International executive with RSUs and concentrated stock
An internationally mobile executive had accumulated substantial wealth through salary, bonuses and equity compensation.
Over time, repeated RSU vesting had created a significant holding in the employer's shares.
The client was financially successful, but a large proportion of both income and invested wealth depended on the same company.
This case study shows how financial planning can sit alongside tax, employment and reward advice to reduce concentration risk without treating every share award as an automatic sell decision.
The client position
The client was a senior executive working internationally and receiving a significant proportion of remuneration through equity compensation.
Their financial position included:
- salary and annual bonus
- regular RSU awards
- vested employer shares
- unvested equity awards
- pension assets
- taxable investments
- cash reserves
- property
- future retirement objectives in another country
The equity compensation had been successful.
That success created a new problem.
A substantial proportion of the client's net worth was now linked to the same company that also provided their income.
The key financial-planning question became:
How much employer-stock exposure was still appropriate once the client's wider wealth and retirement objectives were considered?
This case study is illustrative and has been anonymised. Individual circumstances vary and tax and legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
The issues that needed to be coordinated
RSU vesting
Regular vesting events were continually increasing the client's exposure to the employer's shares.
Concentration risk
The client relied on the same company for salary, bonus, career progression and a significant part of their investment wealth.
Cross-border tax
The executive had worked in more than one jurisdiction during the life of the awards.
The relevant tax advisers needed to establish the treatment of vesting and disposals.
Dealing restrictions
Blackout periods and internal dealing rules affected when shares could practically be sold.
Retirement planning
The employer shares represented a meaningful part of the capital expected to fund future retirement.
Currency
The shares were denominated in a different currency from much of the client's expected future spending.
What the professional team needed to establish
What equity awards did the client hold?
Vested shares, unvested RSUs, options and deferred awards needed to be identified separately.
What was the vesting schedule?
Future awards mattered because concentration could rebuild even after shares were sold.
What tax arose on vesting and sale?
The relevant tax advisers needed to establish the treatment across the jurisdictions involved.
What dealing restrictions applied?
The client needed to understand when disposals could actually be made.
How much of total wealth depended on the employer?
The shareholding needed to be considered alongside salary, pension benefits and future awards.
How much capital was required for retirement?
That determined how much concentration risk the client could realistically afford.
Did the client want to retain a meaningful long-term position?
The objective was not necessarily to eliminate employer stock completely.
The role of financial planning
The tax and employment advisers established the treatment of the awards, vesting events and dealing restrictions.
Josh's role was to translate those constraints into a practical wealth strategy.
That meant considering:
how much employer stock the client already owned
how much more was likely to vest
how much concentration was acceptable
when diversification could take place
how disposal proceeds should be reinvested
how the shares fitted into retirement planning
how currency exposure affected the wider portfolio
The focus was not on predicting whether the employer's share price would rise or fall.
It was on ensuring the client's future did not depend too heavily on one company.
The planning approach
Map current and future exposure
Vested shares and scheduled future awards were considered together.
Define an acceptable concentration range
The client agreed how much employer exposure they were comfortable retaining within the wider balance sheet.
Plan around dealing windows
Diversification had to work within the practical restrictions applying to the executive.
Reinvest systematically
Sale proceeds were allocated into a diversified portfolio rather than simply accumulating in cash.
Coordinate with retirement goals
The strategy was tested against the client's long-term spending and retirement objectives.
Review regularly
Because new awards continued to vest, concentration risk needed ongoing review rather than a one-off solution.
The key issue was not whether the company was good or bad
The client had built substantial wealth because the employer had performed well.
That made diversification emotionally difficult.
Selling shares could feel like reducing exposure to the company that had created the wealth in the first place.
The planning therefore reframed the question.
Instead of asking:
“Do you still believe in the company?”
the more useful question was:
“How much of your family's financial future should depend on this one company?”
That distinction helped separate confidence in the employer from portfolio risk.
The result: a deliberate rather than accidental equity position
The planning framework gave the client:
- a clear view of total employer exposure
- an agreed approach to future vesting
- a more diversified personal portfolio
- reduced reliance on one company
- better alignment between equity compensation and retirement planning
- a clearer use for sale proceeds
- ongoing coordination with tax and employment advisers
The client still retained meaningful exposure to the employer.
The difference was that the position was now intentional rather than simply the cumulative result of years of vesting.
Useful resources for similar cases
Equity Compensation for Internationally Mobile Executives
A focused technical brief covering share-based remuneration where the executive works or lives across several jurisdictions.
Concentrated Share Positions for International Clients
A technical brief covering the planning issues that arise where one company represents a large proportion of the client's wealth.
The Professional Adviser's Guide to International Executive Financial Planning
A broader guide covering compensation, pensions, investments, mobility and long-term wealth planning.
International Executive Checklist
A practical checklist for reviewing equity awards, pensions, mobility and wider financial arrangements.
The Professional Adviser's Guide to Cross-Border Financial Planning
A wider guide to coordinating investment and retirement decisions across jurisdictions.
Client Moving Country Checklist
A practical resource where executive mobility affects existing awards or future investment decisions.
Have an international executive with substantial employer stock?
Where repeated RSU vesting, options or deferred compensation have created a large employer-share position, an initial discussion can help establish how that exposure should fit within the client's wider investment and retirement strategy.