Timeline for Why don't companies systematically offer ESPPs that offer stock options (instead of stocks)?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2, 2020 at 3:14 | comment | added | jamesqf | @The Photon: While it's true that regularly spaced transactions probably wouldn't fall afoul of insider trading rules, that doesn't address the question of why very many people would want to buy them. Certainly the only reason I would is because I knew the stock was somehow poised to make a large price jump. | |
| Feb 1, 2020 at 19:13 | comment | added | The Photon | @jamesqf, presumably an options ESPP would have the same kind of regularly scheduled purchases as a shares ESPP, so the purchase transaction at least would not be restricted by insider trading rules. And the exercise transaction wouldn't have any more risk of being insider trading than the sale transaction in a share ESPP scheme. | |
| Feb 1, 2020 at 17:26 | comment | added | jamesqf | This is just my personal observation, but companies that have ESPPs are typically well-established companies, where people might reasonably buy the stock as an investment. Stock options are granted by startups in order to give employees a greater stake in the company's success. So I would expect that very few employees would want to buy stock options, and those that did would likely be at risk of being charged with insider trading. | |
| Feb 1, 2020 at 17:13 | answer | added | The Photon | timeline score: 2 | |
| Jan 31, 2020 at 22:26 | history | asked | Franck Dernoncourt | CC BY-SA 4.0 |