Mariner Wealth Advisors and tax-efficient investing for executives

What tax-efficient investing covers for an executive with company stock

$11,900 is the illustrative federal-tax gap between two ways to sell the same $100,000 of employer stock. A $10,000-basis lot creates a $90,000 gain; a $60,000-basis lot creates a $40,000 gain. The $50,000 difference multiplied by an assumed 23.8% rate equals $11,900. Many brokers sell your earliest purchases by default unless you name specific lots, and for long-held company stock those early lots usually carry the smallest basis.

The holding period matters too. A gain on shares owned for more than a year generally qualifies for the lower long-term rates. Sell within the first year and the gain is usually taxed at your regular income rates, which for an executive often means the top bracket. That is why selling a newly vested RSU can be expensive if the stock has risen since the vest date. Only the rise after vesting is taxed this way, because the value at vest was already counted as wages. Your actual result depends on your return, state rules, and the type of account.

This work usually fits an executive with a sizable taxable account, a high salary, low-basis company stock, and a regular sale schedule. Natalie, the example used here, has $1.3 million in employer shares inside a $3.2 million net worth: $1.3 million divided by $3.2 million equals 40.6%, or about 41%. A position that size needs a reduction plan, and a large unrealized gain does not change that.

Mariner Wealth Advisors prices what each proposed sale would cost in federal tax, but that number cannot outrank diversification. Asset location and loss harvesting may produce little for you if your money is mostly in a 401(k) and IRAs and your taxable account is small. Your tax preparer still files the return. No tax saving makes it sensible to hold an oversized company-stock position.

• Asset location: place tax-sensitive bond funds inside the 401(k), while broad index ETFs may fit better in a taxable account.
• Specific-lot identification: select the shares sold instead of accepting the broker's default method.
• Loss harvesting: use losses in diversified holdings to offset gains from the company-stock sale schedule.
• Charitable giving: consider transferring appreciated shares rather than cash when the tax and company-policy conditions fit.

How does Mariner Wealth Advisors sequence the work?

Five steps turn a collection of brokerage statements into a sale decision. The first practical snag is often basis: the supplemental equity-plan statement, not the abbreviated 1099-B, may contain the number needed for the return.

The evidence-based habit is straightforward. Mariner Wealth Advisors does not choose a lot because a market forecast sounds persuasive; it compares the tax cost, the portfolio's concentration, and the long-term diversification plan before recommending an action. A tax benefit is useful only if the resulting portfolio still makes sense.

The 30-day check deserves attention. Selling a loss and receiving a similar company-stock tranche through vesting, or buying the position in an IRA, can change whether the loss is currently usable. Your tax preparer remains responsible for the final tax filing and legal interpretation.

• Document collection: you send last year's return, the prior year's Form 1099-B, equity-plan statements, and the 10b5-1 schedule. Mariner Wealth Advisors checks the supplemental plan statement because a 1099-B can show RSU shares with a $0 or missing basis.
• Inventory: the team records each holding by account and lot, including purchase date, basis, and whether the gain is short-term or long-term.
• Pre-trade estimate: before an order is placed, Mariner Wealth Advisors compares proposed lots and estimates the federal tax for each sale. You see the likely bill before the trade.
• Offset review: losses in diversified holdings may be harvested against 10b5-1 gains. The team checks the 30-day wash-sale period, including IRA purchases and company-stock vesting when a company-stock lot is sold at a loss.
• Year-end record: a late-year review with your tax preparer produces a one-page record of realized gains, harvested losses, and gifts.

A $40,000 share gift can change the tax arithmetic

$8,568 is the assumed federal tax avoided in Natalie's charitable-giving example. She is 51, a CFO at a mid-cap industrial manufacturer, married to a part-time architect, and has two teenagers. Her employer requires a 5x-salary ownership guideline. About $1.3 million of her $3.2 million net worth is low-basis company stock being sold through a 10b5-1 plan.

