Working with Mariner Wealth Advisors follows five steps: a first conversation, information gathering, written recommendations, implementation and ongoing reviews. Each step has a defined output, so you know what you'll receive and what we need from you.
The process is built for executives who hold deferred compensation and a large block of employer stock but have little time to manage either. Decisions rest on long-term research and diversification, not market forecasts or hot tips. Clients are served nationwide by video and phone.
Step 1: A first conversation of about 30 minutes
You tell us what you hold and what worries you. Typically that's a pile of restricted stock units, options, a deferred compensation balance and a sense that too much rides on one employer. We explain how Mariner Wealth Advisors works, what the $500K investable-assets minimum means, and how fees are handled: explained up front, in writing.
We'd rather say early if we're not a fit. If your situation is mostly a simple 401(k), a different kind of help may serve you better.
Step 2: What we ask you to gather
This is the slow step, so we keep the list short. You can upload files securely or send them in batches; we don't need everything on day one.
Executives often forget the vesting calendar and the plan's distribution rules. Those two items change the advice more than almost anything else, so we ask for them first.
- Recent pay statements and equity award agreements
- Deferred compensation plan documents and payout elections
- Statements for 401(k), IRAs and brokerage accounts
- Last year's tax return
- Any trading window or blackout rules from your employer
Step 3: How do written recommendations get built?
Mariner Wealth Advisors turns your documents into a written plan that covers the stock, the deferred pay and the rest of your portfolio together. It sets out what to do, in what order and why. Where it fits, the plan draws on concentrated stock planning, equity compensation advice, deferred compensation planning and tax-efficient investing.
Take a hypothetical executive with $2,000,000 in total assets, $900,000 of it in employer stock. That's 45% in one company, well past the point where diversification usually comes first. Before Mariner Wealth Advisors suggests selling shares, it estimates the tax bill of each sale, then spreads sales over several tax years or around a 10b5-1 trading plan. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal, and diversification does not remove it.
Step 4: Implementation, with your approval first
Nothing moves until you say yes. Once you approve, we handle the paperwork: account transfers, sale instructions, and plan forms such as a deferred compensation election or a 10b5-1 plan, which your company's counsel will usually need to review.
You get a short confirmation after each action. And if you want to do only part of the plan, that's fine.
Step 5: How often do we review the plan?
We review your plan at least once a year, and again when something changes: a new grant, a vesting date, a job move or a payout approaching. Each review checks how much of your wealth still sits in one stock and whether the plan's assumptions still hold.
We don't try to time markets in these meetings. The reviews are about rebalancing, taxes and your own circumstances.