Mariner Wealth Advisors reduces an executive's concentrated stock position by listing every share lot with its cost and acquisition date, then scheduling sales and gifts around trading windows and the tax each lot would trigger. Lot choice matters because an RSU share starts with a basis set at its market price the day it vests, so in the hypothetical below the same $400,000 sale creates either $360,000 or $100,000 of taxable gain, depending only on which lots are sold. That is how we help executives shrink an outsized company stock holding without paying more tax than they need to.
Most executives come to this after a quiet scare: a bad earnings day, a big vest that pushed the stake up again, or a trading window opening with no written plan. Hypothetical: Natalie, 51, is CFO of a mid-cap industrial manufacturer. She is married to a part-time architect, has two teenagers, and is bound by a 5x-salary stock ownership guideline. Her paycheck, bonus and savings all ride on one company, and she has almost no time to sort out the lots.
What does concentrated stock planning cover in practice?
Concentrated stock planning covers every source of exposure to your employer, the tax each lot would trigger, and the dates and amounts of sales or gifts that reduce it. Natalie holds $1.3 million of employer stock in a $3.2 million net worth, about 41%. She wants to sell $400,000 over two years.
Her early-grant lots are worth $900,000 with a $90,000 basis. The RSU lots that vested 13 to 24 months ago are worth $400,000, and she paid tax on $300,000 of that value at vest. Compare the tax column below: $85,680 versus $23,800 for the same $400,000 sale. Selling $400,000 of early lots uses $40,000 of basis and realizes a $360,000 gain; at an illustrative 23.8% combined federal rate, that is $85,680. Selling the recent lots realizes a $100,000 gain and $23,800 of tax.
Either way, her stake falls to $900,000, about 28% of net worth. The deferred gain stays in the early lots, which become her first candidates for charitable gifts. And the $400,000 figure assumes her remaining $900,000 still meets the 5x-salary guideline.
Mariner Wealth Advisors counts as exposure everything that moves with the company's price:
Each source gets a value and, for shares you already own, its basis and acquisition date. Then come the insider constraints: blackout windows, the ownership guideline, and the cooling-off period for a 10b5-1 plan (covered on its own page).
Who needs this? Usually an executive whose paycheck, bonus, unvested awards and savings all depend on one company. The sale schedule sets dates and amounts, not price targets. Nobody reliably forecasts a single stock, and company-specific risk is the part of risk that diversification removes. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
| Lots sold ($400,000 total) | Cost basis | Taxable gain | Tax at 23.8% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early-grant lots only | $40,000 | $360,000 | $85,680 |
| Recent RSU lots only | $300,000 | $100,000 | $23,800 |
| Half from each | $170,000 | $230,000 | $54,740 |
- Vested shares, with basis and acquisition date for each lot
- Unvested RSUs and performance units, at current value
- Options and ESPP shares, including the basis on any already exercised
- Company stock inside the 401(k)
- Deferred compensation credited in company stock units
Mistakes that make a concentrated position more expensive to unwind
The costliest mistake is letting the broker's default method pick lots. That default is often first-in, first-out, so the shares Natalie got earliest, with almost no basis, go out the door before anything else. For her, that means $61,880 more tax up front on a $400,000 sale. The fix is a standing specific-lot instruction, filed with the broker before the plan's first trade.
Selling lots held one year or less is next. The gain becomes short-term and is taxed at ordinary rates of up to 37%, against the illustrative 23.8% long-term rate. The plan dates each sale after the lot's one-year anniversary.
Counting only vested shares leaves unvested RSUs and stock-linked deferred comp out of the exposure figure. The next vest then quietly pushes concentration back up.
Next comes parking the sale money in a money market fund while you wait for the stock or the market to look cheaper. That is market timing by another name. Mariner Wealth Advisors names the diversified funds the proceeds will buy before the first sale executes.
One decision rule covers most of this. Among lots held more than a year, sell those with the smallest gain per dollar of value first, loss lots before small-gain lots. Keep the lowest-basis lots for charitable gifts or later years.
How is progress on a concentrated stock position reviewed?
Progress is reviewed at each open trading window, usually quarterly, against three figures: the concentration path, realized gains versus the year's gain budget, and the embedded gain left in each lot. For Natalie, concentration runs about 41% today, about 34% after the first $200,000 (since $1.1M ÷ $3.2M ≈ 34%), and about 28% after the second.
Prices move the picture even without sales. A 25% rise in the share price lifts her remaining $900,000 to $1,125,000, so the review recalculates the remaining sales instead of assuming the original plan still fits.
Three events trigger an extra check: a salary change that moves the 5x guideline, a new grant, or a change to the insider trading policy.
After each review you get a one-page summary: shares sold, lots used, tax realized, concentration now and the next scheduled sale.
Which signs suggest your company shares need a plan?
The clearest sign is a loss you couldn't absorb. A 30% drop in Natalie's $1.3 million stake would erase $390,000, more than many people could make back from salary in a year.
Other signs are practical. You've never filed a lot instruction with your broker, and you can't say what basis your oldest shares carry. A trading window opens in a few weeks and you have no written sale instructions, or a large vest is due that will add to the position.
Charity is another sign. Low-basis shares you have owned for over a year can be given directly to a charity, and the built-up gain generally goes untaxed, subject to AGI limits. A donor-advised fund lets you make the gift now, take the deduction that year, and choose the charities later.
One honest limit: choosing lots postpones tax but does not cancel it. If Natalie sells the recent RSU lots, her early lots keep their full $810,000 of gain ($900,000 value less $90,000 basis), and that gain is taxed whenever she sells them. If all your lots are low-basis, lot selection gains you little. And no sale schedule protects the shares you haven't sold yet from a falling price.
Starting concentrated stock planning with Mariner Wealth Advisors
To begin, fill in the contact form online; the firm does not list a phone line. Meetings take place by video or phone, wherever you live. The client minimum is $500K in investable assets, and fees are explained in writing before you agree to anything.
Bring these to the first conversation:
The first deliverable is a written exposure map: your concentration percentage, the embedded gain per lot and a draft two-year sale and gift schedule. Mariner Wealth Advisors serves 590,000 clients and $9.8 billion in client assets as of 10/5/2026.
- Lot-level cost basis report from your broker
- Latest equity award statement
- Your insider trading policy
- The text of the ownership guideline
- Last year's tax return
What people ask about a concentrated stock position
Can I donate company stock to charity instead of selling it?
What happens to the cost basis of company stock I still own when I die?
Are executives allowed to hedge their company stock?
Over how many years should company stock sales be spread?
Primary sources
This content is general information and education. It is not individual investment, tax or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Before making any financial decision about your equity awards or assets, consult a professional adviser who knows your full situation.