Executive Equity Compensation

Executive equity compensation isn't a single product — it's a stack: restricted stock units, employee stock purchase plans, nonqualified deferred compensation, stock options, performance shares, and 401(k) all operating on different calendars, with different tax treatments, different vesting cliffs, and different optimization windows.

When each component is managed in isolation, executives leave five-figure tax decisions on the table every year. Lake House coordinates the entire stack as one integrated system:

Restricted stock units (RSUs and PSUs): — Vest-and-sell vs. vest-and-hold decision framework — Estimated tax safe-harbor optimization — Multi-year vesting calendar coordination — Concentration management across overlapping grants

Employee stock purchase plans (ESPP): — Lookback discount maximization — Disqualifying vs. qualifying disposition strategy — Maximum contribution coordination with cash flow

Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC): — Annual election analysis (the October decision) — Distribution timing across pre-retirement years — Bankruptcy-risk assessment of plan custody — Coordination with 409A regulations

Stock options (ISOs and NQSOs): — Exercise sequencing across tax years — AMT pre-payment and recovery modeling — Section 83(b) election analysis for early-stage equity — 10b5-1 trading plan setup for insiders

Where this work usually goes wrong: Most executives' equity compensation gets handled by their HR portal, their CPA at tax time, and their advisor in occasional conversations — three separate professionals, no one coordinating across them. Lake House runs the coordination so each decision is made with the full picture, not in isolation.