4 ms·
Mandatory gotcha counterpoint: it's risk free assuming immediate execution, which is not the reality. Between the time ESPP is finished at price X and the time
by jakub_g 4y ago
Mandatory gotcha counterpoint: it's risk free assuming immediate execution, which is not the reality. Between the time ESPP is finished at price X and the time your shares actually land on your account in Etrade / other broker so you can sell, there are several days of processing time, during which the stock can easily go down 10%+ in the "current economic climate". Then, the upside might be taxable (depending on your country) and suddenly the 15% becomes 0% or negative.
(Source: saw it happen.)
The good thing though is that you may withdraw all the money until a few days before offerring time end. Useful in situations of uncertainty like here.
- darkwizard42 4y agoNot just this, but also blackout windows. I've seen ESPP shares be granted during hold periods and then you have to incur even MORE risk! Source: experience with Lyft ESPP
- jakub_g 4y agoOuch, ESPP that you can't immediately sell are indeed really bad especially when everything is on fire.
- codingmatty 4y agoI've heard that Cloudflare has a mandatory 1 year holding period on their ESPP
- hammock 4y agoSeems like you ought to be able to file for a trade well in advance of the blackout window, i.e. you were going to sell x shares no matter what. Probably not the case, just saying it could/should be