Customer Reviews

Consider Your Options: Get the Most from Your Equity Compensation, 2004 Edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No matter how well you think you understand the world of stock options, there's a good chance you will find some nugget of information in here that could save you A LOT of money.

In my case, I work for a small company. I actually had the company amend their stock option agreement based on information I found in this book. Based on the projected IPO price, this amendment will likely save me over $100,000 in the future.

A prior reviewer complained about the book and recommended a "tax professional". First, I have read this and Pastore's book, and this is hands down a better treatment of the subject. Second, if you are outside of Silicon Valley, then I wish you the best of luck in finding a CPA that knows anything beyond the basics as far as ISOs and 83(b) elections are concerned.

Buy the book AND find a tax professional. A tax professional does not have such a vested interest in your financial future, and you don't have his vast knowledge of the tax codes. I found that working together with my CPA and this book, we were able to do some excellent tax planning.

One of the few books available today on incentive (ISO) and non-qualified (NQ) stock options this does an excellent job of describing the basic ins and outs of how each type of employee stock option works. Unlike "Stock Options" by Robert Pastore, which is quite dry, this introductory book presents the material concisely and in a well-organized manner to quickly get up to speed. Of course a significant amount of the material found in this book can be read for free on the publisher's website. I would also highly recommend purchasing Pastore's book since it provides more strategies that you can actually apply, but read "Considering Your Options" first and then just flip through Pastore's book this to look at the strategies.

Just keep in mind that both of these books are only a first step at figuring out what you plan on doing. There is no substitute for a good tax account who is knowledgeable in the areas of stock options and estate planning. In addition there are many strategies that exist which aren't covered in either of these books. If you are trying to sort out what your strategy is for exercising your stock options it is well worth your time to read both of these. And you can't beat the price. If nothing else it saves you from shelling out $175/hour to hear an experienced tax accountant educate you on the basics.

I bought this book after checking out the reviews on Bob Pastorie's book on Stock Options and after visiting the author's web site. I wanted a thorough understanding of stock awards, stock options, and option strategies.

I'm glad I bought this book. It's packed with facts and how to-do-it information that takes the mystery out of stock options and pre-IPO stock.

This is a complicated subject and the book does justice to everything. I especially liked the first couple of chapters that reviews the basics of taxes and terminology before launching into stock awards and stock options. Despite plenty of examples and clearly written material, this is not a book that you'll read once, and retain everything. The IRS has made sure of that. I will have it close by to refer to. Besides the book, the author's web site is very helpful. He promptly responded to my specific questions. Wish I could say that about others!

There's a great potential to make some serious and costly mistakes when it comes to stock options. Yes, you'll need help from lawyers and tax professionals, but without this book, you won't understand anything they're talking about. In fact, I think you'll spend more than the cost of the book in legal and professional fees if time has to be taken out to educate you about the basics.

I read the book at light speed the first time around. I initially thought that things were confusing and unorganized. I realized that this was a mistake on my part. The subject matter is complex, especially on the various kinds of options and when they vest.

I read the book a second time to get prepared to see my lawyer, tax, and estate planner. The book gave me the knowledge to fashion some specific strategies on my stock grant and also how to exercise my options. The benefits of the book's organization have now become more obvious to me. Is there a negative aspect of the book? Sure. It didn't get into estate planning or suggest ways of sheltering the potential wealth that could accrue from stock and options from firms going to an IPO. I also wish it would have talked more from the perspective of a firm getting ready to do an IPO, although there were some examples of this. I was also only interested in Nonqualified Options and not the exhaustive coverage on Incentive Stock Options that employees usually receive. However, this was no reason to give it less than 5 stars. I think the estate planning aspect is a great subject for Mr. Thomas' next book or something that the web can handle.

Bottom line here: the book is well worth the price and your time. Read it once, twice, and keep it handy. You'll definitely refer to it today and in the years ahead.

I've tried, and struggled (I'm not a finance whiz... I write software) to create a strategy for using my stock options without the counsel of professional help. Learn from my experience. Reading this book, or any other book such as Robert Pastore's "Stock Options" will not equip you to make strategy decisions for exercising your options (unless you're gifted in finance). You will need a CPA and or financial planner.

