Turn your opportunity into a flightpath to success.
Aviator Advisory & Solutions
Accumulate wealth & pursue prosperity
You’re a highflying executive trying to capitalize on the opportunities that success has brought you. You’re in a hurry to master your future but time is a major barrier.
If asked when you’d like to retire, you’d say, “Yesterday”.
If you’re compensated through company stock, you’re likely caught up in the complexity that comes with understanding and optimizing your earnings. You’re looking for someone to guide you on your journey and to create investment, risk, and tax strategies to get you where you want to be.
Many advisors in WestStar’s network help highflyers get to where you want to go. We know the surest paths to follow and will work with you in developing a clear flightpath to chart your progress to your goals.
Get WestStar’s Equity Compensation Guide
We’ve helped many professionals make the most of their company stock programs for years. Our free introductory guide demystifies equity compensation, and answers your most frequently asked questions.
“Many highflyers view stock compensation as a form of quasi-golden handcuffs, locking part of their compensation into the typical 4-year vesting schedule. When companies rear-load their RSU vesting schedule it becomes financially tougher to switch companies. It is common for employees to live on their paycheck alone, and they often under-prioritize the equity compensation component of their income.”
Alexander Fitch, Financial Consultant
We’re here to answer your questions
When we first chat with highflying executives we expect to answer these questions:
Am I doing everything I can to secure my family’s future?
How do I grow the resources I’ve built?
Am I maximizing the benefits and compensation being offered to me?
What can I do to make sure my plan is crash-proof?
How long will it take to get set up for life?
How soon can I find this all out?
By optimizing your complex compensation packages and minimizing taxes, we’ll help you make the most of the financial prospects and opportunities you’ve earned.
If that’s what you’re looking for, then let’s talk about how we can help you.
“For younger highflyer clients, it’s about diversifying outside of company stock – how much to allocate toward their 401k and ESPP, and diversifying their tax liability: we help them save for things like children’s education and real estate.”
Jarrod Haynes, Financial Consultant
Optimizing Stock-based Compensation Programs
We find most people aren’t aware of what they can create when their compensation programs are managed with an understanding of their goals, timing of grants, and navigation of blackout dates.
Many don’t realize just how much value is often left on the table.
Being caught up in the complexity that comes with understanding and optimizing your earnings can cause you sleepless nights. We offer practiced guidance on how to best optimize your stock compensation program, and turn complex challenges into a clear flightpath to your goals.
Aviator’s Navigator 360° Flightpath is a strategic plan that defines your personal goals and outcomes, pinpoints priorities, and charts your routes to success. It also serves as a communication tool that articulates our strategic thinking in a clear, understandable, and actionable way.
With a WestStar Network Financial Advisor beside you, you’ll have a co-pilot in your cabin. You’ll get to see your future through a professional’s eyes, and have the tools and tech you need on a digital platter.
WestStar’s Flightpath makes a complex journey simple, easy to follow and perfectly clear.
We give you a clear view on how to optimize your stock positions and co-manage your tax obligations with confidence and clarity. To pursue your goals we execute upon plans that align with your tax and legal advisors’ instructions and advice.
Equity Compensation Types
- Non-Qualified Stock Option (NSO or NQSO)
- Incentive Stock Option (ISO)
- Restricted Stock
- Restricted Stock Unit (RSU)
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
“Many of our older Aviator clients face caring for aging parents, and wonder how this will impact their reaching retirement readiness. How long can they work in their current role given its busyness, stress and responsibility? What options do they have, and when can they afford to downshift without compromising their financial futures?”
Erik Alexander, Financial Consultant
Stock Concentration and Diversification
A concentrated stock risk occurs when you own a stock that represents a large percentage of your overall stock portfolio and your wealth becomes concentrated in this single stock.
How much to hold, how much to sell, and how to decide?
Read our handy article on RSUs and managing concentrated stock risk.
Turn opportunity into success
Technology & tools to put you in the pilot's seat
The Aviator Navigator Flightpath will route you to your goals in the most efficient way possible. Beneath the dashboard lies a simulator that measures your plan in multiple scenarios.
We can measure your probability of success and create scenarios that show you your trajectory based on our recommendations. It’s an incredible tool that brings your overall prosperity into focus: stock compensation, investments, savings, Social Security income, pension information, insurance, retirement, and more.
