Insights on tax, equity, and building wealth
Guides and analysis from the Harness team and the advisors on the platform.
Reddit IPO: Planning ahead for 2023
These are the seven areas of your financial picture that you need to consider optimizing before year end, particularly after yet another tumultuous year.
Stripe: Navigating a Tender Offer in 2023
These are the seven areas of your financial picture that you need to consider optimizing before year end, particularly after yet another tumultuous year.
Choosing the Right Tax Service for Your Unique Needs
When it comes to taxes on equity compensation, there’s a lot to navigate. From Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) to Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), and everything in between, everyone’s situation is unique, and it can be hard to find relevant, personalized information. Traditional tax firms tend to have rigid business models that make it difficult for clients looking for one-off expert consultations or even ongoing planning services. This is where Harness Tax comes in: to provide clients with easily accessible, ad-hoc support for equity questions, as well as to help them over time through ongoing relationships with expert tax professionals who can craft a comprehensive, personalized tax strategy.
Switching Jobs and Your Startup Equity: What You Need to Know
If you're a startup employee, chances are you earn stock options or grants as part of your compensation package. It's a popular employee retention tactic, and one that, if done right, can be an excellent catalyst for generating significant wealth. But what happens when you switch jobs, either on your own accord or from a layoff or termination? Do you get to keep all your equity, or will you have to leave it all on the table? And if you get to keep it, what will it cost you? In this article, we'll go into all that and more, including:
State Residency & Tax Planning for Startup Founders and Remote Tech Workers
The widespread adoption of remote work following the Covid pandemic has provided many, including the Harness Wealth team, with increased flexibility in terms of where they can reside and work. However, it is important to keep in mind that different states and territories have varying tax laws and some may be more favorable than others. So before you set off on your big move, consider the specific tax implications of doing so. Who knows, you might even find a more tax-friendly destination along the way.
5 Tips to Set Yourself Up for Financial Success in 2023
These are the seven areas of your financial picture that you need to consider optimizing before year end, particularly after yet another tumultuous year.
Harness Equity Tools Launches in Open Beta
We are excited about the release of the newest component to our platform, Harness Tools. This offering moves us closer to our goal of giving builders like you absolute confidence in setting the best path toward your financial future with a comprehensive view of your assets and analyzing the strategic steps to take with your equity.
Financial Planning for Employees Before and After IPO
Working for a company that goes public can have life-changing financial consequences. It can also give rise to tax and legal issues that must be addressed proactively to protect and maximize your windfall.
Liquidity Events & Equity: How HR Can Support Employee Decisions
This can be an exciting time for your organization, but if you’re a manager or HR leader, it likely means you will be facing a wave of questions from employees throughout the event about what it means for their equity and personal finances.
SPAC vs. IPO: Valuation, Lockup Period, and Employee Equity
As a founder or an employee at a company undergoing a SPAC, you should start planning as soon as you're aware the event is on the horizon. The financial impact of this event will not just be an easy windfall -- you'll have to consider the potential costs of exercising options, timing of selling shares, and the resulting tax bill before you can start thinking about how to invest your net proceeds.
Diversify Your Portfolio: How Startup Employees Over-invest in Tech
Tech as an industry has had major growth in the last few years, and continues to hold strong, even in 2020. However, recent history shows that many tech employees run the very real risk of being too invested in the technology sector. We outline the most common components that make up this overall risk below, and offer some guidance how best to balance your unique risks and opportunities.
Investment Strategies for a Large Windfall or Inheritance
Often, the best thing to do is to invest in assets that allow your wealth to grow over time, so that you can reap the benefits for years to come and perhaps even the rest of your life. However, deciding and researching the mechanics of how exactly to invest a large sum of money isn't always straightforward.
Startup Equity: Calculating Potential Windfall, Taxes and Costs
As you plan to cash out your startup shares outside of a traditional liquidity event (IPO, acquisition, merger), consider the potential value, costs, and tax considerations you'll need to keep in mind as you go through this process.
Selling Your Startup Shares: Comparison of Secondary Stock Marketplaces
For those beginning the process of executing on a secondary sale of your shares, we've outlined several specific vendors and types of sales in this article, with the relevant fees and restrictions for each.
Promissory Note Program: An Employee Benefit for Early-Stage Startups
76% of startup employees never exercise or sell the pre-IPO stock options they have earned. Harness Wealth's Promissory Note Program allows employees to exercise without putting up any cash upfront.
How a Financial Advisor Can Help During Market Turbulence
Sudden drops in market performance can be alarming. What does this mean for your financial planning? And how can a Financial Advisor help?
Tax Strategy: Gifting Assets
In The Advisor Corner this month, MRA Associates explores what to consider when thinking about a Gifting Strategy. MRA Associates is a Financial Advisory Firm on the Harness Wealth platform.
Questions for Selecting an Advisory Firm
Finding the right advisors for you consists of both finding ones with the right skillsets for your unique needs as well as the right levels of service. There is no substitute for speaking directly to an advisor before making a final decision. Here are some guidelines to consider when evaluating an advisory firm.
Considerations for Your Financial Plan in 2019
With recent market volatility, it’s not surprising that investors are anxious about what 2019 will bring for the financial markets and for their investments. We explore what you should be thinking about in 2019 for your investment strategy and overall financial plan.
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