Products December 1, 2021

Updated myStockOptions Year-End Planning Site Updated

To help employees with equity compensation, myStockOptions.com has updated its education and guidance on the major issues, decisions and financial-planning strategies for the end of 2021 and the start of 2022.

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Year-end is a key time for financial and tax planning for millions of employees in the United States who have stock compensation (such as stock options and restricted stock units [RSUs]), participate in an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) and/or have holdings of company shares, says Bruce Brumberg, the editor-in-chief of myStockOptions.com. This year, year-end financial and tax planning might be especially tricky because of the uncertain potential for tax-law changes in 2022 or beyond.

To help, myStockOptions.com has updated its education and guidance on the major issues, decisions and financial-planning strategies for the end of 2021 and the start of 2022. This content is available on the website’s Financial Planning: Year-End section.

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For example, website visitors will find articles such as “Top Ideas For 2021 Year-End Tax Planning With Stock Compensation” and a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section titled “What are some key planning strategies at year-end 2021 for restricted stock, RSUs, and stock options?” The content is continually updated.

Brumberg says multiyear planning is especially valuable with stock compensation at year-end. “You can control the timing of stock sales and option exercises, and you know when restricted stock/RSUs will vest,” he notes.

Timely year-end guidance is particularly crucial for people who are considering option exercises or stock sales at the end of the year, Brumberg adds.

“Employees with equity grants and company shares should be aware of the 2021 and 2022 thresholds for higher tax rates on compensation income and capital gains, the phaseouts for various tax credits, and the Medicare surtax on investment income,” he says. “They may want to consider keeping their income below those known thresholds, if possible. If you are convinced that your tax rates will be higher in 2022 and beyond, you may want to defer deductions into the future and accelerate income into 2021.”

myStockOptions.com is also holding a special webinar December 2 on year-end financial and tax planning. The webinar offers continuing education (CE) credits and costs $169 to attend. More information is available here.

Deals & People November 30, 2021

Creative Planning Acquires Dashboard Wealth Advisors

This is Creative Planning’s second recent deal, underscoring how adviser industry M&A volume continues at a rapid pace.

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Creative Planning Inc. has announced the acquisition of Dashboard Wealth Advisors, which was founded in 2013 by Scott Schuster and has more than $800 million in assets under management (AUM).

Earlier this month, Creative Planning announced a deal with Lockton to combine forces, with the goal of creating a “best-in-class advisory offering designed to serve corporate retirement plans and the plans’ participants.” The partnership, named “Lockton Retirement Services, an Offering of Creative Planning,” seeks to help clients create more value for their people through personal retirement, estate planning, legal, tax and other advice resources. 

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The new deal between Creative Planning and Dashboard is in line with overall industry merger and acquisition (M&A) trends that show deal volume has hit another record high. A third quarter 2021 analysis by Echelon shows large strategic acquirers, many of which are backed by private equity firms, maintained their status as the most active dealmakers in the wealth management and advisory industry.

Echelon researchers expect the number of 2021 deals to outpace the total 2020 deal count by a significant margin. Prospective tax code changes might have helped fuel the new record quarter, which saw 78 deals announced. The previous record was 76 deals, set in the first quarter of this year. Echelon researchers point to strong secular trends buoying the M&A activity, such as overall financial services industry consolidation, growing competition and a need for broader succession planning.

Adding fuel to the fire are supportive capital markets, cheap debt and heightened corporate cash balances—as well as the “transitory trend” related to potential changes in tax rates that could be included in the federal budget legislation making its way through Congress.

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