Re:Ask HN: Are RSUs worth your loyalty?
by goobynight on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @01:20PM
(#21994189)
RSUs are as good or better than cash as long as you can keep a job for the length of the cliff. That's typically just a year...
The 4th year of an RSU grant is just as unavailable as my base salary 4 years away.
Good point, I wasn't thinking clearly about base salary 4 years away.
Re:Ask HN: Are RSUs worth your loyalty?
by awillen on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @01:17PM
(#21994152)
Sounds like the original comment was referring to RSUs in public companies. If you sell those immediately upon receiving them, they're basically equivalent to cash.
Re:Ask HN: Are RSUs worth your loyalty?
by tmarman on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @04:01PM
(#21995761)
... except the choice is not a dollar now vs. a dollar of stock in 4 years. RSUs are calculated as part of your total annual compensation the same was as salary. A grant of $100k RSUs that vest over 4 yrs would be more the equivalent of $25k more in salary, not $100k bonus.
Yes, there's the diversification problem but it's not like you have that same money upfront to invest in anything you want.
Re:Ask HN: Are RSUs worth your loyalty?
by ThrustVectoring on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @08:14PM
(#21997561)
An RSU grant from a publicly-traded company is equivalent to a cash bonus that is tied to the current stock price of the company.
I'd rather have a dollar now versus the equivalence of a dollar in a stock which is unavailable for up to 4 years...
Even if your companies stock is out performing the market, I'd rather have a dollar now to buy company stock and keep my mobility.
Employees need to be careful to diversify their portfolio. A dollar today can be put in any type of investment, whereas RSUs can lead to folks having too much of their egg nest in one basket.