Financial Advisors for Tech Employees With RSUs

Financial Advisors for Tech Employees With Vested RSUs

If you work at a tech company with RSUs vesting regularly, you're sitting on one of the most tax-intensive forms of compensation in existence. Every vest creates an ordinary income tax event. Every sale creates a capital gains event. Every year without active management, you're almost certainly overpaying taxes or failing to manage concentrated equity risk.

Most advisors understand RSU basics. Few actually build the ongoing tax and equity management strategy that turns RSU compensation into real long-term wealth. That's the difference between good enough and actually good.

The RSU Tax Problem You Probably Don't Know You Have

RSUs are taxed as ordinary income at vest - not capital gains. That's the first thing. The second thing: default federal withholding is almost never enough.

Here's the scenario that hits most people. You have an RSU grant of 100 units vesting at $50 per share. At vest, you owe tax on $5,000 of ordinary income. Your employer withholds at the default supplemental wage rate of 22% = $1,100. You're now up $5,000 in equity (deposited to your brokerage account). But your actual tax liability is much higher.

If you're in the 32% federal bracket (married filing jointly with $200K+ income) plus California's 9.3% state tax, your total tax rate is 41.3%. Your actual tax owed: $2,065. Your withholding: $1,100. You just created a $965 tax liability that will show up on your April 15th return.

Scale that across 4 years of RSU vesting with multiple grant refreshes, and you're looking at a $10K-15K April surprise. Most people don't budget for this.

The fix: increase withholding on your regular paycheck to compensate, or sell a portion of RSUs at vest specifically to cover the full tax liability. Plan it in advance, don't discover it at tax time.

The Sell-at-Vest vs. Hold Decision (With Real Numbers)

The most common RSU question: should you sell immediately at vest or hold for appreciation?

Let's say you have 100 RSUs vesting at $50. At vest, you own $5,000 of stock. Your basis (for capital gains purposes) is $50/share. The tax clock starts here.

The case for selling immediately: RSUs are already taxed as ordinary income at vest. Selling creates no additional tax event (you'd pay capital gains on appreciation, but you'd do that regardless). Selling immediately locks in your after-tax return and eliminates concentrated equity risk. You're already economically dependent on the company for your salary - no reason to add more company stock to that risk.

The case for holding: If you believe the stock will appreciate and want to capture that upside at capital gains rates, holding makes sense. But this is a concentrated bet. You're betting your job security AND your wealth growth on the same company.

The right answer for most people: Sell the majority at vest and hold a small amount for upside exposure. Maybe sell 80%, hold 20%. This captures most of the upside risk you're willing to take while diversifying the rest. The exact split depends on your conviction level, tax bracket, and overall portfolio concentration.

Building a Multi-Year RSU Tax Strategy

If you have a large grant vesting over 4 years, the most important move is building a multi-year tax plan.

• Model your total income each year including the vesting schedule. Some years will be higher than others, especially if you received multiple grants at different times or got a promotion with a new grant.
• Identify years with lower income and use them strategically for Roth conversions (convert traditional IRA to Roth in a low-income year, pay less tax), charitable giving strategies (donor-advised funds), or capital loss harvesting.
• Coordinate RSU sales with other capital events. If you're also selling other investments or real estate, timing matters. A good advisor helps you sequence these to minimize total tax.
• Don't just accept the default withholding. Talk to your tax advisor and adjust withholding or plan cash flows to cover the actual liability. Default withholding is designed for standard employees, not for people with significant equity compensation.

Concentrated Equity Risk and Diversification Strategy

Holding too much company stock creates two risks: idiosyncratic risk (your company performs poorly) and correlation risk (you lose both your job and your portfolio in the same downturn).

A basic rule: don't let any single holding exceed 10-15% of your portfolio. If you hold $500K in company stock within a $3M portfolio, that's 16% - too concentrated. If your vest schedule creates a situation where you're constantly adding to a concentrated position, the only solution is systematic diversification.

Sell-at-vest for the majority of your RSUs. Use a small percentage to participate in upside if you believe in the company. Over time, this keeps your portfolio properly diversified and your tax liability manageable.

Five Advisors With Specific RSU Expertise

Capital Area Planning Group - Washington, DC. Led by Malcolm Ethridge, CFP/EA. Explicitly specializes in "financial planning for senior managers and executives in tech" - including RSU and equity compensation management. Fee: 0.25-1.5% of AUM.

Anthony Syracuse, CFP - Scottsdale, AZ. Works specifically with tech professionals on financial planning. Flat fee ($7,500/year) means no AUM incentive to recommend holding company stock instead of diversifying it. Planning-focused.

Ian Weiner, CFP, CEPA - Bentonville, AR. Focuses on tax reduction and wealth optimization. Multi-year RSU tax planning is exactly the kind of ongoing tax strategy this firm specializes in. Fee: 0.5-1.75% of AUM.

Bull Oak Capital - Rancho Santa Fe, CA. Full-service RIA with tax strategy and financial planning capabilities. The combination of investment management and tax planning matters when RSU decisions affect both domains simultaneously. Fee: 0-0.35% of AUM.

Rodriguez Wealth Management - Newport Beach, CA. Specializes in asset allocation and risk management - directly applicable to managing concentrated equity positions and building diversified portfolios. Fee: 0-1% of AUM.

Find an Advisor Who Plans Around Equity, Not Around Products

Browse Sam's List for fiduciary advisors with specific RSU and equity compensation expertise. Advisors who help you diversify, not advisors who have a vested interest in keeping you concentrated. samslist.com

If you'd rather start with a guided overview, see how to work with an RSU & equity compensation financial advisor who specializes in tech equity.

Looking specifically for RSU planning?

Our RSU financial advisor guide explains what to compare when interviewing advisors for vesting, tax coordination, concentrated stock, and broader financial planning.