  How to manage your employee stock options  So, given the
contractual terms that apply to ESOs and some additional
restrictions that officers and directors have from SEC rules,
managing the positions efficiently is not a simple matter. That
said, the vast majority of the millions who have ESOs have no
idea of the value of their holdings, the risks of losing that
value or how to manage their options. They generally are advised
by wealth managers and advisers who believe the only way to
manage those positions is to make premature exercises after
vesting, sell the stock and invest the residual proceeds into a
mutual fund or some other structured investment.  But along with
this strategy comes two major penalties to the exercising
grantee: 1) A forfeiture of the remaining time value, or time
premium, in the options, and 2) the penalty of an early tax
payment. The consequences of these penalties can be significant
(see "Costs of exercising," below).  Both graphs assume an
"expected time to expiration" rather than