What We Do
Five planning areas. One goal: keep more of what you earned.
Every service listed here addresses a specific, high-cost problem that California tech employees face when managing RSU and equity compensation. All services are fee-only — no commissions, no product sales.
RSU Vesting Event Optimization
The default for most tech employees is to sell RSUs at vest, pay whatever taxes come due, and move on. That default is expensive. In California, the wrong sequencing of sales across a multi-year vesting schedule can cost six figures in avoidable tax.
Vesting event optimization means building a lot-by-lot, year-by-year plan that accounts for your full income picture — salary, bonus, ESPP, options, real estate income — and determines the optimal timing, quantity, and tax strategy for each sell decision before the shares release.
- Full vesting schedule analysis — all active grants, lot-by-lot
- Multi-year income projection to identify low-bracket windows
- Lot selection and sequencing recommendations
- Interaction analysis with ESPP, ISO, NSO, and bonus income
- Tax impact modeling with and without offset strategies
- Annual review as income, company value, and grants change
Senior Engineer · $400K total comp · California
$180K salary + $220K RSU income in same tax year. Combined marginal rate on last dollar of RSU: ~47.65% (35% federal + 10.3% CA + 2.35% Medicare). Without a plan: ~$99,500 in taxes on RSU income.
With sequencing + offset strategy
$80K Oil & Gas deduction deployed. Estimated tax on RSU income: ~$62,000. Difference: ~$38,000 kept.
Over a 4-year vesting schedule
The difference between planned and unplanned vesting at this income level typically accumulates to $150K–$300K in total tax savings.
721 Exchange Funds
Contribute appreciated shares to a diversified partnership fund. No immediate tax event. Gain deferred, position diversified. Best for: large positions with low/zero cost basis.
351 Exchange
Contribute shares to a corporation in exchange for diversified exposure without triggering a taxable event. Structures vary; eligibility requirements apply.
Structured Sale
Installment sale of concentrated position over multiple tax years to spread ordinary income and capital gains across brackets. Smooths the tax impact of a required liquidation.
Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT)
Contribute appreciated stock; receive an immediate charitable deduction; trust sells without paying capital gains; remaining assets pass to beneficiaries.
Concentrated Stock Reduction
If more than 20% of your investable assets are in a single stock — usually your employer — you have a concentration problem. If that stock drops 40%, you lose 40% of your financial security, not 8%. This is risk most tech employees underestimate because the position grew quietly over years of vesting.
The problem with solving it is tax. Selling outright in California triggers ordinary income rates on RSU shares (if recently vested) or the highest long-term capital gains rates available in any U.S. state (California does not offer a LTCG rate break). Structured exit strategies allow diversification without writing the IRS a check to do it.
- Full position analysis: shares, lots, cost basis, concentration %
- Eligibility screening for each available exchange strategy
- 3–5 year rolling exit plan with annual execution milestones
- QOZ fund analysis for capital gains from any required sales
- Donor-Advised Fund strategy for highly appreciated lots
Tax Offset Strategies
The highest-value planning happens in the same calendar year as a large vesting event. Deductions and credits must be matched to income in the tax year they'll count. A strategy deployed in January is useful. The same strategy discussed in February — after the December 31 deadline — is not.
This service identifies and deploys tax reduction strategies specifically timed to coincide with your RSU vesting calendar. Each strategy has real economic substance — these are not paper deductions, they are investments with legitimate returns that also generate favorable tax treatment. We evaluate each based on your income, timeline, and risk tolerance before recommending anything.
- Oil & Gas working interest investments — ordinary income deductions
- Qualified Opportunity Zone funds — capital gains deferral and reduction
- Short-term rental (STR) depreciation — active business loss classification
- Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts — upfront deduction against vesting income
- Donor-Advised Funds — appreciated stock contributions without gains recognition
- Backdoor and mega-backdoor Roth contributions
How it works
Investing in an Oil & Gas working interest generates Intangible Drilling Cost (IDC) deductions — typically 60–80% of the investment in Year 1 — deductible against ordinary income, including RSU vesting income.
Example: $150K investment → ~$100K deduction
At a combined marginal rate of 47–52% (depending on total income), $100K in deductions saves approximately $47,000–$52,000 in taxes. The investment itself also carries economic return potential from oil and gas production revenue.
