Equity compensation should feel like a reward. Too often, it feels like a liability. Fortrove Partners is a fee-only equity compensation financial advisor in NYC. We help tech employees and founders turn equity complexity into a coherent, tax-efficient plan. Every recommendation comes from one place: your best interest, not a commission structure.
If you work in tech in New York City and hold stock options, RSUs, or other equity grants, you already know the feeling. Vesting schedules that demand your attention, tax bills that seem to materialize out of nowhere, and decisions that carry real consequences – often with a ticking clock attached. Most general financial advisors weren’t built for this. The complexity isn’t their fault, but it is your problem.
Why Equity Compensation Demands a Specialist
There’s a meaningful difference between a financial advisor who knows what an ISO is and one who can model the AMT exposure of exercising 10,000 ISO shares against $400,000 in W-2 income and $200,000 in RSU vests in New York City – and then build a multi-year strategy around that specific scenario.
ISOs, NSOs, RSUs, ESPPs, 83(b) elections, AMT, tender offers, IPO lock-up windows are complex. Each comes with its own tax rules, its own timing decisions, and its own downstream consequences. They interact in ways that aren’t always obvious – and the cost of getting them wrong, especially in a high-tax environment like NYC, can be enormous.
That level of specificity is what equity compensation planning actually requires. It’s also what Fortrove was built to provide.
The New York City Tax Reality for Tech Employees
New York City is one of the most tax-intensive places in the country to hold and exercise equity compensation and stock ownership. As a tech employee in NYC, your equity income is subject to:
- Federal income tax — up to 37% on ordinary income
- New York State income tax — up to 10.9%
- New York City income tax — up to 3.876%
- Net Investment Income Tax — an additional 3.8% on investment income above certain thresholds
- FICA taxes — applicable on NSO exercises and RSU vests as compensation income
Combined, high-earning tech employees in NYC can face effective marginal rates above 50% on equity income. That’s not a rounding error – it’s the difference between a strategy that works and one that costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.
Understanding the New York State tax treatment of stock options and the NYC personal income tax isn’t optional for anyone advising tech employees in this city. For Fortrove, it’s foundational.
What a Fee-Only Equity Compensation Advisor in NYC Actually Does
Joe Forish, CFA, CFP®, founded Fortrove Partners to serve one specific client: the tech employee or founder who has meaningful equity compensation and needs a trusted, fee-only advisor to help make sense of it. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
ISO and NSO Planning
First, incentive stock options and non-qualified stock options are taxed very differently. The decisions around when and how to exercise them carry major tax consequences. Fortrove helps clients model exercise scenarios, understand the alternative minimum tax implications of ISO exercises, and build multi-year strategies designed to optimize their after-tax outcome.
RSU Tax Planning for New York City Employees
Second, RSUs vest as ordinary income – and in NYC, that can mean a combined rate above 50% for high earners. Many employers withhold at the standard 22% federal rate, leaving a significant gap that catches people off guard at tax time. Fortrove helps clients understand their true withholding exposure, plan for estimated quarterly payments, and think through sell-versus-hold decisions at each vest event.
83(b) Election Guidance
Then, the 83(b) election must be filed within 30 days of an early stock option exercise or restricted stock grant. Miss that window and it’s gone permanently. Fortrove works with founders and early employees to evaluate whether an 83(b) makes sense.
IPO and Pre-IPO Financial Planning for Tech Employees
A liquidity event is one of the most financially significant moments of a tech employee’s career – and one of the most time-pressured. They include lock-up expirations, double-trigger RSU vesting, tender offers, concentrated stock positions. These decisions need to be made in a compressed window can have years of financial consequences. Fortrove helps clients prepare before the IPO, not scramble after it.
ESPP Optimization
Next, Employee Stock Purchase Plans are among the most underutilized and misunderstood benefits available to public company employees. Fortrove helps clients navigate qualifying versus disqualifying dispositions, the lookback provision, and the concentration risk that comes with ongoing ESPP participation.
Year-Round and Lifelong Tax Planning for Equity Compensation
Every equity comp decision is ultimately a tax decision. Fortrove builds proactive, year-round tax strategies and lifelong tax tax reduction approaches. These include capital gains timing, tax-loss harvesting, bracket management, and deferred compensation coordination – tailored specifically to tech employees with equity income in New York City.
Concentrated Stock Position Management
Holding a large position in a single company stock – whether from years of RSU vests, a successful option exercise, or an IPO lock-up expiration – creates meaningful risk. Fortrove helps clients build diversification strategies that account for taxes, timing, and long-term financial goals.
