Modera Wealth Management: a wealth advisor for tech stock compensation
What you get when part of your paycheck arrives as company stock:
A sell schedule for vesting RSUs and ESPP lots, with each tax bill estimated
An account map showing which holdings belong in taxable, IRA and Roth accounts
A playbook for exercising options that covers timing, cash needed and the tax bill
Check-ins timed to your vest dates, the April deadline and open enrollment
families who plan their savings
with Modera Wealth Management†
What Modera Wealth Management handles for families paid in stock
A staged sell schedule that cuts your single-stock share and shows each year's tax bill.
Withholding checks at each vest, so April doesn't bring a surprise RSU tax bill.
Exercise timing for incentive stock options, with AMT estimates before you spend any cash.
Purchase-by-purchase guidance on when to sell ESPP lots and how each sale is taxed.
Concentrated stock diversification
A staged sell schedule that cuts your single-stock share and shows each year's tax bill.
RSU tax planning
Withholding checks at each vest, so April doesn't bring a surprise RSU tax bill.
ISO exercise planning
Exercise timing for incentive stock options, with AMT estimates before you spend any cash.
ESPP planning
Purchase-by-purchase guidance on when to sell ESPP lots and how each sale is taxed.
What makes Modera Wealth Management different for stock-heavy portfolios?
Before any trade, Modera Wealth Management puts your taxable brokerage account, 401(k), IRA and Roth on one screen and asks where each holding is taxed least. Bond funds usually land in the IRA; the fund you expect to grow fastest often goes in the Roth. After each review you get an account map and a sell schedule for upcoming vests, with the estimated tax bill written next to every sale.
Who we are
Today the firm works with 418,000 clients† and oversees $5.7 billion† on their behalf.
Why tech employees bring their equity to Modera Wealth Management
Your RSUs vest every quarter, the ESPP buys shares twice a year, and the options from your hire date are still sitting there. Before long, a bit over half your net worth depends on one ticker. Modera Wealth Management works out how fast to sell, which lots go first, and where the proceeds should land so bonds, index funds and growth holdings each sit in the account that taxes them least.
Any stock, your employer's included, can drop and take part of what you paid for it along, so we size that risk before anyone talks about returns.
Modera Wealth Management as your wealth advisor for RSUs, options and ESPP shares
Modera Wealth Management is a firm of wealth advisors that helps tech employees with stock options, RSUs and an employee stock purchase plan cut a too-large single-stock position with a tax-aware playbook.
People call when a vest date is close and they're not sure what to sell. Selling shares isn't the hard part; the tax bill, and where the proceeds should land, is. Modera Wealth Management starts from asset location: which investments sit in which account (taxable, IRA, Roth) matters as much as which investments you own.
- Clients served
- 418,000
- Assets under management
- $5.7 billion
- Minimum investment
- $500K
- Practice areas
- 7 services
- Coverage
- Clients across the US
As of 10/12/2026.
Who Modera Wealth Management works with at $500,000 and up
The firm works with families who have at least $500,000 in investable assets, and most of the people who call hold a lot of one thing: their employer's stock. Maybe it's RSUs that vest every quarter, ISOs from an early funding round, or an ESPP that has quietly grown into a six-figure position. You can live in any state; meetings happen by screen-share video call or by phone.
Working together starts with a list of what you own and where it sits. Then we write you a playbook: which shares to sell and when, which account should hold which fund, and what each sale adds to your April tax bill. Fees are set out in a written agreement that you read and sign before any work begins.
Find your situation in the table below and read what you'd receive first. Tax-loss harvesting runs alongside most of these.
The account minimum is $500,000 in investable assets.
| Situation | Service | First thing you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Employer stock is over a fifth of net worth | Concentrated stock diversification | Sell-down schedule by lot |
| Big RSU vest, withholding looks short | RSU tax planning | Estimate of the year's tax bill |
| Unexercised ISOs from earlier years | ISO exercise planning | Exercise-timing worksheet |
| ESPP shares piling up after each purchase | ESPP planning | Sell-or-hold list by purchase date |
| Same funds in taxable, IRA and Roth | Asset location strategy | Account-by-account placement map |
| Appreciated shares and a charitable wish | Donor-advised fund setup | Gift-versus-sell comparison |
Should the bond fund sit in the IRA or the taxable account?