Until I was granted options, I had no clue what stock options were or the issues that I would face. Having read this and other books, I'm now better educated about the issues but I was only given a vague idea of what to do practically/strategically.

Don't expect Ms. Thomas' book to provide "strategy advice" expect it to provide facts; and lots of them. Read her book and other's with the intention of going to someone whose full-time job it is to help you with issues in exercising your options. You will be well equiped to test what you're being told and you'll be ready to receive and act upon (or reject as I've also learned) real "strategic advice"

If you ever had to deal with stock options, AMT, and vesting, this book was written for you. I have never seen a better reference on the subject. His companion web site, when combined with his book, is all you need to figure it all out.

Reading this book may not provide you with all the answers, but it will help you ask all the right questions of your CPA.

A few hours spent reading this title will give you a solid understanding of the fundamentals of options: stock, options, grants, exercise, strike price, employee stock purchase plans, AMT, and so on. More importantly, it will give you a good understanding of the complex tax issues that options may expose you to. And most importantly, it will make very clear the questions you need to ask in interviewing a prospective accountant, and in working with an accountant or financial planner.

The average reader is not likely to garner enough information to fully plan their option liquidation by themselves (multiyear strategies for minimizing AMT, for example, are beyond the scope of this book), but at least you'll know what sorts of things your accountant should be working out for you.

Excellent overall. I learned a lot although it was the 3rd book I read on the subject.

If you really need this book, consider also "Stock Options..." by Pastore (2nd edition only). If you consider only one of them, then I liked Thomas' book better.

:) Yair.

Like many people today, I've received stock options and tried to puzzle out what it all means. In no time at all, I've gotten confused by Alternative Minimum Tax, Non Qualified and Qualified Options, Disqualifying Dispositions, and many other unfamiliar terms. Kaye Thomas' book, together with Fairmark.com his website, provides the best source of information on this complex subject that I've found. I've referred many friends to his website when they've asked me about their options, and now I point them to his book as well. If Mr. Thomas' book saves you from making a single mistake with your options, it will pay for itself a hundred times.

This book covers a wide variety of topics behind the complexities of equity compensation. As more and more of the working US population start to receive options from their enlightened employers the more valuable a book like this becomes. If you have had zero or minimal exposure to stock options and the tax strategies and implications that go along with them - then get this book. However, be warned that although it will give you a good overview, and drills down in some areas - it is NO substitute for speaking with a tax professional. If you have never even heard of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) then you will get a good grounding in the subject and know just enough to be both dangerous , but ask smart questions too.

If I had any criticism of the book it is that many of the chapters are very short and terse, and just as Kaye Thomas starts to bring up interesting points, he stops. Also, all of the examples are wordy (suppose you have 2000 options priced at $20, the stock trades at $27.50, but ...) . Some graphics and a few tables would have made many of the examples much clearer.

Bottom Line - unless you are a CPA or a tax guru, you will get enough out of this book to justify the purchase price. Its probably tax deductible too

An excellent resource for anyone seeking to understand and be involved in planning strategies to maximize the after-tax value of your stock compensation. Covers restricted stock grants, options (ISOs & NQSOs), employee stock purchase programs (ESPP). Various areas of tax planning are covered in detail: strategies to minimize AMT, effects of early exercise thru 83b election, gifting or donating options/stock, etc.

The author describes topics in a matter that is both thorough and easy to read. The book is organized into sections devoted to specific topics making it easy to skip or skim sections that may not pertain to your particular situation (e.g. there are separate sections on NQSOs and ISOs). Additionally, the author makes good use of examples throughout the book to illustrate complex rules. This latest edition (Apr 2002) includes updated information regarding changes to tax laws as well as explanations of pitfalls that many optionees have encountered recently (e.g. ISO "wash" sales).

This book is a must have to anyone who receives a portion of their compensation in the form of equity, whether it be stock grants, options, ESPP, or any combination of these. The book is both an informative read as well as a handy resource to keep on your bookshelf. After reading this book, most people will have all or nearly all the tools & info they need to develop their own strategies for managing their stock should they so desire. For those seeking professional advice, this book serves as a great overview so that you can understand the process and ask all the right questions. I only wish I had found this book sooner :)