Who Fortrove Partners Works With
Fortrove works with people who have real equity complexity and want a specialist, not a generalist. That includes:
Tech professionals at public and pre-IPO companies — employees at startups and high-growth businesses who are navigating vesting schedules, upcoming liquidity events, and equity decisions that go beyond what a generalist advisor can confidently guide.
Founders and entrepreneurs — individuals with early-stage equity, 83(b) decisions, and the full financial complexity that comes with building a company toward an acquisition or IPO.
Professionals with complex equity compensation — anyone holding ISOs, NSOs, RSUs, ESPPs, restricted stock awards, PSUs, and/or deferred compensation who needs focused, qualified guidance.
There is no minimum asset requirement. Fortrove works with tech employees at every stage of their equity journey – not only those who have already accumulated significant wealth.
What “Fee-Only” and “Fiduciary” Mean – and Why They Matter to You
Foremost, a fee-only financial advisor is compensated solely by the client – never through commissions, referral fees, or product sales. That structure matters because when an advisor earns commissions, every recommendation they make carries a conflict of interest. A fee-only advisor has a single incentive: to give you the best possible guidance.
More importantly, Fortrove is a fiduciary, which means there is a legal obligation to act in your best interest at all times – not just when it’s convenient. Fortrove is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (CRD #328536), registered with the SEC and verifiable at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
How Fortrove Compares to Other Equity Compensation Advisors in NYC
The equity compensation advisory space has grown in recent years. Here’s how Fortrove is different:
No asset minimums. Many firms that specialize in equity comp require millions in assets to become a client – which excludes many of the tech employees who need this kind of advice most. Fortrove has no such minimum.
One advisor, every time. Some firms use a team model where clients rotate through advisors and associate planners. With Fortrove, you work directly with Joe Forish, CFA, CFP® — on every question, every decision, every time.
NYC-specific expertise. Advisory firms based elsewhere may offer equity compensation planning but often lack specific knowledge of how New York State and NYC taxes interact with equity income. That local fluency is built into every strategy Fortrove creates. Fortrove Partners is a fee-only equity compensation financial advisor in NYC.
Purely advisory – no products. Fortrove generates revenue only from client fees. No investment products, no insurance, no revenue streams that create competing interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an equity compensation financial advisor in NYC do?
A specialist in equity compensation helps tech employees and founders make tax-efficient decisions about stock options, RSUs, ESPPs, and other equity grants. In New York City specifically, this includes planning around the combined federal, state, and city tax burden on equity income. The levy can exceed 50% for high earners – as well as timing and structuring decisions that reduce long-term tax liability.
Is there a minimum amount of assets required to work with Fortrove Partners?
No. Fortrove Partners has no minimum asset requirement. The firm works with tech employees at every stage of their equity compensation journey, from early-stage startup employees holding unvested options to senior employees approaching a liquidity event.
What is the difference between a fee-only and a fee-based financial advisor?
A fee-only advisor is compensated only by you – never through commissions, product sales, or referral fees. A fee-based advisor may charge fees but can also earn commissions on products they recommend, which creates a potential conflict of interest. Fortrove is strictly fee-only.
How does living in New York City affect equity compensation planning?
NYC residents pay federal income tax, New York State income tax, and New York City income tax on equity compensation – a combined rate that can exceed 50% for high earners. Planning the timing, sequencing, and structuring of equity decisions around NYC’s specific tax environment is a core part of what Fortrove provides. Fortrove Partners is a fee-only equity compensation financial advisor in NYC
What types of equity compensation does Fortrove Partners advise?
Fortrove works with clients holding ISOs, NSOs, RSUs, restricted stock awards, ESPPs, PSUs, and deferred compensation. The firm also advises on 83(b) elections, QSBS planning, and IPO and pre-IPO financial planning.
Do I need to already be wealthy to benefit from equity compensation planning?
No. Some of the highest-value planning happens early – when options are first granted, when an 83(b) election is available, or when a liquidity event is on the horizon. Waiting until after a financial event to seek advice often means the most valuable decisions have already passed.
Ready to Make Sense of Your Equity Compensation?
If you’ve been navigating stock options, RSUs, or equity grants on your own – or working with a generalist who doesn’t specialize in this area – a conversation with Fortrove Partners is a practical next step.
No pressure. No obligation. Just a focused conversation about your specific situation and whether working together makes sense for you.