Key considerations
Oil & Gas investments are illiquid and carry commodity price risk. They are appropriate for specific income and risk profiles and must be evaluated individually. We only recommend operators with audited track records.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Vesting schedule optimization, lot sequencing, California withholding review, sell-to-cover vs. hold analysis.
ISOs (Incentive Stock Options)
Exercise timing, AMT exposure modeling, qualifying vs. disqualifying disposition analysis, 83(b) elections.
NSOs (Non-Qualified Stock Options)
Ordinary income at exercise analysis, hold vs. immediate sale decisions, multi-year exercise ladder planning.
ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan)
Qualifying vs. disqualifying disposition optimization, look-back window utilization, lot selection for maximum discount capture.
ESPP, Options & Full Equity Planning
Most California tech employees don't have just RSUs. They have a combination of RSUs, ISOs, NSOs, and ESPP — each with different tax mechanics, different optimal holding periods, and different interaction effects when they're all active in the same year.
A decision made on an ISO exercise in March affects the tax efficiency of an RSU sale in December. An ESPP disqualifying disposition creates ordinary income at the same rate as RSU income. Planning all four instruments together — rather than in isolation — routinely produces better outcomes than handling each separately.
- Full equity compensation inventory and annual calendar build
- Multi-instrument interaction modeling (RSU + ISO + NSO + ESPP)
- AMT exposure tracking for ISO exercises
- 83(b) election analysis for early exercise of options
- ESPP enrollment, timing, and disposition planning
Ongoing Wealth Management
RSU planning is not a one-time exercise. Vesting schedules change. New grants are issued. The company's stock price moves. Tax law updates. Your income changes. A plan built in 2024 needs to be revisited in 2025.
Ongoing wealth management ensures the RSU Clarity Framework continues to operate as your situation evolves — with continuous portfolio management, tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing, retirement account optimization, and proactive review before each major vesting event or income change.
- Annual vesting event review and plan update before each vest date
- Portfolio management with tax-loss harvesting throughout the year
- Retirement account optimization (401k, backdoor Roth, mega-backdoor)
- Annual tax projection and estimated payment review
- Direct advisor access — no assistant, no queue, no team handoffs
- Coordination with your CPA for final return preparation
The vesting event review alone pays for itself
"Before working with Nirav, I just sold whatever was vesting and paid whatever taxes came due. He changed that. The first year, the review identified a sequencing change that saved more than the annual fee. It's been like that every year since."
Finally understand my own equity comp
"I had RSUs, ISOs, and ESPP all vesting and expiring in the same six-month window. I didn't know which to exercise first or what the interaction effects were. Nirav modeled all of it and showed me exactly what to do and when."
Fee-only. No commissions. No hidden compensation.
All fees are disclosed upfront in the ADV brochure. You know exactly what you're paying and what you're getting before any engagement begins.
Entry
RSU Review
One-time vesting event analysis and planning session for employees earlier in their equity compensation journey.
$3,500
One-time engagement
- Full vesting schedule analysis
- Multi-year tax projection
- Lot sequencing recommendations
- Written plan deliverable
Comprehensive
Ongoing Planning
Continuous RSU planning, portfolio management, and wealth strategy for established tech employees with significant equity compensation.
AUM-based
Starting at 1.0% of AUM annually. Tiered as assets grow. Full schedule in ADV.
- Annual vesting event review before every vest date
- Continuous portfolio management
- Full equity comp planning (RSU + ISO + NSO + ESPP)
- Tax offset strategy deployment
- Direct advisor access
- CPA coordination
Complex Situations
Liquidity Event Planning
Intensive planning for involuntary liquidity events — M&A, IPO lockup expiry, or forced liquidation — where tax mitigation must be planned quickly and executed precisely.
Flat fee
Quoted per engagement based on scope and complexity.
- Same-year tax offset strategy build
- Four-strategy coordination (O&G, QOZ, CLAT, DAF)
- Concentrated stock exit planning
- CPA and estate attorney coordination
All fees are disclosed in the ADV Part 2 brochure. Download the ADV →
Your next vesting event is the right place to start.
A free consultation begins with your vesting schedule, your income picture, and an honest assessment of whether there's planning to be done before your next vest date.
Schedule a Free Consultation