News

CFA Society Hosts Seminar on Protecting Highly-Appreciated Stocks

Panel includes Tom Boczar, Elizabeth Ostrander, Mark Leeds, and Brian Yolles

CFA Society Hosts Seminar on Protecting Highly-Appreciated Stocks

CFA Society New York, the largest CFA society in the world with more than 10,000 members, hosted a seminar on September 27, 2017, to provide a comprehensive overview of strategies available to mitigate the risk of concentrated and highly-appreciated stock positions. Entitled “Protecting Highly Appreciated Stock Positions: The State of the Art,” the panel was moderated by Tom Boczar, CEO of Intelligent Edge Advisors, and included Elizabeth Ostrander, Head of Business Development for Intelligent Edge; Mark Leeds, Tax Transactions & Consulting Partner in Mayer Brown’s New York office; and Brian Yolles, CEO of StockShield.

The seminar can be viewed online and slides accessed here.

 

 

CFA Institute Interviews Elizabeth Ostrander about Stock Protection Trust

Discussion focuses on innovation in managing single-stock concentration risk

CFA Institute Interviews Elizabeth Ostrander about Stock Protection Trust

As part of the CFA Institute’s Take 15 Podcast Series, Robert Dannhauser, head of Global Private Wealth Management for the CFA Institute, has interviewed Elizabeth Ostrander, Senior Vice President of Intelligent Edge Advisors, to discuss innovation in the field of stock concentration risk management.

“Whether the result of equity-based compensation from employment at public companies, or the rewards of a liquidity event borne of entrepreneurial success, concentrated single-stock positions are a relatively common circumstance for wealthy individuals,” according to the CFA Institute. “Clients may prefer to maintain ownership for a variety of reasons, leaving a significant risk management challenge for the advisor.”

“Elizabeth Ostrander, CFA, discusses some of the common approaches to managing such concentrated positions, including a recent ‘stock protection fund’ innovation that involves investors pooling a cash buffer to diminish or negate losses over time.”

Dannhauser notes, “It’s nice to see another innovation that people can use in advising clients with this increasingly common situation of having a concentrated position in their portfolio. It’s certainly another tool in the tool box, which is great.”

The interview can be accessed here.

The Take 15 Series is a series of short interviews with leading practitioners on timely topics focused on the investment profession.

The CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion for ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. The end goal: to create an environment where investors’ interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow. CFA Institute has over 148,000 members in 163 countries and territories, including 142,000 CFA charterholders, and 148 member societies.

Janus Capital Suggests Wealth Advisors Consider Stock Protection Trust

Describes Fund as new tool advisors can use to manage an investor’s concentrated stock position

Janus Capital Suggests Wealth Advisors Consider Stock Protection Trust

Janus Capital Group, the global investment management firm with nearly $200 billion under management, suggested wealth advisors consider adding the Stock Protection Trust to client portfolios as part of its annual Wealth Advisor’s Guide to 2017. Janus described the Fund as a new tool advisors can use to manage an investor’s concentrated stock position, without incurring taxes or encumbering the underlying shares.

The ThinkAdvisor network, which is comprised of ThinkAdvisor.com as well as Investment Advisor and Research magazines, covered Janus’ recommendations by highlighting the Stock Protection Trust as one of three investment types advisors should consider (in addition to ESG Funds and Foreign Equities).

Financial Advisor magazine included the Stock Protection Trust as one of five trends advisors can use to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Further Reading

2017 Employee Ownership Conference in Denver This Spring

StockShield is proud to support one of the largest gatherings of the Employee Ownership community

2017 Employee Ownership Conference in Denver This Spring

Representatives from employee-owned companies (and companies seeking to learn about employee ownership) from across the nation and around the world will gather April 4-6, 2017 for the 2017 Employee Ownership Conference, hosted by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). More than 1,700 people will attend the conference which will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel and Conference Center.

The U.S. presently has close to 9,000 employee ownership companies who employ over 14 million people. These companies grow 2.5% per year faster than they would have without employee ownership, and provide employees with two to three times the total retirement assets of their counterparts who lack employee ownership. Companies choose employee ownership as a tax-favored means of business transition, as well as a way to engage employees. As employee ownership has grown, the number of conference attendees has also grown by over 50% since 2011.

StockShield is proud to be sponsoring this conference. Additionally, Brian Yolles will be presenting on Wednesday, April 5, about “How to Use Portfolio Risk Management Techniques to Help Protect the ESOP Retirement Savings of Your Employees.”

As a sponsoring organization, we are able to offer our clients and contacts the following discount codes which can be inserted into your registration form.

$35 off the price of the main conference per attendee (17Save35Main)

$25 off the price of any of the preconference sessions per attendee (17Save25PreCon)

For more information and to register, go to the NCEO website (www.nceo.org) or call the NCEO at 510-208-1300. We urge interested companies to register soon, as this conference often sells out in advance.

The NCEO (www.nceo.org) is a self-sustaining nonprofit membership organization that provides practical resources and objective, reliable information on ESOPs, equity compensation plans, and ownership culture. Learn more about employee ownership from the NCEO (www.nceo.org) or our informational Web site www.esopinfo.org.

NCEO Newsletter Discusses Managing Risk of ESOPs

The current (September/October 2016) issue of the newsletter of the National Center for Employee Ownership includes a discussion of “alternative actions” available to ESOP fiduciaries to mitigate risk to ESOP participants. Supportive of employee ownership while cognizant of its risks, Corey Rosen, the founder of the NCEO and one of the world’s foremost experts on employee ownership, suggests several actions that ESOP fiduciaries should thoughtfully evaluate. These options include the offering of early diversification to employees, placing more cash in the ESOP, and hedging stock risk through a strategy such as the ESOP Protection Trust. While not endorsing any product, Rosen writes that the successful implementation of a technique such as the ESOP Protection Trust could provide a winning argument for ESOP defendants embroiled in “stock drop” litigation.

Mr. Rosen’s full piece can be downloaded here.

NCEO Newsletter Discusses Managing Risk of ESOPs

Brian Yolles to Speak at 2016 Beyster Symposium

Event to take place June 26-28 in La Jolla, California

Brian Yolles to Speak at 2016 Beyster Symposium

Brian Yolles, CEO of StockShield, will speak on new portfolio risk management techniques at the 2016 Beyster Symposium in La Jolla, California, on Tuesday, June 28, 2016.

The Beyster Symposium is sponsored by the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, Foundation for Enterprise Development, and Employee Ownership Foundation. The purpose of the annual symposium is to study broad-based forms of financial participation in capital ownership and capital income, such as broad-based employee stock ownership, equity compensation, profit sharing, gain sharing, and worker cooperatives from an interdisciplinary perspective. The symposium will take place at the Cuvier Club in La Jolla.

Brian has been asked to provide insights on a panel entitled Employee Ownership: An Analysis of New Portfolio Risk Management Techniques. Jared Kaplan of McDermott Will & Emery LLP will also offer his insights and commentary during the discussion, which begins at 1:30pm on Tuesday, June 28.

For additional information, click here.