RSU & Equity Compensation Financial Advisor

Work with Malcolm Ethridge, a CFP® and IRS Enrolled Agent who specializes in RSUs, stock options, concentrated stock, and equity-comp tax planning for senior managers and executives in tech. Book a free 30-minute intro call with Capital Area Planning Group.

Built for tech employees with equity comp

For employees at Amazon, Google, Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft, or a fast-growing startup with vesting RSUs, stock options, performance shares, or a concentrated single-stock position — and for pre-IPO employees preparing for a liquidity event.

What an equity-comp advisor decides with you

Whether to sell or hold at vest given your situation, how much withholding your plan applies and whether it may fall short of your marginal rate, diversifying a concentrated position over time, 10b5-1 trading plans and blackout windows, charitable and gifting strategies for appreciated shares, and coordinating equity decisions with retirement, cash goals and taxes. Educational only; not tax, legal or investment advice, and no specific action is recommended here.

Why equity comp usually needs planning and tax together

Equity decisions are simultaneously investment decisions and tax events. A vest adds ordinary income; a sale creates gain or loss; an option exercise can create ordinary income or AMT exposure. When planning and tax work sit with separate people who never speak, the tax consequence of a planning decision is often discovered after the fact rather than before.

How to evaluate an equity-compensation advisor

Ask how many clients with your type of equity they currently serve, whether they are a fiduciary, how they are compensated, whether tax planning is performed in-house or referred out, how concentration is reduced over time, whether investment management is required to get planning, what asset or income minimums apply, and who services the relationship day to day.

What happens on the intro call

A free, no-obligation 30-minute conversation directly with Malcolm covering your equity picture, upcoming vests or exercises, withholding, concentration and the questions you arrived with. It is a conversation, not a recommendation, and there is no obligation to become a client.

Who this may not fit

If you have no equity compensation, need only a one-time tax return prepared, or are looking for stock recommendations, another professional is likely a better match. Comparing several profiles before contacting anyone is reasonable.

About Malcolm Ethridge, CFP®, EA

Managing Partner of Capital Area Planning Group in Washington, D.C. One of the few advisors who is both a Certified Financial Planner and an IRS Enrolled Agent. Regular CNBC contributor; featured in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and MarketWatch. Serves clients nationwide by video.

Read Malcolm's full Sam's List profile

Full credentials, services, fees, and client reviews are on his Sam's List profile at https://samslist.com/financial-advisor/malcolm-ethridge.

Related tools and guides

Estimate the tax attributable to a vest with the RSU tax calculator at https://samslist.com/rsu-tax-calculator, read how RSUs are taxed at https://samslist.com/how-rsus-are-taxed, and estimate single-stock concentration at https://samslist.com/nvidia-stock-concentration-calculator.

Related equity compensation resources