Your Flightpath is robust and essential to what we do from the start. It is strategically reviewed throughout our journey together, tracking your progress and course-correcting when necessary.
Our client relationships begin with 4 steps.
Discovery | Analysis | Considerations & Opportunities | Implementation
DISCOVERY ASSESSMENT
Our discovery assessment helps us understand your needs and goals, and informs the interlinked strategic plans covering the key contributors to your wealth and prosperity.
We look forward to introducing ourselves, whether on your turf or ours, or online. We’ll get to know what matters to you, and discuss your expectations and options.
With an understanding of your situation, dreams, and concerns, we’ll work together to pursue your aspirations and address your risks.
“Many highflyers view stock compensation as a form of quasi-golden handcuffs, locking part of their compensation into the typical 4-year vesting schedule. When companies rear-load their RSU vesting schedule it becomes financially tougher to switch companies. It is common for employees to live on their paycheck alone, and they often under-prioritize the equity compensation component of their income.”
Erik Alexander, Financial Consultant
ANALYSIS
Once we’ve established your goals, needs and concerns, we map out the process of getting there on your Flightpath’s digital dashboard that makes progress transparent.
The sigh of relief from our clients when we show them how all of their hard work can get them to their goals is always a special moment.
IMPLEMENTATION
Having pinpointed your priorities and goals, we develop the most appropriate investment, compensation, risk, and tax strategies to employ.
Investment Strategy Platform
In developing a plan that fits your needs, we will discuss any appropriate strategies as well as the tools and products available.
Our Aviator platform supports your WestStar Network Advisor in bringing the latest technology to make investment management dynamic and transparent. Our open architecture gives us access to an extremely broad spectrum of professional money managers and funds.
Our platform is simple to use, with your investments accessible and easy to view on our intuitive dashboard. We will present and review your financial plan, and propose and explain investment allocation before initiating account opening processes.
“I’ve helped tech families and professionals become financially confident through comprehensive financial planning and customized investment management. By using data and analytics, and staying innovative, we help our clients make the most informed decisions, and pursue the lives they want. It’s all about decision-making and timely guidance.”
Kevin Chang, Financial Consultant
Investment Portfolio Management
When developing your investment strategy, we focus on your unique circumstances, goals and values, instead of sales and products.
Amongst the many questions we’ll seek to answer together are:
- Are your funds tax deferred?
- What time horizons will govern their deployment?
- What expectations do you have for risk and reward?
- Would you like to support cause-related investments?
- How do you want your portfolio to be balanced?
- What rate of return is required to reach your goals?
Your financial advisor will regularly review progress on your flightpath with you, and evaluate your portfolio in order to keep you on track toward your goals.
Our personal touch and mentoring is evident in all our relationships, many of which have served our clients and their families’ best interests for decades.
“Along with our aviator clients’ financial success comes a great burden and a real challenge to being happy, and balancing their life’s priorities. Together we maximize their wealth-building opportunities, minimize taxes, and make sure their family is protected if they die too soon or become disabled.”
Sam Gullette, Certified Financial Planner®
Risk Management
It’s important to focus on making the most of the opportunities you’ve earned. It’s also crucial to consider protecting yourself against the risks that could impair your financial and lifestyle goals.
You need an empirical process to evaluate whether your family is protected and safe in case of the worst.
Our open architecture affords us access to a wide spectrum of risk solutions.
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Long-term Care Insurance
Tax & Social Security Planning
We provide a deep analysis of your tax and Social Security options. This may mean us working together with your tax advisor to deliver integrated advice.
Relationships founded on trust
WestStar’s independent financial advisors and firms all believe that trust is earned. Our relationships are real, honest and candid. We say what we do, and we do what we say.
With us, you’ll always know where you’re heading, what paths to follow, which milestones to target, and how to navigate obstacles in your path.
We coach you through the steps to real confidence in your decisions and your future.
Our clients enjoy independent professional financial planning and guidance over the course of decades-long relationships. We tailor our interactions and communications according to their schedules and preferences.
If that sounds like a relationship worth pursuing, then we would be delighted to partner with you on your highflying quest.
