2 ms·

I'm quite confused - how were shares exercised into stock before they vested? Aside from that weirdness a share in a company is yours and I'm quite skeptical y

by munk-a 7y ago

I'm quite confused - how were shares exercised into stock before they vested? Aside from that weirdness a share in a company is yours and I'm quite skeptical you could be forced to sell it back to the company - what _is_ common is that the grantor will reserve the right of first purchase. If you decide to sell your vested and exercised options to a third party (say a random friend) you cannot legally transact that without first offering the companies the ability to purchase it at the price of their choosing. The result of this is that vested and exercised shares are usually a terrible idea in nearly every scenario - except when that action might result in some tax benefits from long term investment[1]. 1. Some jurisdictions waive capital gains taxes on sales of stock if the shares were held for a "long" time usually several years.

JumpCrisscross 7y ago
> how were shares exercised into stock before they vested? Early exercise.
- munk-a 7y ago
  I think you're confusing vested stock with "fully vested options" which is quite understandable as the terms are terrible... I may be wrong as I have the most experience with Canadian options but I believe in this scenario some vested options of a non-fully vested option grant were exercised? I.e. you have a vesting schedule of 100/year for five years and on year two exercise 180 options to buy - that wouldn't exceed the quantity of vested options that are available to buy though. Do I have this right or am I misunderstanding the scenario? Edit: Apparently the Canadian portion is important - US options are wack and work totally differently to normal options!
  - JumpCrisscross 7y ago
    > you have a vesting schedule of 100/year for five years and on year two exercise 180 options to buy - that wouldn't exceed the quantity of vested options that are available to buy though Not quite. Say one has a vesting schedule of 100/year for 5 years. Early exercise would allow one to "purchase" 500 shares on day 1, with the caveat that they be returned if the vesting schedule isn't met, e.g. if the employee leaves on day 2. > US options are wack and work totally differently to normal options "Normal" options, European-style options, make up the minority of instruments described by the term "options". Stock options are negotiated instruments. They vary wildly from case to case. Certain amount of consolidation occurs in different jurisdictions as a result of tax codes. But in a global scheme, early exercise is entirely normal for employee stock options.

by munk-a 7y ago

JumpCrisscross 7y ago

> how were shares exercised into stock before they vested? Early exercise.

munk-a 7y ago
I think you're confusing vested stock with "fully vested options" which is quite understandable as the terms are terrible... I may be wrong as I have the most experience with Canadian options but I believe in this scenario some vested options of a non-fully vested option grant were exercised? I.e. you have a vesting schedule of 100/year for five years and on year two exercise 180 options to buy - that wouldn't exceed the quantity of vested options that are available to buy though. Do I have this right or am I misunderstanding the scenario? Edit: Apparently the Canadian portion is important - US options are wack and work totally differently to normal options!
- JumpCrisscross 7y ago
  > you have a vesting schedule of 100/year for five years and on year two exercise 180 options to buy - that wouldn't exceed the quantity of vested options that are available to buy though Not quite. Say one has a vesting schedule of 100/year for 5 years. Early exercise would allow one to "purchase" 500 shares on day 1, with the caveat that they be returned if the vesting schedule isn't met, e.g. if the employee leaves on day 2. > US options are wack and work totally differently to normal options "Normal" options, European-style options, make up the minority of instruments described by the term "options". Stock options are negotiated instruments. They vary wildly from case to case. Certain amount of consolidation occurs in different jurisdictions as a result of tax codes. But in a global scheme, early exercise is entirely normal for employee stock options.