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Many people work for publicly traded companies. The business might be a franchise, branch or division of the parent company. Their shares trade on a major exchange. If your business is in the information technology industry, 86% of companies represented in the S&P 500 Index offer Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP). Healthcare and Financials are 68% and 52% respectively. Purchasing company stock at a discount gives every employee the ability to become a part owner. But can you have too much of a good thing?
Buying stock in ESPP plans is a conscious act on the part of the employee. They choose to have money taken out of their paycheck for this purpose. Although the stock might be purchased on a quarterly basis, once the buy is made, the employee owns the stock and can sell it whenever they choose. Put another way, if the employee gets a 10% discount on buying shares in their company, if they sell immediately, it is like getting a 10% immediate return with little or no risk.
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Bryce Sanders
Bryce Sanders, president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc., has provided training for the financial services industry on high-net-worth client acquisition since 2001. He trains financial professionals on how to identify prospects within the wealthiest 2%-5% of their market, where to meet and socialize with them, how to talk with wealthy people and develop personal relationships, and how to transform wealthy friends into clients. Bryce spent 14 years with a major financial services firm as a successful financial advisor, two years as a district sales manager and four years as a home office manager. He developed personal relationships within the HNW community through his past involvement as a Trustee of the James A. Michener Art Museum, Board of Associates for the Bucks County Chapter of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Board of Trustees for Stevens Institute of Technology and as a church lector. Bryce has been published in American City Business Journals, Barrons, InsuranceNewsNet, BenefitsPro, The Register, MDRT Round the Table, MDRT Blog, accountingweb.com, Advisorpedia and Horsesmouth.com. In Canada, his articles have appeared in Wealth Professional. He is the author of the book “Captivating the Wealthy Investor.”