Mariner Wealth Advisors compares two ways to fund her planned $40,000 charitable gift. She could sell shares and give the cash. Or she could move $40,000 of long-term shares straight into a donor-advised fund. Those shares have a $4,000 basis, so a sale would create $40,000 minus $4,000, or $36,000, of gain. At an assumed 23.8% federal rate, $36,000 multiplied by 0.238 equals $8,568.

Notice what stays constant in the table: the charitable deduction is $40,000 in either column, assuming Natalie itemizes and stays within the applicable limit. The tax difference is $8,568. She keeps the cash that would otherwise fund the gift and uses the full $40,000 to buy a broad index fund, giving that new investment a $40,000 basis.

The conditions matter. The shares generally must have been held more than one year, and she must itemize. For appreciated stock given to a donor-advised fund or a public charity, the deduction is usually capped at 30% of adjusted gross income in a given year. The shares cannot already be committed to her 10b5-1 schedule. Company policy may require pre-clearance, and an officer's gift may be reported on Form 4. Mariner Wealth Advisors also checks that the remaining shares still satisfy the 5x-salary guideline. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

The useful rule is narrow: if you already give to charity, itemize, and own appreciated company shares that have cleared the one-year holding period, compare a share gift with a cash gift before selling. First confirm the trading schedule and ownership requirement. A tax deduction should not become a reason to keep a concentration that the investment plan says to reduce.

Which signs say your taxable account needs a second look?

$0 on an RSU basis field is a warning, not a tax conclusion. The brokerage report may omit compensation income already included on your wage statement, so compare it with the plan administrator's supplemental detail before the return is prepared.

A second warning is an unexpected fund distribution. Mutual funds can pass realized gains through to shareholders during a year when you made no sale, leaving a taxable event inside the account. The holding's turnover and role should be reviewed together.

Quarterly selling also creates a calendar problem. A lot that looks efficient in March may be less useful after a June vest, a new purchase, or a harvested loss. Mariner Wealth Advisors lays out the full year's sales, vests, and gifts on one schedule before choosing the next lot.

• The 1099-B lists an RSU lot with a $0 or missing basis. Check the plan administrator's supplemental statement before filing; otherwise the sale may appear to have a gain equal to the entire proceeds.
• A mutual fund distributes taxable gains even though you sold nothing. That can signal high turnover in a taxable account and deserves a comparison with a lower-turnover holding.
• Company stock was sold at a loss and an RSU tranche vested within 30 days. The wash-sale rules may postpone part of the loss, so the sale and vesting records need to be viewed together.
• Your 10b5-1 plan sells every quarter, but no one has selected lots, priced the year's gains, or looked for offsetting losses before December.

How to start a tax review with Mariner Wealth Advisors

$500K in investable assets is the client minimum for Mariner Wealth Advisors. The request form begins the conversation; there is no published phone number. You can meet by video or phone, and the first discussion focuses on the records behind your upcoming decisions rather than a generic portfolio questionnaire.

Bring four documents: last year's return, your latest 1099-B, the equity-plan statement showing lots, and the 10b5-1 schedule if one exists. The team can then identify missing basis, see which shares are approaching the one-year line, and compare the tax cost of several sale orders.

The honest boundary comes early. Tax savings never justify retaining more company stock than your plan calls for. Mariner Wealth Advisors prices the tax cost of diversification so taxes are part of the decision, not a reason to postpone concentration risk indefinitely.

• Use the request form on this site to ask for a conversation. Mariner Wealth Advisors does not publish a phone number, and meetings are held by video or phone regardless of where you live.
• The client minimum is $500K in investable assets. Fees are explained in writing before work begins.
• Bring last year's tax return, the most recent 1099-B, the equity-plan statement with lot detail, and your 10b5-1 schedule if you have one.
• Expect the first conversation to cover your concentration, planned sales, charitable giving, account locations, and the tax decisions that must be made before the next order.