Wealth I/O Anti-slop TemplatesWealth I/O Templates Sample design · fictional firmSample · fictional firm

Most of your net worth has a ticker. Give it a plan

M+00Grant10,000 options granted. Four-year vest, one-year cliff.

Illustrative: one sample grant, not a client’s

Fee-only planning for equity compensation · San Francisco. Talbridge plans for founders, early employees and executives paid in stock. RSUs, ISOs, QSBS, 10b5-1 plans and the day it all turns liquid, modelled before you act.

Map your equity See how a plan reads →

30 minutes. Bring your grant documents. No product pitch.

  1. M+00Grant10,000 options granted. Four-year vest, one-year cliff.
  2. M+12CliffOne year in, 25% vests at once. Equity becomes a decision.
  3. M+18Tender offerA tender offer email arrives. What is it worth to you after tax?
  4. M+24Exercise windowExercising starts the AMT question and the one-year ISO holding clock.
  5. M+30IPOThe company lists. After the lock-up, trading windows and company policy decide when you can sell.
  6. M+36One year since exerciseAfter this date, both ISO holding periods are passed: more than two years from grant, more than one from exercise.
  7. M+48Fully vestedThe last monthly vest lands. The whole grant is yours to plan.
  8. Y10Option expiryUnexercised options lapse, typically ten years from grant.

Illustrative: one sample grant, not a client’s

Cap table

Three ways to be paid in equity. Three different plans.

You hold options and a company that might be worth a lot, or nothing. We model what exercising costs, when an 83(b) election applies, and what a tender offer is actually worth to you after tax.

  1. M+00GrantIncentive stock options, four-year vest.
  2. M+0183(b) windowExercised early, at grant? File within thirty days of that exercise.
  3. M+12Cliff25% vests at once.
  4. M+18Tender offerSell some now, at what after-tax price?
  5. M+24ExerciseThe AMT question and the ISO clock start.
  6. M+36One year since exerciseA sale after this date may qualify for long-term treatment.
  7. Y10Option expiryUnexercised options lapse.

Illustrative: sample lines, not a real client’s

Outcomes

What a plan does for you.

Estimate the tax before the event.

Each planned vest, exercise and sale is modelled before it happens, from the facts you share. Models are estimates, not guarantees. Withholding gaps are flagged in the month they open, not in April.

Illustrative: a sample tax year

Exercise modellingAMT and withholding checksWorking directly with your CPA

Less riding on one stock.

A written schedule for what to sell, when, and why. Decided in a calm month, so it holds in a volatile one.

Illustrative: share of liquid net worth, by quarter

Concentration schedule10b5-1 plan supportExchange funds (multi-year lock-up) and charitable vehicles (gifts are irrevocable), where they fit

Liquidity with somewhere to go.

When the IPO, tender or acquisition lands, the money already has jobs. Taxes reserved. The house, the runway to leave, the next company: each one funded on purpose.

Illustrative: sample amounts, not a tax estimate

Exit scenariosCash-flow planEstate and gifting basics

Exercise day M+24

Same shares. Same day. Two very different tax years.

You exercise 10,000 incentive stock options with a $2 strike. The fair market value that day is $22. Exercising costs $20,000 in cash. The $200,000 spread is the number to watch.

Path A

Exercise and hold.

$0 ordinary income now·$200,000 AMT adjustment

Regular income tax at exercise
None.
The $200,000 spread
Counts toward the alternative minimum tax, which may create a bill in that year.
Holding deadlines
More than two years from grant, more than one from exercise.
A later sale, past both
The gain may be taxed as long-term capital gain.
The risk
If the stock falls after exercise, the AMT bill for that year may still be due.
Path B

Exercise and sell the same year.

$200,000 ordinary income·no ISO AMT adjustment

AMT question on those shares
None.
The $200,000 spread
Taxed as ordinary income.
Why
The sale breaks the holding period.

Illustrative. Not a recommendation. Not a projection.

Which path is better depends on your income, the year's AMT exemption, the stock's prospects and how much risk you can carry. That is the conversation.

Illustrative figures chosen for arithmetic clarity. Ignores state tax, any AMT credit carryforward, and price changes after exercise. Tax rules change; this is not tax advice. Talk to your tax professional before acting.

Method

From grant documents to a calendar.

  1. Map.

    We read every grant agreement, plan document and stock-plan statement, and build one timeline of what vests, expires and becomes sellable.

  2. Model.

    Each decision on that timeline gets a tax and cash model: exercise, hold, sell, give.

  3. Decide.

    We walk you through the trade-offs. You choose. We write it down.

  4. Run.

    We put the plan on a calendar, watch the windows and deadlines, and re-model when the price, the company or your life changes.

JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Vests
RSU vest
RSU vest
RSU vest
RSU vest
Windows
Window open
Window open
Window open
Window open
Federal tax
Est. tax due
Est. tax due
Est. tax due
Withholding check
Est. tax due
Reviews
Re-model
Re-model
Year-end plan

Illustrative: one sample year of a plan. Tax dates shown are federal.

Fees

Fee-only. Here is what that means here.

We are paid by clients only. No commissions, no product revenue, no referral fees from anyone we recommend.

Sample wording: advisory fees are paid by clients under the fee schedule in our Form ADV Part 2A, which also describes any other compensation and conflicts.

  1. Y1

    Equity plan, first year

    $12,000Sample. Flat fee, quoted up front.
  2. Y2 onward

    Ongoing planning

    $9,000Sample. Flat annual fee.
  3. If you want it

    Investment management

    0.75%Sample. A percentage of the assets we manage: on the first $5 million, lower above. Charged in addition to the planning fee.

Illustrative sample. A real firm’s fees are set out in its Form ADV Part 2A.

What we don’t bill onUnvested equity, or company stock you keep at your stock-plan administrator.

Fees are negotiable in some cases and may differ by client. Other costs, such as fund expenses and custodian charges, may apply.

First call

Questions people ask on the first call.

  1. Why not just my CPA?

    A CPA prepares your return and may advise on tax. We build the plan around your equity, then work with your CPA so what you file matches the plan.

  2. Do I have to move my money to you?

    No. Planning stands on its own. Investment management is optional.

  3. Do you tell me to sell my company stock?

    We help you decide how much concentration you can live with, then build a schedule for it. The decision stays yours.

  4. Are you a fiduciary?

    Sample disclosure for a fictional firm. A real firm states here:

    “As a registered investment adviser, we owe clients a fiduciary duty when giving investment advice. Details are in our Form ADV.”

Your planner

Ines Merrow

Founder and lead planner

Sample principal: a fictional person, shown without a photo

Ines reads your grant documents herself before the first call, and she is the person you talk to from then on.

When a decision involves your CPA or attorney, she joins that conversation directly, so you are not the messenger.

Next decision

Bring your grant documents. Leave with your timeline.

A 30-minute call. We look at what you hold and what's coming up, and tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.

Map your equity

No cost for the first call. No obligation.