Usually the IRA. Bond interest is taxed at ordinary rates every year, while a stock index fund in a taxable account is taxed lightly until you sell. Two portfolios with identical holdings can leave you with different after-tax money, which is why we treat placement as a decision of its own.
Hypothetical example: Dev, a 41-year-old engineer, has $800,000 in two accounts, $400,000 taxable and $400,000 in a traditional IRA. Each account is half stock index funds and half bonds. The $200,000 of bonds in the taxable account pays 4 percent, or $8,000 annually, and at an assumed 32 percent bracket that's $2,560 annually in tax. Move all $400,000 of bonds into the IRA and hold only stock funds in the taxable account, and the overall mix doesn't change. That yearly interest tax mostly disappears, for illustration.
Before we suggest selling any lot in a taxable account, we price what the sale adds to your tax bill. Dev's bonds had almost no gain, so the swap was cheap; selling RSU shares with a big gain is another matter. And every investment can lose money, including what you originally put in.
Shortcut: if more than a fifth of your net worth sits in one stock, diversify that first, then fine-tune placement.
Who does what when your CPA and estate attorney are involved?
Your CPA files the return and gives the tax advice. Your estate attorney drafts the documents. Modera Wealth Management handles the investing side and brings both of them numbers before a decision, not after.
In practice, we send your CPA the vest and sale estimates in the fall, so withholding and estimated payments can be adjusted while there's still time. Your attorney hears from us when shares or accounts change; beneficiary wording and trusts should match what the accounts hold.
We don't replace either one. If you have ISOs and RSUs and no CPA yet, you'll probably want one, and we'll say so.
- CPA: return, estimated payments, AMT check
- Attorney: wills, trusts, beneficiary wording
- Our team: sales, placement, gift funding
Is the first week after you request information mostly paperwork?
No; the first step is a conversation, and the paperwork is a short list. A member of the team reads your request, then contacts you to set up a screen-share call or a phone call at a time that works around your meetings.
On that call we ask what you hold, when the next vest or purchase date falls, and what worries you most. You'll be asked for your RSU vesting schedule, the latest year-end brokerage statement, your ESPP purchase history and the 1099-B if you sold shares.
If the two of us seem like a fit, the written agreement comes next, and the fee schedule is in it. Nothing starts until you've read it.
Four seasons, and a vest date in most of them
A year with Modera Wealth Management follows your vest calendar more than the wall calendar.
January brings the year-end statements, the W-2 and the 1099-B. We check the cost basis on every RSU sale, because the basis is sometimes reported without the income already taxed at vest, and that mistake means paying tax twice. Your CPA gets the corrected numbers well before the April deadline.
Each vest or ESPP purchase gets a sell-or-hold decision before the date, not after. In the fall we project the year's income so you know whether an ISO exercise would trigger the alternative minimum tax; open enrollment is also a good time to check HSA contributions.
December is for tax-loss harvesting on lots that are under water, a donor-advised fund gift of appreciated shares if you give to charity, and a last look at withholding. Then the cycle starts again.
January through April: statements and true-ups
May through December: vests and year-end moves
Will a vest-day question wait for the annual review?
No. You'll have a named contact on the team who knows your vest calendar, so you aren't explaining RSUs from scratch on every call. Send questions by email or ask on the next call.
How often we talk depends on your equity: more in vest months, fewer in quiet ones. We write the rhythm into your playbook so you know it ahead of time.
You can live in any state; our office is at 724 300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, and most meetings happen on a screen share anyway.
- Screen-share review of every account
- Short summary page after each meeting
- Sell-down schedule updated as vests arrive
- Year-end tax bill estimate for your CPA
Modera Wealth Management services
Concentrated stock diversification
A staged sell schedule that cuts your single-stock share and shows each year's tax bill.
