What are the best questions to ask a wealth advisor about your RSUs?

Two numbers that separate one firm from another

In Victor's hypothetical, a strong firm states about $30,000 of tax to sell $400,000 of vested shares. It also says up front whether its fee base is $400,000 or $2.2 million. Those two figures tell you more than any investment pitch.

Look at the table: the billing base alone moves the annual fee from $4,000 to $22,000, an $18,000-a-year gap before any advice is given.

The 1% is an illustration, not any firm's fee. Mariner Wealth Advisors puts its fee schedule in writing before a client commits. Ask every firm on your list for the same document.

Which questions show a firm really handles RSUs?

Two questions show it fastest: who decides and places your vest-day sales, and how the firm fixes cost basis on Form 1099-B. A firm that handles RSUs regularly answers both with a named person, a named default and a named form.

Start with the vest day. Ask whether shares are sold to cover, net settled or fully sold, and who places the order. A strong answer names the person and the default instruction left with the stock plan administrator.

Then ask about basis. Brokers often report RSU shares with zero or missing basis. A strong answer mentions the supplemental statement and the basis correction your preparer enters on Form 8949. Skip that step and the vest income is taxed twice.

A weak answer sounds like this: "We'll take care of the stock." It names no step, no person and no form.

Withholding shortfalls and the vest-day sale decision each have their own pages on this site.

How should the tax cost of diversifying be shown to you?

The firm should give you a dollar figure for each lot before it recommends any sale, with gains held under a year shown apart from those held longer. For Victor, that means $150,000 of gain and roughly $30,000 in tax at a 20% rate.

Here's the arithmetic from his hypothetical. He holds $400,000 of vested shares with a $250,000 basis. $400,000 − $250,000 = $150,000 of gain. Held over a year, a 20% long-term rate gives $150,000 × 20% = $30,000, about.

A strong firm puts that tax bill beside the price risk Victor carries by holding one stock. That matches the evidence-based approach at Mariner Wealth Advisors: the sale decision follows long-term research on diversification, with no bet on where the share price goes next.

Red flag: a firm that talks about a target price or a good time to sell. That's a forecast, not a plan. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal, and a concentrated position carries more of it.

Who tracks trading windows and deferred comp deadlines?

Ask who keeps your company's open-window calendar and pre-clearance rules, and whether the firm contacts you before each window opens. Officers usually need pre-clearance from the legal department for every trade, so someone has to own that sequence.

For Victor, also ask who tracks the deferred plan's distribution and redeferral deadlines. Section 409A requires any change to be elected no later than a year ahead of the payment date, and the new date has to fall five or more years after the original. If he misses that window, the option is gone.

A strong answer is a named calendar with dates. "We'll remind you" is not one. The mechanics of trading plans sit on the 10b5-1 page.

Handing over your equity: the case for and against

The case for hiring help is about time and tax. The case against is about cost and fit. Weigh both before you sign anything.

We would rather an executive pay for advice on how the deferred plan is drawn down than for someone to watch its fund menu, because the distribution timing is where the tax dollars are.

• For: someone else tracks windows and vest dates
• For: tax cost is computed before every sale
• For: the deferred plan, the vested shares and the pension are planned as one picture
• For: fewer April surprises
• Against: an ongoing fee, which can be large if billed on deferred comp
• Against: the firm still can't trade in a blackout
• Against: you share confidential award documents
• Against: a generalist adds little if equity is a small part of your net worth

Does your age or account size change what to ask?

Yes. Age sets which deadlines matter, and account size sets how much the billing question costs you.

Late career, like Victor at 58 and three years from retirement: ask about installment elections, which year the final vests land in, and Social Security timing. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.

In your 40s, with grants still coming each year, ask how the firm handles a new tranche every year. Also ask how it keeps concentration in check as unvested grants pile up.

Near $500,000, the billing-base question matters less. With a seven-figure deferred plan, the gap between $4,000 and $22,000 a year shows why it matters a lot.

If your spouse has a pension, as Jeanette does, ask whether the firm counts it as bond-like income when it sets the stock allocation.

Myths about hiring an advisor for equity pay

Four beliefs cause most of the bad surprises.

• Myth: fiduciary means no conflicts. True: the duty of loyalty requires a firm to eliminate conflicts or disclose them fully so you can consent. Read Form ADV Part 2A for the list.
• Myth: an advisor can trade your company shares whenever markets move. True: your insider trading policy binds anyone acting for you, so a blackout applies to them too.
• Myth: the advisor can move your deferred comp to its own funds. True: the balance remains an employer obligation invested in the plan's menu, and advice is limited to choosing within it.
• Myth: a big firm automatically knows equity pay. True: ask the 1099-B basis question; the answer shows experience quickly.

A one-call checklist and what to do this week

Decision rule: if a firm can't state, in dollars, the tax cost of selling your vested shares and the exact list of assets it bills on, either on the first call or in one written follow-up, drop it from the shortlist.

The costliest mistake is choosing a firm on its investment pitch without asking what it bills on. In the hypothetical, a fee that quietly includes the $1.8 million deferred plan costs Victor $18,000 a year more at an illustrative 1%: $2,200,000 × 1% = $22,000, against $4,000.

One limit: these questions test whether a firm handles equity pay competently. They can't reveal future investment results. If your company stock and deferred pay are under about a tenth of net worth, general planning questions deserve more of the call.

This week: book three calls, send each firm the same one-page summary, read each firm's Form CRS before the call, and look the firm up on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site and on FINRA BrokerCheck.

Mariner Wealth Advisors clients meet by video or phone, so all three calls can fit in one week. You're welcome to put these same questions to us through the request form.

• Latest equity award statement
• Deferred plan document and election form
• Insider trading policy with window dates
• Last year's tax return
• A recent pay stub showing withholding
• Ask: Who places my vest-day sales?
• Ask: How will you show the tax cost of selling each lot?
• Ask: Who tracks my windows and 409A dates?
• Ask: Which assets do you bill on?
• Ask: Where are your conflicts listed in your ADV?