Questions, answered.
How we work, what we charge, and the equity and tax questions Bay Area tech employees ask most.
Working with Austin Creek
Who do you work with?
Senior technology professionals and their families, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, whose wealth is concentrated in equity compensation. Think product, engineering, design, sales, and operating leaders at large public and pre-IPO companies, often dual-income households navigating RSUs, options, and a high tax burden.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. Austin Creek Capital is a fee-only, fiduciary investment adviser registered with the State of California. Fee-only means our only compensation comes from our clients; we do not earn commissions or sell products. Fiduciary means we are obligated to act in your best interest, at all times.
What does it cost?
Ongoing financial planning is a $1,500 onboarding fee and then $600 per month. Investment management, if you want us to manage your portfolio, is an additional 0.50% of assets under management per year. Fees are negotiable, and we make individual accommodations consistent with our Form ADV.
Do I have to let you manage my investments?
No. Planning and investment management are separate. Many clients start with planning alone, especially when the urgent questions are about equity and taxes. You can add investment management later, or not at all.
How are you different from a robo-advisor or my brokerage's advisor?
The difference is depth on the problem you actually have: concentrated equity, multi-year tax exposure, and the decisions around vesting, exercising, and selling. A robo-advisor allocates a portfolio. A brokerage advisor is often compensated on products. We are a fee-only planning partner whose focus is the specific situation tech equity creates.
Where are you located, and do you work with remote clients?
We are based in Mill Valley, California, and serve clients throughout the Bay Area. Most work happens over video and email, so working together remotely is straightforward.
What happens when I start?
Onboarding centers on getting a complete, accurate picture: your income, equity grants, vesting schedules, accounts, and goals. From there we build the plan, review it with you, and turn it into specific action steps. The plan is monitored through the year, not filed away.
Equity compensation
Why do I owe taxes in April when shares were already withheld at vest?
Because the default withholding is usually too low. Employers typically withhold federal tax on RSUs at the 22% supplemental rate, but a senior tech earner's real marginal rate is often 32 to 37 percent federal, before California. That difference is the under-withholding gap, and it comes due the following April. You can estimate yours in a couple of minutes.
What is the difference between ISOs and NSOs?
Incentive stock options (ISOs) can qualify for favorable long-term capital gains treatment and are not taxed at exercise for regular tax, but they can trigger Alternative Minimum Tax. Non-qualified stock options (NSOs) are taxed as ordinary income on the spread at exercise. Which you hold changes the timing and the strategy.
What is AMT and why does it matter for ISOs?
The Alternative Minimum Tax is a parallel tax calculation. Exercising and holding ISOs can create an AMT liability on the paper gain, even in a year you sell nothing and receive no cash. That surprise is why ISO exercise decisions should be modeled before you act, not after.
Should I sell my RSUs as they vest, or hold them?
A useful test: if the vest had arrived as cash, would you use it to buy your company's stock today? Holding vested shares is economically the same decision. Selling at vest and diversifying is often the lower-risk default, but the right answer depends on how concentrated you already are.
How much of my net worth should be in my company's stock?
There is no universal number, but concentration is the risk most tech households underestimate, because your salary, bonus, unvested equity, and net worth can all depend on one company at once. The goal is a deliberate target you set in advance, rather than a number that drifts upward by default.
What is an 83(b) election?
It is a short election that lets you choose to be taxed on the value of certain equity at grant rather than as it vests. For early-stage equity with a low current value, it can save a significant amount, but it is time-sensitive: the window is 30 days from grant, with no exceptions.
What happens to my equity if I leave my company?
It depends on your grant, but two things catch people most often: a post-termination exercise window for options, commonly 90 days, after which unexercised options can expire, and the loss of any unvested shares. If you are considering a move, your equity is part of that decision and worth reviewing first.
My company is going private through a tender offer, or going public. What should I think about?
Liquidity events compress a lot of tax decisions into a short window. The treatment differs by equity type, and the timing of exercises and sales drives the outcome. These are worth planning ahead of, because the window to act is usually short.