Equity Compensation

Most financial mistakes I see aren't wrong decisions.

They're right decisions made in the wrong order.

Most Google employees think RSUs are a compensation event.

The IRS agrees.

The problem is that the IRS is only describing the tax treatment. It isn't describing what actually happens.

One of the interesting things about Google is that it has probably created more accidental investors than almost any company in history.

A Googler sent me an article recently about Anthropic’s infrastructure deal with Google Cloud.

The headline was about AI- the part I think actually matters for googlers (and xooglers) holding RSUs  was about something else entirely.

Let me explain:

I’ve heard versions of this question repeatedly from employees holding Google stock.

Most retirement plans don’t fail because people are too aggressive.

They fail because they’re just reasonable enough to go unquestioned.

A Googler asked me this week whether 3% was a solid COLA projection for retirement planning.

It’s a reasonable assumption.

It’s also doing more work than most people realize.

Every spring, the financial industry publishes its version of what you should be worried about. This year the list includes geopolitical conflict, oil prices, tariff shifts, inflation that will not fully settle, and an AI investment cycle that is reshaping entire sectors,  including the ones many of you work in every day.

The data behind all of it is real.

If you work in tech, there’s a good chance a meaningful part of your wealth isn’t coming from your salary.

It’s coming from RSUs.

And in my experience, most people don’t struggle because RSUs are complicated…

They struggle because no one ever shows them how the pieces fit together.

RSUs aren't a bonus. Everyone treats them like one, and that's where the trouble starts.

For many employees at large technology companies, Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) can accumulate into a significant portion of their net worth over time.

Years of vesting schedules, refresh grants, and strong stock performance can gradually turn employer equity into one of the largest assets in an investor’s portfolio.

The question comes up at almost every vesting event. Stock lands in the account, a decision appears, and most people either sell reflexively or hold indefinitely without ever really choosing.

Neither is a strategy.

For Google and tech employees, the sell-or-hold decision is one of the most repeated financial choices you'll make,  sometimes monthly.

For many employees at large technology companies, a significant portion of total compensation comes in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). While RSUs can become a meaningful wealth-building tool over time, they also create additional complexity around taxes, RSU withholding, concentrated stock risk, and long-term financial planning.