ESPP will hit our accounts soon. Do we hold or sell?
6 replies (most recent on top)
Sell.
Paying taxes on a measly 15% is practically nothing, especially when you realize that long-term capital gains tax is only saving you an additional 1%.
You don’t need a fiduciary to tell you that it’s just not worth holding the bag for a full year.
Nike is leaderless, in free fall, and running layoffs didn’t even move the needle this time around. We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas.
Pick any company. Chances are it has better fundamentals than us.
It’s not 15% anymore. It’s 9% as of close Friday. If it drops Monday then you go lower from there…..
I always held historically and am paying the price for it now. You already have a lot of your personal financial stake in Nike just by being an employee. I’d recommend to take the gain and diversify your holdings elsewhere.
Selling now isn’t walking away with 15%. It’s initially walking away with 9.5% from the stock drop. When you tax that as a disqualifying rate, you might be closer to a loss.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/what-is-employee-stock-purchase-plan
Good read.
Sell and take the 15% profit. Reinvest in an index fund.
Depends on your exposure and taxes. The latter is more of a concern for high income earners (350k and above with join income.)
Also what are you planning on doing with the money, any major liabilities coming up soon? Property taxes, fed or state, etc.
Main rule with buying and trading stocks is the fact you don’t want to be individually invested heavily into one or two stocks. Many people here I know probably have 80% of their portfolio allocated to Nike, which is dangerous even with the historical track record.
If you want true advice, get a fiduciary financial advisor (one not linked to fidelity). Give them your full scope and financial plans for the next 5 to 10 years. They’ll be able to give you a black and white answer.
However, the rule usually goes, time in the market beats timing the market. When things are typically down, human nature is to sell. When things are up, people buy.
I’ll say our stock price presents a long opportunity, regardless of what you see internally within the company. However, if short term money commitments have you concern, I’d sell to ensure what gains I get (15%), and closer to guaranteed.
TL;DR - personal preference, get a financial advisor, if you have money commitments - sell, if not, recommend hold.