Should You Exercise Your Stock Options Now — Or Wait?

Employee stock options can be a great perk. Even a life-changing one. But the multiple variables at play make it hard to know if and when to exercise your options.

Your stock options give you the right to exercise, but you’re never obligated to do so. Assuming you stay employed at the company, you can exercise your options at any time between when they vest and when they expire — typically, this will span up to 10 years. If you’re leaving your employer, check the fine print in your options contract to see what time frame you have to exercise; this is usually referred to as the “post-termination exercise period.” READ MORE

Stock Options & RSUs From Startup To IPO Or Acquisition

Fast-growing private companies rely heavily on equity compensation to recruit, motivate, and retain the best employees. Grants are typically stock options, restricted stock, or restricted stock units (RSUs). However, stock comp in private companies is surprisingly more complex and varied than what’s commonly used in mature public companies. The many challenges range from the inability to sell stock at exercise to fund the exercise costs to lockup restrictions on shares after the IPO. READ MORE

Don’t Let Stock Options Keep You From Leaving a Job

As millions of Americans change jobs, some in the finance and tech sectors may be sitting tight, feeling locked in by equity-based awards. Those industries often pay a hefty portion of compensation in stock options, where employees can buy company stock at a set price, or restricted stock units, where workers are awarded shares outright. To reap the benefits of either, you typically have to wait a set period of time. READ MORE