Before any transition, voluntary or not, we map exactly what you keep, what you lose, and what has a deadline.
What does it cost?
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The initial conversation is at no cost. Fairview Wealth is a fee-based financial advisory and wealth management firm, and we act in a fiduciary capacity in our advisory relationships, meaning we're obligated to put your interests first. We'll explain exactly how the engagement and fees work before any work begins and before any commitment.
Get in touch
Let's start with your situation.
A new grant, a vest date coming up, or a concentration you've been meaning to deal with: tell us where you are. We'll listen, map your compensation and the decisions in front of you, and figure out together whether we're the right fit.
The initial conversation is at no cost. Fairview Wealth is a fee-based financial advisory and wealth management firm, and we act in a fiduciary capacity in our advisory relationships, meaning we're obligated to put your interests first. We'll explain exactly how the engagement and fees work before any work begins and before any commitment.