Concentrated stock diversification →RSU tax planning
Withholding checks at each vest, so April doesn't bring a surprise RSU tax bill.
RSU tax planning →ISO exercise planning
Exercise timing for incentive stock options, with AMT estimates before you spend any cash.
ISO exercise planning →ESPP planning
Purchase-by-purchase guidance on when to sell ESPP lots and how each sale is taxed.
ESPP planning →Asset location strategy
An account map placing bonds, index funds and growth holdings where taxes bite least.
Asset location strategy →Tax-loss harvesting
Losses in your taxable account harvested to offset gains from selling company stock.
Tax-loss harvesting →Donor-advised fund setup
Appreciated company shares moved into a donor-advised fund instead of sold and taxed.
Donor-advised fund setup →Recently published
- How to Diversify Company Stock, Lot by Lot (a Walkthrough from Modera Wealth Management)
- RSU vs stock options: which $100,000 to cash in, $97,000 or $65,000
- How to Decide How Much Company Stock Is Too Much When Retirement Is 10 to 15 Years Away
- ESPP Mistakes to Avoid at 52 When You Buy Every Period and Never Sell
- Six Questions for an Equity Compensation Advisor: How Modera Wealth Management Would Answer Them
- The Modera Wealth Management Guide to When to Sell RSUs After Vesting
Modera Wealth Management meets clients in every state over video calls and by phone — or visit us at 724 300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, United States. Let's Talk →
Your questions about Modera Wealth Management, answered
Your fee is set out in a written agreement that you read and sign before Modera Wealth Management does any work on your accounts. The agreement explains how the fee is figured and what it covers, so you can weigh it against the tax bill of a poorly timed stock sale.
Modera Wealth Management's minimum is $500,000 in investable assets. Unvested RSUs and unexercised options generally aren't investable yet; vested shares, ESPP stock, brokerage balances and retirement accounts like your 401(k) and IRA are. If you're close, mention your vesting schedule on the form.
Our team replies to schedule a screen-share call where we look at your vesting schedule and account statements together. Have your latest brokerage statement and your equity award summary handy; those two documents show where your company stock risk sits and which accounts have room to rebalance.
You'll speak with a Modera Wealth Management advisor by screen-share or phone, and the conversation starts with your equity. Expect questions about grant dates, ESPP purchase dates and every account you hold, because those details decide the tax bill on each sale you make.
Yes, in most cases the sale can be spread out to control the tax bill. A wealth advisor lists every lot, checks cost basis and holding period, and sells higher-basis lots first. Gifts of appreciated shares to a donor-advised fund and loss harvesting elsewhere can also offset gains. Every sale still has a tax bill.
Not required, but the timing is easy to get wrong. Exercising ISOs can trigger the alternative minimum tax even though you sold nothing. At Modera Wealth Management, we estimate that bill in the fall, share it with your CPA, and decide how many options to exercise before year-end.
Check the purchase and offering dates first. Selling too early can turn part of your discount into ordinary income instead of lower-taxed gain. If you've already sold some shares, keep the 1099-B and the plan's purchase confirmations, because they show the basis your CPA will need.
Yes. Your CPA keeps filing the return and giving the tax advice; we supply the investing side. We send vest, sale and exercise estimates before decisions are made, and we ask your CPA for your tax picture, so you aren't relaying numbers back and forth yourself.
Yes, because two accounts with different tax treatment is exactly where placement matters. Fast-growing investments often fit best in the Roth, since gains there come out tax-free, while interest-paying funds fit better in a tax-deferred account. Modera Wealth Management maps each fund to an account before suggesting any changes.
Yes. The firm's office is in Salt Lake City, but families live in all parts of the country and meet with us by screen-share video call or by phone. Modera Wealth Management serves 418,000 clients and $5.7 billion in client assets as of 10/12/2026, and the account minimum is $500,000.
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